<p>I am from a tiny town in Texas and am attending an equally humble school. I’m planning to major in neuroscience with a possible minor in philosophy. I have narrowed down my list of colleges to ten but can only apply for and visit five this summer due to a lack of funds, so I’m faced with the daunting task of compiling yet a shorter list. I would of course like to apply to all my top five schools but they’re very selective and I’m afraid of a complete rejection. On the other hand, I’m afraid of settling for my second choice school without knowing whether I could have been accepted into a first choice. What would you do?</p>
<p>COLLEGES(more or less in order of preference)
1)Brown
2)MIT
3)Washington University in St. Louis
4)Johns Hopkins
5)University of Pennsylvania
6)Dartmouth
7)Columbia
8)Oberlin
9)Northwestern
10)Colgate</p>
<p>ACADEMICS</p>
<p>-GPA: over 4.0 (I can post the exact amount if you think it makes a difference)
-Class rank: definitely in the top 5, more than likely in the top 3
-SAT Reasoning:
Critical Reading 720<br>
Math 670<br>
Writing 740
Total 2130
I’m planning to take the test again to raise my math score. If the other two scores lower but my math rises, can I send to colleges my math scores from the second test and the reading and writing scores from the first, or are the three scores packaged together?
-SAT subject tests: haven’t taken yet, but plan to make at least 700s
-I have taken as many AP and honors courses as allowed.</p>
<p>ACTIVITIES/WORK</p>
<p>-Art Club, 2 years
-Future Educators of America, 2 years
-I’m working at Burger King 35 hours/week this summer.
-I’ll work at an elementary library for a co-op program throughout my senior year.</p>
<p>Feel free to let me know if I’m leaving out vital information.
Thanks!</p>
<p>-You can’t send the two sets of SAT I separately - but some schools do superscore (take your highest section score from diff sessions) while others don’t (the UC system comes to mind).
-Have you taken AP exams? You say you’ve taken as many AP courses as available - what are they?
-I’m just curious: You’re from rural Texas but you want to go to LACs/NE schools? What made you decide on this?
-I do agree that your list is a bit top-heavy: Would you be happier attending your other choices?
-I surmised you wanted NE schools, so I might suggest Macalester, Colby, Connecticut College, Lafayette, Brandeis, Wellesley (are you female?) [all of them offer neuroscience majors]</p>
<p>-I’ve taken U.S. History AP, Biology AP, and frankly I’m not sure what else; if a class wasn’t AP, it was either honors or unavailable to take as honors. I haven’t taken any AP exams. Is that something colleges take into account for admissions?
-I actually didn’t take location into account when compiling that list. The best neuroscience schools just happen to all be located in the North East. Though I’m not complaining at all; rural Texas feels dead to me right now.
-I would be happiest attending the school that can give me the best neuroscientific and philosophical education possible, regardless of all other factors. Seriously, I created my list with that one factor in mind. The closer to the top, theoretically, the happier I will be. But judging by the list of alternatives you suggested it seems you think I do not have a chance at being accepted into my top schools. Or maybe you posted them because you think that their neuroscience programs are better than some on my list?(wishful thinking on my part, surely)
-I am female.</p>
<p>-Well, why not take the APs - you might get advanced placement credit. And a good AP score will affirm your abilities.
-I posted them because it seems your top 5 choices are pretty selective schools, and I wanted to suggest some choices to widen your scope. Getting into UPenn, Dartmouth, JHU, Brown and MIT aren’t a sure shot by any means.
-Wellesley is a female LAC.
-PS. Those schools you chose seem largely liberal - Brown especially. I don’t know about your political leanings, but it might be muchly different in NY compared to red-Texas.</p>
<p>-How would you compare the schools you listed to the bottom four on my list in terms of academics and my chances of getting accepted?
-So the liberalism of the east isn’t a myth!? That’s fantastic news! I’ve been dying to get out of conservative Texas for years now.</p>
<p>Topaz, if you haven’t taken any math or science APs or college level classes in those areas, I would eliminate MIT.</p>
<p>The problem I see is that every school on your list right now is a reach. Do you have safeties you’re just not including? Do safeties need to be among the 5 you apply to?</p>
<p>Oberlin, Colgate, Hopkins would be 3 from the list and then add one of the high reaches. Others could tell you better if Mich OOS is a match or safety, but you need 1 hands down safety.</p>
Depending on your financial situation, you may be able to get fee waivers for the applications. Look into that. You might be able to apply to more schools for free or for a reduced amount. I know there are also a few schools that waive the application fee if you apply online, although I don’t know if any of them are on your list. But definetely find out if you can get the application fee waived or reduced. That way you wouldn’t have to limit your list as much if you didn’t want to.</p>
<ol>
<li>Every person should apply to at least one sure-fire, this-college-would-have-to-be-INSANE-not-to-accept-me-because-my-stats-are-SO-high-above-their-average school. When I say that I don’t mean a school like Colgate where you think that you <em>should</em> be able get in. You need a dead certain one–which often means a state university. I don’t know that much about University of Michigan–but make sure that you’ll be able to get in if you apply there–that your stats are well above average for out-of-staters. Not in-state. You could also try talking to some admissions councelors and see what they think your chances are.</li>
</ol>
<p>You sound like a very intelligent and hardworking person, but everything is just so competitive these days that it’s possible you could be rejected or waitlisted by all five schools you apply to if they are just ones on that list. I’m just being cautionary–it’s better to have a sure-fire safety on your list than finding out that you don’t get in anywhere (I doubt that would happen, but it’s possible).</p>
<p>Good luck (and I’m sorry my post is so long-winded!).</p>
<p>I found a site which lists colleges with free applications:
[Free</a> College Applications](<a href=“http://www.porcelina.net/freeapps/general.html]Free”>Free College Applications)
Colgate, Wellesley, Colby, and Hamilton are all on there, along with a ton of others that wouldn’t hurt to apply to. My perfect safety is on there somewhere…</p>
<p>It seems to me that you are but a master of academia. Apart from that, you do not shine in any way. Your EC’s lack greatly and you do not show any passion in a partivular activity.</p>
<p>Yeah, I only realized recently how important ECs are. I’m going to start a neuroscience club if my school will let me, and I’m trying to find other ways I can prove my passion for neuroscience, but that’s really hard to do when you’re broke and live in a small town with limited resources. I could use some suggestions.</p>
<p>Your ECs are weak (and starting a neuroscience club your senior year probably won’t help) so I would pick one or two of the Ivies to apply to, UT Austin, University of Michigan (applying OOS with your figures you will get in, trust me), Colgate, Oberlin, and WUSTL or JH.
Leave out MIT, because they are looking for a different type of applicant.</p>
<p>I would suggest you eliminate MIT and add Smith and Wellesley. As a female, you can apply to the two best female schools in the country and drop 50% of the competition to be admitted. They both offer good science and phillosphy options. Wellesley isn’t too far from MIT and Harvard. Smith is in the 5 college consortium with Amherst and UMass Amherst. My D was accepted to both and really hated turning them down. You can get an early read at Wellesley.</p>
<p>I would suggest adding 1 or more safeties/low matches to the list. Even though you have good qualifications, i think your list is very top-heavy.</p>