4.0 UW 4.7W 34 ACT (34 in all sections 35 math). Wondering if I should take one more time and try to get 35 in science?
11 AP’s (calc AB, BC and Stats)
4 years Spanish
Class President, exec president, varsity athlete 10-12 grade, meet with newly accepted families, have a job, volunteer coach youth sports, works at a special needs summer camp, summer internship, started my own charity to raise money for special needs children
Strong essays and strong letters of rec
Ideally want some d1 college sports, campus (didn’t like NYU or BU), prefer walkable college town, but not set on that.
Schools I’m thinking about, but doubt I will get in. I need some schools with higher acceptances rates.
Michigan
Wisconsin
Indiana Kelly
Vanderbilt
Duke
Georgetown
Syracuse
Texas
Wake Forest
Northeastern
IU is a safety with your #s if you apply by Nov 1. If you’re happy with it, then you’re good to go with that alone.
Vandy doesn’t have a business major - so doesn’t fit. It has an undergraduate “experience” Nor does Duke (has a finance minor but not sure if others). So unless you want to study econ or something else, I’d replace them.
Gtown - no football…same with NEU. BC and Gtown are Jesuit - is that a concern?
I like your list - Illiniois and UGA are likely. UMD is a target as is Wisconsin and IU is a safety.
If you’re looking to add - it’s really based on what your desires are? But you don’t need to add.
But if interested in international, U of SC can be good - and has a walkable area. A U of Arizona Eller would be excellent as would an Alabama Culverhouse - over 1500 from Illinios go there as they buy kids in.
But given that you have IU, the rest of the list doesn’t really matter - and those you have listed seem a good fit (minus those without football and Vandy/Duke - you can replace with a Cornell and/or Rice for example to stay at the same level. SMU would be a safety but is excellent.
You didn’t mention budget - that might be the other thing to “alter” your list.
I agree your list seems ok. IU Kelley is a safety, if affordable…will it be? If so, and you like that school, you don’t need other safeties (although if you want a choice at the end of the day, then add at least one more.)
I second SMU, would also add TCU, U Dayton, Miami Ohio.
Does your HS use Naviance or Scoir so you can check the scattergrams/help with categorization?
Apply to all the schools that have EA in EA…UMD as mentioned above, but also Mich, Wisc, Texas, Northeastern, UGA.
Do you have any financial constraints? Will you qualify for need based aid? Run the net price calculators at each school to get COA estimates.
How many times have you taken the ACT? If more than 1, I’d stop. If only one, I still don’t think you need to take it again, but if you decide you want to, I wouldn’t be opposed.
This is how I’d classify your current list of schools:
Extremely Likely (80-99+%)
Indiana
Likely (60-79%)
Illinois
Maryland (EA)
Toss-Up (40-59%)
Syracuse – a lot will depend on how much demonstrated interest you show here
UGA
Wisconsin
Lower Probability (20-39%)
Boston College
Wake Forest
Low Probability (less than 20%)
Duke
Georgetown
Michigan – leaning towards lower probability
Northeastern
Vanderbilt
If you’re looking for some additional schools, then I think that U. of Nebraska - Lincoln would be an extremely likely admit and U. of Minnesota - Twin Cities would be a likely admit for you. I think that SMU is a good suggestion from @tsbna44 and @cinnamon1212, too. I’d classify that one as a likely for you.
What budget have your parents provided for you? If your family will need financial aid, has it run the Net Price Calculator at the schools to see if the schools will provide sufficient aid to bring the school within budget?
If you would like a small, prestigious cohort program within a larger D1 school, the Honors Business Academy at UNL might appeal. Great sports, appealing small city that’s walkable from campus. They also have the Raikes School if a Business+CS core would appeal (but you didn’t mention interest in CS, so the straight-business Honors Academy program is probably a better fit). Pretty affordable as a baseline, plus merit opportunities, plus MSEP discount for IL residents. UNL would be a safety but the honors cohort programs wouldn’t be assured admits. https://business.unl.edu/academic-programs/honors-academy/ https://healthieru.unl.edu/walking-biking-routes
For less-reachy options, maybe Michigan State, Miami Ohio?
Are you looking for a big time, big campus school - like UM or IU you listed?
Or a smaller / midsize - which GT or SMU or BC might fill? You note sports - but you won’t have football with GT.
Because IU is an auto admit safety, you can really run your list as you see fit otherwise. You’re a sure fire admit and that makes the rest of your list to be developed in any way that you want.
Any budget limits or desires? Gtown is $90K a year - no merit aid.
IU is $58K minus merit - so $50K ish.
And there are other options of various price points - $20K up to Gtown.
So IU, as the example I showed, might be $160K less - so not chump change.
Where does budget fit in if at all? I assume, but don’t know, that you’re a full pay family. If not, then there could be need aid at GT.
Logically, what you say makes sense. But both of those schools are very interested in their yield. Last year Syracuse rejected a kid with a 4.0 and a 36 or 35 ACT. There are similar stories this year. If Syracuse doesn’t think the kid is genuinely interested, it doesn’t appear to matter what their stats are. And Northeastern really pushes for kids to go ED. If Northeastern was a favorite of OP and decided to ED there, I strongly suspect he’d get an offer of admission. In fact, I’d call it a likely or possibly even an extremely likely. But if he doesn’t go ED, I am not as optimistic for his chances as you are.
I’d agree on your assessment of NEU. I think this student would get a EA acceptance, BUT it probably wouldn’t be to start at the Boston campus. The low acceptance rates at NEU are a little misleading as they don’t include the myriad number of ways they might accept a student.
You might also take a look at Miami University in Oxford, Ohio. It has D-1 athletics, a beautiful campus, and a walkable college town. And it has a good business school, as well.