So in previous years I’ve been a top student until this year (of course, the most important, junior year) as now I am more than likely to end up with a few Bs. I’m not expecting super high SAT scores (got a 1250 on the new PSAT) and although I am ranked in the top 10% I am no longer in the top 10. Am now contemplating over which colleges I want to apply to and now the super high reaches that I had initially included in my list seem even more out of my league, especially as I see kids with similar stats to me or higher in my school getting rejected. Is it still worth applying to a lot of top 20 schools if your stats are not at the top?
Don’t take a school you love off your list just because you don’t expect to get in. If you don’t apply you have a 0% chance of being accepted. If you apply then at least your chances are greater than 0. Many students, myself included, almost choose not to apply (or don’t apply!) to certain schools because they seem so unobtainable. My parents forced me to go through with my app even though I was sure I’d be rejected and I’m glad every day I decided to apply (and attend!) the school I very nearly didn’t apply for.
With that said, make sure to have enough realistic choices on your list (safeties and matches). Applying to too many high reaches that you don’t love for anything more than their prestige is a waste of time and money. But if a school is a reach that you love and can afford then an application is worth doing.
The all-important junior year also coincides with a higher degree of difficulty in the schoolwork, esp if you are now taking AP/advanced level classes!
@Lagging’s advice is good- apply to a range of schools that you could see yourself actually attending, and don’t get stuck on having the ‘famous name’ on the window decal on the car.
There are a lot of ‘if you like this college, you might like these other colleges’ sections on the various college sites, which are a good place to start. Think about what you like about a specific ‘top’ college and look for those elements at other colleges with higher acceptance rates (for example, type of campus environment, strong in a certain field, curriculum structure). Pushing yourself to think (hard and honestly) about what it is that you like about a particular college is useful anyway.
Make sure you have safeties to which you will definitely be accepted, can afford, and would be Happy to attend. After that apply away. Do check the Net Price Calculators on each school’s web site and have the money talk with your parents.
Be honest with yourself and include a good range of schools that you would be happy to attend on your list including some reaches, matches, and safetys. And as noted above. be sure you have affordable options in each category.
Thanks for the great advice everyone! Will definitely keep this in mind when applying.
Colleges in the statistical top twenty (e.g., the borderline Swarthmore) have 25th percentile SAT scores of at least 1350 and average scores of at least 1450. Should these schools appeal to you, you should regard them realistically. Your chances of admission to them, without meaningful accentuating factors, could well be zero.
I’d say apply to 10-12 colleges. The two most important things are:
- Make sure you can afford them.
- Make sure you'd be happy going to any of them.
I know loads of people that apply to safeties but have no intention of actually attending the school. This is not only a waste of ~$80, it also hurts the chances of someone that would actually attend the college.
Try to keep at least a couple of schools that you should get into. College admissions are always a crap shot, but look at the odds. Don’t take your dream school off your list, just because you think your chances are low. For any top school, 99% of applicants have abysmally low chances of getting accepted, but you don’t want to go into college with the regret of not having applied.
Then again, do your research, visit campuses if you can, talk to alumni and current students (you can find plenty on CC), and brace yourself for any outcome.
Also, make a POINT of visiting schools that you have a realistic chance of getting into (and can afford). You may be surprised at how much you like some of them, and if you do like them, make sure your interest is expressed clearly and specifically. Those are your true safeties. Some of the less selective but still excellent schools offer merit and early action. You will sleep so much better at night with one or two of those under your belt.
I’m always a bit baffled by kids who want to attend their reachiest reach school - invariably something “Ivy” or “in the top 20.” Why? Do they enjoy being at the bottom of the class academically? Someone has to be in the bottom 25% of any school’s incoming class - but why would you want it to be you? Think hard about attending a school where you are either comfortably in the middle of the pack academically (with a chance to shine in your area) or in the top quarter where you can be a star if you put in the work. (This is especially the case for pre-meds who desperately need that 3.7+ GPA and stellar rec letters for the committee letter). It might be nice to tell strangers that you go to ‘Shiny Brand Name U,’ but when you have to live it every day, and especially if you are the kind of person who thrives on positive attention from faculty, you may actually be doing yourself a disservice. Just some food for thought here.
@N’sMom Every student applying to college, and each parent, should have to read your post over and over again until it is truly understood. Malcolm Gladwell talks about this subject in “David and Goliath” and refers to a elite university’s policy of admissions called “the happy bottom quarter” in which it admits students that have other talents (often athletics) so it might not be as much of a blow to the ego to be in that bottom quarter. As you said, somebody’s got to be there!
For further perspective, all schools within the statistical top 100 nationally have median SAT scores of 1300 or higher.
@merc81 Just to clarify, are you referring to the old SAT grading scale? When I took the old SAT in October I got a 2010, which I can’t complain about but I know it isn’t super competitive. My 1250 was on the newly released PSAT which goes accords with the revised SAT model out of 1500 points. I get the gist of what you’re saying though.
@N’s Mom this is some very insightful advice! Thanks for providing your perspective.
@arod500: The old scale (but CR+M only), from which the new scale will not be likely to be that different. A predicted score range for you – based on your previous testing – on either the new (out of 1600) or old (CR+M) scale may be 1330-1370. You can research your possible college choices with this as a rough guideline. When your actual new scores come in, then your options can be evaluated once again.