Help me determine safety/fit/reach for the following schools

Chance Me / Match Me
1

I am currently a high school Senior in Oregon and I am looking into the following schools(in no particular order):

  1. Stanford University
  2. Georgetown
  3. University of Chicago
  4. Johns Hopkins University
  5. Brandeis University
  6. Princeton University
  7. Lewis & Clark College
  8. University of Oregon
  9. Franklin & Marshall College
  10. University of Pennsylvania
  11. University of Richmond
  12. University of Virginia

Which of these do you think I can get into? Also, I don’t want to apply to more than 10 schools, so any advice to narrow this list down is welcome :).

To help you answer, here is a little more about me:

-I have a 4.0 unweighted GPA and have taken all but one AP class my school has to offer
-I will be graduating at the top of my class of approximately 440 students
-I have decent, but not spectacular standardized test scores (2030 old sat, 1420 new sat, 29 act) and have not yet taken any subject tests
-I have a lot of leadership experience. Most notably, during both my junior and senior year I was ASB Secretary, captain of the tennis team, and chair of the community101 program at my school. This year I will also be an NHS officer. I was also a part of student government all 4 years and participated in a few other clubs as well.
-I am a 4 year varsity athlete in tennis (but my school has a weak tennis team so that isn’t saying much about my skill).
-I want to pursue a degree in international relations but am also interested in studying anything to do with cross cultural communication, linguistics, or public policy.
-I come from a white, middle class family.
-I am a hardworking and dedicated student who will do whatever it takes to succeed!!!

2
  1. Stanford University - high reach
  2. Georgetown - low reach
  3. University of Chicago -reach
  4. Johns Hopkins University - low reach
  5. Brandeis University - match
  6. Princeton University - High Reach
  7. Lewis & Clark College - Safety??
  8. University of Oregon - Safety??
  9. Franklin & Marshall College - Saftey??
  10. University of Pennsylvania - High Reach
  11. University of Richmond- Match
  12. University of Virginia- Low reach
3

You have a decent list. I count seven reaches or low reaches, four match-range schools, and one likely safety (your flagship, Oregon).

The test score is a bit low for the reaches probably – if you can swing it, you might consider taking the SAT again and shooting for maybe a 1470 or better. If you retake the ACT, you’re looking for a 32-33 or better.

4

Consider what kind of weather you want, that could be a deciding factor cuz you will live there for 4 years, you’re not just casually visiting. Don’t wanna be mean, but maybe take Stanford, Princeton UChicago and UPenn off your list because while scores isn’t a determining factor, you don’t have much to make up for it (unless you can justly explain your scores). UR is super small and UVA is super big… I don’t think you should apply to both. You either prefer a small homey campus or a huge opportunistic campus, or a medium sized.
Also, I think you should consider city vs suburb, which also narrows your options.