Finalizing College List: Reaches, Matches, and Safety

Chance Me / Match Me
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Grades:
SAT: 2040,2020
SAT II: US History(780), Math Two, Literature
AP: World History(5), Biology(3), English Language, Statistics, US History, Human Geography
PSAT 2016: 1350
ACT: Score hasn’t come in yet

Strong Upward Trend: 9th: 3.3 10th: 3.7 11th: 3.75
Unweighted: 3.57, Weighted: 3.89
strait A’s 10th S2, and only 1 B 11th S2
UC GPA: 4.04

EC: School Clubs with Leadership position: Model UN, Debate, Mock Trial, Scholastic Chess team
-Presented History paper at International Social Science Symposium
-Various Chess Accolades(Though I don’t really think they matter much)
-CEO of a non profit(but it’s still at it’s beginning stages)

Major: History with Psychology/History with Economics
Schools I’m looking at: College of William and Mary, Lehigh, University of Virginia, UC’s, Washington University St. Louis, Wellesley, Fordham, NYU, Penn State, Carnegie Mellon, Tulane, Vanderbilt, Williams, UChicago, University of Michigan, Bowdoin, Swarthmore

A lot of these are super reaches, I’m aware :confused: I want to study History(it’s my favorite subject), and most likely will go in the prelaw path(Harvard Law is the goal!). Where do I stand?

Thanks for your time, it’s much appreciated :slight_smile:

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Also, 6 AP’s taken. Strong Courseload

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What state are you from? That’ll help determine chances for some of these publics.

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@curiousapp123 Southern California

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Well you’ve picked some selective schools and you aren’t in state to them so that’s an added layer of difficulty. But even with the lower GPA and lack of great scores, you still should be accepted to a couple… maybe W&M and Tulane possibly. You have a lot of reaches on the list.

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You should be able to get into Fordham and Penn State. You would have a chance at Tulane and Lehigh. W&M is a great place to study History, but as an OOS applicant it’s going to be tough to get accepted. The rest of your list is all high reaches. You may want to look at Gettysburg. Has some similarities to W&M, and would be a match for you

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What’s your budget?
The public universities outside of California will cost your parents 50k (no financial aid) - have you talked with them about costs?
Penn State = apply for Paterno Fellow and look into soda in addition to history.
Other good schools for history : Macalester, Kenyon, Hamilton, Gettysburg, Sewanee.

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@MYOS1634 30k or under would be ideal. If it’s a good school they’re fine with paying. @wisteria100 thanks!

What can I do in the next 3 months to strenghten my application?

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Retake the sat unless your act is 32+.
Start working on essays. Use ‘essay hell’ (website) as a starting point.
July 1st open your commonapp account and start filling things in.
Demonstrate interest at all the private universities.
If your budget is 30k then cross out the oos public’s since they’ll be 50k unless your parents have money.

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Given your current GPA and test scores, I do not see you as competitive, as an OOS student, for UVA, William & Mary, or U Michigan. (W&M is especially tough for OOS females.) Also, I rate your chances as WUSTL, Vanderbilt, Williams, and U Chicago as remote; CMU and Swarthmore also will be problematic. Unless you show lots of demonstrated interest in Tulane, that also will be a remote chance. I can’t speak as to the other schools that you list.

I think that some of the suggested LACs would be good places for you.

Does your school have Naviance? If so, then you might want to discuss with your guidance counselor how that may help guide your college selections.

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With a 30 ACT, you would be in the running for some merit at Fordham

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@MYOS1634 The publics won’t necessarily cost 50k+. UVA meets full financial need of OOS if I am not mistaken… Also, Michigan has been improving financial aid for OOS based from what I have heard (still bad FA for OOS, but improving).

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^ I don’t think OP is truly in the running for UMichigan, UVA, and W&M. OP will likely narrow it down to one of those as a “who knows?” but if they’re unaffordable, why not focus on a super reach that’s affordable? Indeed, if the family can afford 30K they wouldn’t really qualify for UMich’s financial aid scheme, which is for low EFC families. UVA is different indeed, but I doubt OP can get in with these stats (only limited OOS students are admitted and those have much higher profiles - doesn’t hurt to try but it’s a big reach, as is UMichigan).
The only public where OP has excellent chances is Penn Sate and there is no financial aid (it’s a good mach since they use weighted GPA and applying early in the Fall for a Liberal Arts major, completing the essay, indicating an interest in Paterno Fellows, perhaps mentioning SODA as a complement to History would likely mean an admission).
Among the private universities considered Tulane and Wellesley are both big reaches. Everything else is out of reach barring a non mentioned hook (first gen, urm).

However, she has good odds at other LACS; could focus on women’s colleges (why not Agnes Scott, Mount Holyoke?)
Likely merit at Ohio University and possible admission to its Honors College.

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@MYOS1634 I agree, my statement only applies if the OP is admitted.

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I would focus on shortening your list. Preparing and paying for that many applications won’t be easy. Try to narrow it down to somewhere between 7 and 9. A good way to do this is to consider factors like student population, culture, campus vibe, etc. Could you really be happy at all of these places?

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Thanks for your help! I respect the honest responses. I’m just looking into things. Does it matter that I go to a top private school on scholarship? It’s known for its difficult curriculum. I also am URM(Latino) and am undocumented. I’m working on my citizenship rn, but how would financial aid work in my situation?

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Argh, that changes everything.
Pomona is the only school that I know of that would treat your application like all other applications wrt financial aid.
http://blog.■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■/blog/category/undocumented-students/#sthash.zRC2pmEL.dpbs
Note: although this states “blog” in the address, this is actually a legit website dedicated to helping first gen and undocumented students.

But really your best bet is to wait till your papers are in order before you apply to college.

and yes, the fact you attend a respected private school will help put your GPA in context. Being URM helps but not that much. Essentially, all other things being equal, it’d be a tipping factor.

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@MYOS1634 Just out of curiosity… how do you “demonstrate interest” at privates?

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You fill out the 'request info’or ‘join the mailing list’ form. You click on everythung they send you. After reading the material, you email admissions with a question, the answer of which isn’t obvious on the website; you go and visit, especially if you live nearby or even less than 60-100miles away.

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^ This. Also, here is a link to a blog by the Tulane interim admissions director that may have some information for you about showing your interest: http://tuadmissionjeff.blogspot.com/2014/03/5-way-to-demonstrate-your-interest.html