US Domestic colleges, I am a US citizen (born abroad), live in the Twin Cities in Minnesota, I attend a competitive, public, college prep high school. I am a female and Caucasian. I would like to play tennis at a D2 or D3 school.
My intended major is PreDental (if available) or Biology major. I would like to go to Dental School and become an Orthodontist.
My unweighted GPA is a 3.91, my school does not rank. I received a 33 on my ACT. My weighted GPA is a 4.5 out of 5. I just completed AP Calc BC, took AP Chinese, self study this year, received 8 credit hours of Chinese credit last summer from IU. When I graduate in June 2022, I will have completed 14 AP’s and 4 other Enriched or Advanced classes. I participated in a Global Rotary Project and Girl Scout Gold with a variations of the link between periodontal disease and Alzheimer’s Disease. I hope to get it published. I also shadow a local dentist and will be participating in an online dental program.
I was chosen for our schools Deans List.
I volunteer at an assisted memory living home, I teach tennis lessons for private and groups, various ages from beginners to adults.
My budget is not exact. My parents WOULD love if I would receive merit but they are willing to make things happen.
My college consultant seems to think many colleges are out of my reach or that they are wild card choices due to their high rate of applicants.
I am open to middle to smaller colleges or universities. It can be a Liberal Arts or regular college. I prefer not attending all female colleges. I am going to the East Coast to look at universities this summer. I have looked in Ohio, Iowa, Kentucky and South Carolina (basically looking at schools on any/every family trip 
).
Any college suggestions would be appreciated. My advisor is guiding me towards small, liberal arts schools that on the web looks like average ACT is around 30. I guess I am confused at why data on the internet makes it look as though I can get into more rigorous college options but my advisor seems skiddish. Any help appreciated
Dental schools could care less how prestigious or selective you undergraduate institution is. My recommendation would be that you look in the opposite direction, state schools in your home state (or ones with tuition agreements) or privates where you’re likely to get lots of merit aid. Why? Dental school and Residency are EXPENSIVE. There’s no aid for dental school or residency. Below I linked an article where the author outlines that they will have spent almost $1.2M on their training. DON’T DO IT. Go to a state undergraduate program, a state dental school and then after your residency hope your still not in so much debt that you can live a decent life.
You should have a conversation with the consultant and tell her you are happy to apply to schools that are matches and safeties (and you should be happy for that so if you aren’t, find those matches and safeties) but that you would also like to apply to a few reach schools. Ask her to help you identify which would be good fits.
If you want some bigger schools, speak up!
I know a couple of folks who are college consultants and they live to help students make a good match. Part of their work involves helping students figure out what they are looking for and part is making sure that at the end of the process, applicants are holding acceptances from schools they would be happy to attend. If a student can’t feel happy about matriculation at xyz unless they know Stanford is off the table, she will help them put together a great application for Stanford even if she is 99.9% sure Stanford will say no.
It’s possible your consultant doesn’t know what you would like and that’s on you to address. Go for it!
Sewanee? U Wi-Whitewater (instate tuition reciprocity)? Augustana College?
My mother recommended Sewanee, she’s from the South.
How do you determine what is a reach? I guess, that is my question. I have been told that Lehigh would be a reach, Tufts a wild card and College of Wooster a safety. My schools Naviance and my advisors classifications of Safety, Reach and Target schools don’t match. Which would guide me better?
I agree. My mother always mentions that people only know where your last degree came from. I do look at schools that give merit and accept AP credits. Our flagship state school is too large for me. Some of the reciprocity states that I could apply to would be colder than MN. I love seasons but we have reciprocity with WI, ND, SD and a Canadian Providence. I think I would like a bit shorter and warmer winters. A least a bit
It’s very unlikely that you’ll get money at a reach school, so why the fascination?
I’m an optometrist who went to a random state school, then a very good state optometry and finally one of the best hospital based residencies in the nation. I’m FAR (I mean many fold) more successful than my friend who went to Dartmouth.
Several of my friends are physicians. Two in the same specialty used to practice together, one an Ivy grad, one a random Midwest state school. The state school friend makes more money.
Again, I cannot emphasize this enough…don’t go to a spendy school!
For healthcare, no one even knows your last school. No one cares. Assumed competency is conferred by the degree. No clue where my son’s orthodontist went to dental school. No clue where my Internist went to school.
And, like a dope, I didn’t link that article! 
Thank you. My mom says the same thing.
I think that for you – with a good application, Wooster would be pretty safe, Lehigh has decent odds of success, and Tufts would not be a waste of your time.
It’s always hard to guess without the whole app in hand, but your stats are strong enough that none of those high academic schools would be throw away apps.
I also didn’t ask above if you had asked your consultant about her strategy. Is it possible she is concerned about you keeping a high GPA for dental school as well as some money for it so is targeting schools that may cost less and where you can excel?
