How does my list of prospective colleges look?

College Search & Lists
1

I’m a rising junior and recently a lot of people have been asking me where I intend to apply for college. I have an off-the-cuff list of schools based off of what I’ve heard/read, some campuses I’ve already visited, etc. I just wanted to know if this sounds like a reasonable list of colleges to apply to (although I definitely won’t be making any final decisions until next year.)

Columbia
Cornell
Dartmouth
American
BU
Howard
SUNY Oneota
SUNY Binghamton
Rutgers
Rowan

I have a solid 95 average for sophomore year and scored a 1250/1600 on the PSAT.

2

What will you be majoring in and how much can your family afford to pay for college? Also which state do you live in?

3

The average SAT score for Columbia is 1485, that for another school on your list, 1085. In a statistical sense, your list may be too heterogeneous to have meaningfully identified your best places to apply.

4

I assume you are looking for certain factors that make the list less"heterogeneous" on dimensions beside scores. It is probably too early, and you’ve provided too little information, to seriously consider whether your list makes sense for you. Focusing on school and being involved in activities you view as meaningful will be important for you as you move forward.

5

I know that the list is heterogenous, but I basically just threw together my reaches and targets (can’t really consider any of these safeties except for maybe Rowan) without ranking them, so it’s kind of all over the place. Again, this list is off the cuff.

I’m not sure if I want to pursue Music Entrepreneurship or Political Science (both of which I’ve mentioned in earlier threads.)

I live in the New York City area.

I won’t be able to pay much for college- maybe <$10,000 per year after grants and scholarships.

6

@missacademy2018 : As @lostaccount rightfully pointed out, I may have focused too much on scores in my intitial post. The key for you will be to find a dozen or so schools that meet most of your criteria (as you identify it). Your 95 is sharp and will help you gain acceptance to some excellent options. Your testing should be considered preliminary, and may eventually also be to your advantage at many schools. For now, I’d suggest you continue your research. You may ultimately find a fit at an excellent college (and tough admit) like Bates, but you may need to learn about schools of this type first.