Northwestern is never a match. This year kids in the top 1% with 2350 SAT scores were rejected. It’s “easier” to get in ED. Lehigh places a tremendous amount of emphasis on demonstrated interest and unless you live on the opposite coast ( or almost), they expect you to visit. They also expect you to attend the “Lehigh in your area” events. It does not matter how amazing you are; if you do not show interest you will not get in. It is very difficult to get merit money from Wake Forest.
Read the rules on EA/ED and SCEA carefully. For instance @ClassicRockerDad recommended applying EA to Gtown and SCEA to Yale or Princeton. That is not allowed. From Yale’s web site:
Princeton is essentially the same:
Sorry for being confusing. I didn’t meant to imply that you could apply to other EA schools in addition to SCEA.
What I said was, the point of not applying SCEA to Yale or Princeton was to be able to apply EA to multiple schools.
I meant that if the OP’s son was going to only apply EA to Georgetown, i.e. only one school, than he might as well apply SCEA to Y or P instead.
I don’t think the probability of getting in EA to Georgetown is sufficiently higher than getting into Y or P to be worth forgoing the SCEA option to either Y or P.
However, applying to multiple schools EA, including Tulane, is a game changer. There will very likely be positive results that inform the rest of the application process and eliminate applications or the need for a safety.
Although UNC-Chapel Hill is much more difficult for out-of-state students, I would think your son would have a “likely admit” there.
@ClassicRockerDad, what year did your D1 apply?
The current president has really put his stamp on Northwestern’s admission philosophy and he wants to fill NU with kids who want NU more than anywhere else. So these days, if you’re super-high stats and don’t mess up your application (like talk about your passion for a major that NU doesn’t offer), you may well be a match for NU during ED, but definitely not during RD any more unless you have a strong hook.
Also, McGill (like all Canadian unis) is entirely stats-based and so should make for a good safety. Second the suggestion of UW-Madison as a good (likely) safety as well. Among publics in the McGill/UW-Madison/UCLA/UNC/UT-Austin/W&M/Edinburgh/St. Andrews tier, if you are OOS for those schools, likely only McGill & UW-Madison and the Scottish unis are likely safeties these days because the others are tough to get in to if you are OOS (though may be matches). Of those, only St. Andrews fits your size criteria (McGill, UW-Madison, Edinburgh, and Glasgow range from big to huge).
If you don’t mind travelling across the pond and the higher concentration in your major subject (probably something like 60%-80% of your courses will be in your major subject at a Scottish uni vs. 30%-50% at an American uni), that may be a good option.
D1 applied to colleges in 2009.
@ClassicRockerDad, OK, back when NU had an overall acceptance rate of 27%. These days, the RD acceptance rate is slightly above 10% (ED acceptance rate is above 30%). Also the year that Morty Schapiro started his tenure at NU. He really started putting his mark on the admissions philosophy a couple of years later.
@ClassicRockerDad my apologies. I misread your post. My warning still stands for the OP who seems to be new to the college application world.
EA at Georgetown gives very little lift. Also, be aware that SFS is a separate application from the College, and acceptance rates notably lower. Would be surprised if he didn’t get the College.
I think a lot more people would be much happier just taking the “ivy” league schools off their lists all together. do they really offer more than some sort of validation? that said most people who strongly desire the ivy for what ever reason, should understand that it is a virtually a shot in the dark getting in. I think Carngoie Mellon is the best of the “elite” schools and not just in computer/engineering. also rice university is awesome too.
The OP was asking for schools with around 5000 undegraduates. So many of these recommendations are for schools way larger than that.
Be sure that your son shows interest in Tulane if he applies there. I’ve seen kids with stats similar to your son’s get wait listed.
Well, the OP did throw in the idea of McGill, which is huge.
In any case, in terms of schools that fit the size criteria, sure, W&M, Wake, and Emory should be matches (he may even get a big scholarship from Emory). Richmond is also a good idea that would be a low match/safety.
St. Andrews is almost certain to be a safety.