Is my List Realistic?

humbugs
Mon, 15 Sep 2014 22:49:47 +0000

I would like to major in biomedical engineering and possibly minor in economics. Here is my college list:

Stanford
WUSTL
Texas A&M
Rice
Tulane
University of Alabama
Vanderbilt
University of Chicago
Duke University
University of Pittsburgh
Carnegie Mellon
Princeton
Johns Hopkins
Columbia
Harvard

How realistic is my list? Do I need to cut down on the more selective universities and add more safeties? University of Alabama would give me a full ride, so I don’t know if I need to seek out more safeties. Which of these universities are the most generous with need based financial aid? My parents say that they are willing to pay a maximum of 15k/yr, not counting my contribution. Tulane and Rice offer good merit scholarships, as well as Washington University.

I live in Alabama, have an SAT score of 2280 (first time taking it, will retest in oct aiming for 2350+). My GPA is 4.65 and I am in the top 4% of my class. I have taken 5 APs, and I have received 5’s on all but one (I got a four on macroeconomics). I am taking an additional 5 AP’s my senior year.