I agree. I think her caution is due to me stating that I did not want to go to a pressure cooker college. I’ve been very studious and diligent with my studies, I would like to enjoy the next phase of my life a bit more.
Respectfully, Tufts is a waste of time. I loved Tufts. Students seem happy. The location is nice and the campus is quaint. The give NO merit aid. Tufts current COA is $81,000. That’s $324,000 for an undergraduate degree, with far in excess of half a million waiting for the OP. Unless you can demonstrate massive financial need, give Tufts a hard pass.
You have to do well no matter where you go. Just look for schools known for their collaborative environments.
Reach schools where you would be full-pay don’t seem to make any sense in this scenario. There are D3 schools where you could get great merit money and a great education, and come out with a stellar transcript with which to apply to dental schools.
CWRU could be one reach school to consider. They do offer some merit aid, and they have D3 women’s tennis… and they have an accelerated 7-year dental program; tough to get into, but if you’re going to make a “wild card” application, better that than a super-elite university that’s guaranteed not to be affordable. Even if you couldn’t crack the early-admission program (or didn’t want to because you want the full four years of undergrad), it’s possible that the tennis hook could increase your chances of acceptance and merit at Case, and it would be a phenomenal place to get involved in dental-related research as an undergrad. Basically all the virtues of Tufts, but with at least some chance of merit money.
(Wooster also participates in the Pre-Professional Scholars Program with CWRU.)
For the most part, in your situation, I’d go down the whole list of D3 tennis schools and sort for merit potential as well as desirability in terms of other factors that are important to you. Complete List of Division 3 Women’s Tennis College
Allegheny, Denison, Sewanee, Centre, Clark, Wooster, Grinnell, Juniata, Kenyon, Rhodes… tons of great possibilities for strong academics and merit aid combined with D3 tennis. The tricky part is reconciling D3 recruiting with merit hunting. I know students who committed to a team and school, thinking they’d be likely to get merit, and then ended up full-pay; you don’t want to be in that position.
Also D2 schools - most aren’t what you are looking for academically, but there are a few, notably Eckerd, which takes the beautiful weather parameter to an extreme but is also very good academically and offers merit as well. Nova Southeastern, also in Florida, has both 7-year and 8-year early-assurance dental programs in addition to DII tennis. And Truman State - Missouri’s Honors LAC - would be a perfect financial safety for you. 5000 undergrads, DII tennis, excellent academics and pre-health advising, and incredibly affordable: you’d get the MSEP reciprocity discount and automatic academic merit, bringing the yearly price down below $20K/year - and that’s before you even consider possible athletic money. Incredible bargain for a great undergrad education and student quality of life - bigger than the LAC’s you think are too small, but still small classes and individual attention. Deserves a close look. Outcomes - Success After Truman State University
Just speaking in general, be wary of the chance calculators online. They’re a helpful starting point but they lack context. Besides, the schools where you could just barely get in are the ones that will cost $300,000 that you really shouldn’t be spending on undergrad.
Is that a deal breaker? Your State Flagship UMN Twin Cities is an excellent option if you would consider a D1 school
MN-Morris is DIII and a high-quality and very affordable public LAC, and it leaves the possibility of internal transfer to Twin Cities open. (But Truman State is larger and less cold.)
I like LOTS of schools on your list, but want to chime in regarding Truman State. One of my best friends children both went to Truman even though they both had stats to be competitive, both athletically and academically almost anywhere they wanted to go. One is now a very successful healthcare provider and the other, free Wash U MBA in hand, is now a successful executive. Great suggestion!
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I guess I am confused at why data on the internet makes it look as though I can get into more rigorous college options but my advisor seems skiddish.
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My comment about Tufts was in response to this. I agree with her consultant that this would be wildly random but it is possible that she’d be admitted. Whether it makes sense financially, especially in the context of long-term plans, is a different matter.
Let’s separate out where you could get in vs. where you should go.
I disagree with your advisor. I think places like at Case Western and Brandeis would be matches. Tufts and Rochester are probably reaches.
Now as to where you should go. Aside from the tennis situation, which I know nothing about, it seems that University of Minnesota would be ideal. It is both respected and cheap, and cheap undergrad is very good when paying for dental school. Sure, your grades and test scores will be well above median, but A) You will find plenty of smart peers if you look for them, and B) You want a place where you can earn the high grades you need for dental school acceptance.
If you want dental school, you should keep your undergrad cost as low as possible. I don’t care if U MN has a billion students - you HAVE to put in an application there. It’s a good school, and it’s your academic and FINANCIAL safety. I would also urge you to consider schools that are reputed to offer high merit money to strong applicants. Think state schools in the south and southwest.
Unless your family has money to burn, don’t even think of going to a school that offers no merit money. As a dentist, no one will care at all about where you went to college.