Match me junior average STEM kid [IL resident, 4.0 UW, 1460 SAT, <$50K]

Chance Me / Match Me
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Demographics

Note: I am currently a junior.

  • US domestic (US citizen)
  • State/Location of residency: Illinois, Chicago suburbs
  • Type of high school: large public
  • Other special factors: (first generation to college, legacy, recruitable athlete, etc.): none, first gen in America but not first gen to college

Cost Constraints / Budget
None, just depends on whether parents are willing to pay, would like the max to be 50k/yr

Intended Major(s): applied math, physics, journalism, envirosci, something that’s interdisciplinary

GPA, Rank, and Test Scores: 4.0/4.0, 4.56/5.00, no rank, test scores are pretty mid (1460 SAT) even though I thought I could do better because in freshman and sophomore year I got perfect PSATs. In hindsight, I was overconfident. I’m taking the ACT to get better test scores.

List your HS coursework

  • English: accelerated english frosh/soph, AP language junior year, will take AP lit next year
  • Math: geometry, precalculus, AP Calc bc, AP stats, taking multivar and Lin alg senior year + a math modeling class which I am really excited about
  • Science: chemistry, AP physics 1, and (currently) AP physics c mechanics and e&m, will take AP bio next year
  • History and social studies: world history, AP U.S. history
  • Language other than English: 3 years of language. I don’t want to say which one (might be too revealing)
  • Visual or performing arts: orchestra for 2 years, quit junior year because lack of space on schedule, will rejoin senior year
  • Other academic courses: none

Awards
None other than NHS, some regional journalism awards (also published in Best of SNO), silver presidential volunteer service award

Extracurriculars
(Include leadership, summer activities, competitions, volunteering, and work experience)

A board member for physics club @ my school

attended cool university/research laboratory outreach programs like lectures (physics-based lectures)

orchestra ensemble outside of school (weekly rehearsals, chamber music)

independent chamber music performance (performing @ new years’ events, senior centers, Sunday school events, community events)

Will have been in my school’s newspaper for 3 years come senior year (no leadership unfortunately, but I love reading journalism)

Taught American culture abroad in a foreign language school (in the country my parents are from) for a few weeks and this honestly was quite a surprising experience because many of my middle school students had such unfounded generalizations of America (I guess this is what happens bc of social media) and generally had no concept of ‘being an American but also connected to one’s heritage/ethnicity’ (although this is to be expected cuz they’ve never experienced that)

I was a private tutor for one year. I mentored an 8th grader (who became a freshman) in English and created my own lesson plans and each session was 1hr30min.

Varsity tennis. Also track but I just did it for waiving my P.E. class hehe don’t come for me

Pretty minor, but I am a teacher’s assistant for a math class on the weekends.

Also Boy Scouts but this is just for fun

Essays/LORs/Other
(Optionally, guess how strong these are and include any other relevant information or circumstances.)
None yet, but I’m probably going to get one from my physics teacher. I look up to my current math teacher a lot but he doesn’t seem willing to write my letter of rec (he went on a rant about having to write LORs when the student just sat in class and got a good grade). Tbh, fair. I’m much more vocal in my physics class though.
Maybe my history teacher as well. I’ve emailed him a couple times about topics I find interesting. I’m being a coward, I know
I’m too awkward when talking to teachers in person oops
I have a feeling my LORS will be pretty generic.

Schools
(List of colleges by your initial chance estimate; designate if applying ED/EA/RD; if unsure, leave them unclassified)

These are schools that I’m eyeing right now

  • Assured (100% chance of admission and affordability):
  • Extremely Likely: idk!
  • Likely: state school (my school’s kinda a feeder)
  • Toss-up: case western, rose hulman
  • Lower Probability: northwestern
  • Low Probability: probably my dream schools: Stanford,Harvey mudd, and Yale

What I need recommendations for: target and safety schools! I need to build a robust list of these schools instead of saturating my college list with reaches lol

I also need recommendations for where I can get a good liberal arts education because I want to take fun, interesting classes. I saw “physics in the 20th century” and “the city in film” and “thermodynamics and climate change” courses on mit ocw and these look realllyyyy fun and I want to pursue an education like that in college especially since I am privileged with the means to afford these funny ahh weird classes that aren’t career-applicable (though this might not be the best approach; what do you guys think?)

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So you need to dig deeper

If your budget is max $50k - you need to have your parents run the net price calculator at all of these - as they all cost significantly above (nearly double)and most have only need aid.

