Is my college list viable?

chrysalism
Sat, 15 Sep 2018 19:17:50 +0000

I’m a current HS sophomore, and while I know I still have a decent amount of time before I apply, I’ve compiled a tentative college list based on research and infosessions/school tours. Just wanted to get some second opinions before I fully commit to this list.

Am I classifying all of these schools correctly? Is the composition of my list OK (should I have more matches and safeties relative to my number of reaches)? What are some other possible matches/safeties that I would be interested in? (As for the third question, I’m interested in schools that are either urban or within 30 mins of a major city, not on the West Coast, and not in-state except for possibly UMiami. A history of providing decent merit aid would be a nice plus, but not necessary.)

Stats:
White female from FL
Can pay in full (will not be requesting financial aid)
School doesn’t rank
GPA: 4.0 UW/4.7 W (am taking the most rigorous courseload available – will have 13ish APs by end of senior year)
ACT: 36C (36R, 34M, 36E, 36S, 11W) (in one sitting)
SAT: Will take this year, but am expecting a 1560+ (because a) the ACT score and b) received a 1500 on PSAT last year)
SAT Subject Tests: 800 on Math II, am expecting a 780-800 on Biology
EC’s: Not going to go super in depth as my list will obviously look more impressive two years from now, but suffice it to say, they’re good enough to make me decently competitive at the Ivy level. Multiple leadership positions, student government, awards in several competitions centered around bio and math, run my own tutoring business, serve on the board of the local chapter of a nationwide charity, 100+ volunteer hours (will have 300+ by senior year), et cetera.
No hooks except that the ACT score was from eighth grade, if that even counts for anything
Planning to dual major in biomedical engineering and mathematics + minor in Chinese

List:

High reaches:
Harvard
MIT
Princeton
Columbia
UChicago (yes, I know they don’t have an engineering dept.)

Less high reaches:
Duke
Vanderbilt

Matches:
Johns Hopkins
Carnegie Mellon
Rice
WashU
Georgia Tech

Safeties:
Northeastern
University of Florida
University of Alabama

Thanks so much in advance!