Help! Match my interests & stats to likely/ reach schools!

Chance Me / Match Me
1

Hi everyone! I’m trying to figure out where I should apply based on my intended major(s) and areas of interest. As of now, I’m thinking about Emory, Boston College, Georgetown, Tufts, JHU, Brown, U Penn, and Cornell. Do any of these schools seem like not good matches for my interests and/or stats? Can you suggest any other schools? Also, is there anything specific in my stats I should really focus on in my application or that will really help me stand out? Thanks for the help!!!

Note: Some of the info below (very little of it) is predictive given I'm only a junior, however they're all reasonable predictions.

School type: Public
Location: Florida
Race/Gender: White Male
Income bracket: <$60,000
Hook: First generation college student; sibling currently attends Harvard, if I apply there(?)

Major: Political Science, English, and Biopsychology or Public Heath (possibly double major+minor/ major+double minor in some combination of the 3, or just pick 2 - Poly Sci and English are my favorites)

SAT I: 2180 (750 CR, 760 W, 670 M) taking the ACT in June and will likely retake SAT in fall
SAT II: Lit 780, Math II 730

GPA: 3.7 (UW), 6.66 (W)
Class rank: 4/ 508 (top 1%)

APs: Human Geography (5), World History (5), Psychology (5), Environmental Science (4), English Language (5), US Government (5), Comparative Government (5), US History (5), Physics 1 (3), Statistics (5), AP Art History (didn’t take exam)

Dual Enrollment at local community college: College Algebra, Public Speaking, Political Science, Sociology of Marriage & Family, Religion

Foreign Language: taken 4 years of Spanish (levels 1, 2 honors, 4 honors, & 5 honors)

Senior Schedule:
AP Biology
AP Calculus BC
AP Microeconomics
AP Macroeconomics
AP English Literature
Dual Enrollment British Literature
Dual Enrollment American Literature
Dual Enrollment Sociology

ECs:
-Political Discussion club (founder, President, Liberal Discussion Leader)
-Teenage Democrats club (cofounder, Director of Volunteer Activities)
-National English Honor Society (President)
-Social Studies Honor Society (President)
-Math Honor Society
-Spanish Honor Society
-National Art Honor Society
-Poetry Club
-Published writer as intern for local newspaper
-volunteer private tutor for SAT Critical Reading and Writing
-volunteer assistant (100+ hours) at wildlife animal hospital

Work:

  • ~15 hours/week kennel worker at vet office (since end of sophomore year)

Awards:
-National Merit Semifinalist
-National AP Scholar

Recs: (assuming)
-Teachers: 9/10
-Guidance Counselor: 7/10

Essays: (assuming)

  • 9/10; very good writer; will likely write about forming politics-based clubs because of my passion for the subject, and/or my parents’ arrest while I was in high school & how it affected me
2

Also: I will need a good amount of financial aid wherever I go, given my aforementioned income.

3

Any help would be appreciated

4

Bump

5

I would include some Florida public colleges, George Washington, American, Pitt, Temple, and possibly Fordham, to round out your list with some more affordable matches and safeties.

6

OP - You have listed larger schools, but I thought I’d mention that my son attends New College of FL from out of state. They are tiny, but you can often build the course of study you want, and they are strong in life sciences. My son is a Poli. Sci./Government/Public Policy major, and - as a first-year student - has already become very active in Florida politics, and is receiving academic credit for an internship with the Democratic Party. He did his January Independent Study Project on redistricting and gerrymandering this year. He hopes to dive into the 2016 campaign next year. It might well be too small for you; it is for many people, but you would undoubtedly receive a very nice aid package from them. My son took a Public Health class his first term to fulfill science requirement. As a FL resident you probably know that most colleges in the state are pretty strong in that area, owing to the demands of the elderly population. Environmental and Marine Sciences are also strong at NCF.

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Thanks! @woogzmama

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Ivy League- reach but you have a great shot if you apply ED to one Penn/Cornell
Emory/Tufts/JHU- low reaches, you should get into one if you apply ED
Georgetown SFS- reach
Boston College- match
Chance back- http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/what-my-chances/1762792-ambitious-chances.html#latest

Seems your interested in Politics/International Affairs, some match/safety schools could be
American University (would get merit), George Washington (might get merit)

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Thanks! @LordSwag‌
What about Brown? Is it worth applying to ED or is it too much of a reach?
I’m also considering Columbia, but I’m not sure if that would be more of a stretch than Brown or about the same

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@bahstaffer - You will be a strong candidate at all of those colleges. National Merit Semifinalist automatically makes you a strong candidate. Will be good to up your SAT score a bit, especially in the math. Ivy League schools are a reach for everyone, so a reach for you too. You should also consider Stanford as they just announced that <$65,000 income gets full tuition and room and board. Also, consider schools on this list that meet full financial need - http://www.usnews.com/education/best-colleges/paying-for-college/articles/2014/09/15/colleges-and-universities-that-claim-to-meet-full-financial-need

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The schools you mentioned (Emory, Boston College, Georgetown, Tufts, JHU, Brown, U Penn, and Cornell) would all be in the reach category because of the nature of admissions nowadays (except possibly BC, that might be a match for you). Basically all the schools in your state would be safeties, if that helps. Best of luck in your apps, and based on the information you have provided us, I am certain you will hear good news from at least one prestigious institution/program.

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Thanks @stepay @yikesyikesyikes‌
I may consider Stanford, based on that! I’m not sure how much they match my interests, though. Even though I’m sure they’re good at mostly everything.

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Stanford is among the few schools which is honestly top notch for everything. I do not think it has any weaknesses at all (at least none that I heard of). Even schools like Harvard and Yale have weaknesses (Engineering and CS respectively if I’m not mistaken).

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I like Harvard very much as well, and I would have a slight advantage given my legacy status with my brother currently attending, so I feel like if I’m going to apply to any HYPSM it would be Harvard.