If you qualify for no aid and can pay $50k instead of $95k, no reason to have them.

If you have no need, CWRU and RHIT are possible with merit. Possible but not assured.

You will get into RHIT so it’s an admission safety (but not a financial safety).

So look at lower tier LACs that give lots of merit or other schools whose full price is $50k or less like UIUC, Illinois State, Southern Illinois.

Schools like Missouri Science and Tech or Michigan Tech could be of interest. Or you can go South to UAH for $20k a year.

But instead of Harvey Mudd, think Wooster, Allegheny, Kalamazoo type schools and many more. RPI another to look at.

If you run an NPC and find you have need, it will open more.

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No government / civics, economics, or other social studies courses (which may also be high school graduation requirements)? Some colleges like to see 3 or 4 years here.

For the language other than English, is level 3 the highest level completed?

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I am taking government and economics classes in my senior year. I’m also debating whether or not to take constitutional law

Yes, level 3 is the highest.

Also @tsbna44, thanks for your reply, will do the NPC at these colleges. I guess I want to find targets <50k, but my parents have told me that if it’s a “good school” they are willing to pay more than that.i don’t want my parents to pay too much though, so I’ll take a look at aid and adjust my list

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St Olaf would be a match for you and you will likely see merit there. Great school for STEM majors and they have wonderful outcomes.

Purdue would come in under budget. A match for your intended major. If you can get a higher ACT score you would be a contender for honors which is very interdisciplinary.

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To @oneburgundy

Florida, Florida State, UgA, U of SC, Bama, UAH for smaller, the other auto merit schools of the South, and smaller like Tn Tech, UT Chatt would be safeties that would meet cost. Rhodes an LAC that likely meets and is strong in STEM.

W&L might be a great one if have need or win the Johnson Scholarship- they have Journalism too which is unusual for an LAC.

Lots of great schools - large, mid size and small that could beat or crush the budget.

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The University of Missouri is very well respected for journalism. It would be a likely school for you. You can also apply for residency there to get in state tuition after 12 months.

I’m not sure that UIUC is a likely for you. Depends on what major you choose. Math or physics would be a harder admit than journalism or environmental science.

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Depending on how you define target, that could reach as far as my “lower probability” bucket. Below are some schools with strength in your areas of interest. Do not interpret the fact that some of these have longer descriptions and others have none. It reflects my rapidly diminishing levels of energy, and nothing else :slight_smile: .

Extremely Likely (80-99+%)

  • Gustavus Adolphus (MN): About 2k undergrads

  • Indiana U.: About 37k undergrads here with robust offerings throughout the arts & sciences. It’s also got a great journalism program, and though you don’t express any interest in studying music in college, it has a world renowned music school with tons of different ensembles, which I believe you’d be eligible to audition for.

  • Lawrence (WI): About 1400 undergrads and particularly strong physics and music

  • SUNY Geneseo (NY): About 3900 undergrads at New York’s public liberal arts college

  • The College of New Jersey: About 7100 undergrads

Likely (60-79%)

  • Rochester Institute of Technology (NY): About 13k undergrads

  • Southern Methodist (TX): About 7100 undergrads

  • St. Olaf (MN): About 3100 undergrads (and already mentioned)

Toss-Up (40-59%)

  • Binghamton (NY): About 14k undergrads

  • Brandeis (MA): About 3700 undergrads

  • Kenyon (OH): About 2200 undergrads

  • U. of Maryland: About 31k undergrads, strong overall, but especially for math and physics.

  • U. of Rochester: About 6800 undergrads

Lower Probability (20-39%)

  • Oberlin (OH): About 3k undergrads

  • William & Mary (VA): This school will run over budget (it would be about $65k), but your family may decide it has enough cachet that it’s willing to spend the money.

Low Probability (less than 20%)

As far as the schools you’re eyeing, I’d push Rose-Hulman up to a likely, move Case Western to a lower probability, and Northwestern down to a low probability.

And if Rose-Hulman is of interest, then I’d add Rennselaer Polytechnic (RPI) and Worcester Polytechnic (WPI) to the possibilities. I don’t think they have as robust humanities and social sciences as the schools I mentioned above, but WPI certainly has cross-registration opportunities with College of the Holy Clark and Clark, both in the same city.

Anyway, if you could let us know which of people’s suggestions attract or repel (and why) that will help us develop better options for you.

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For this combination of interests, consider colleges with an available major in data science, through which you would combine statistics, computing and an applied domain, such as environmental science.

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