How about Swarthmore and Haverford? Both are near Philly and are part of a three school consortium. They’re not safeties, but they meet your requirements I think. I’d take a look at the thread for all the schools which meet full need (which are also selective schools and many of them would seem to be a good fit for you) - but try to find a handful that aren’t quite as selective as the schools you have on your list. Along with at least one more true safety (over a 40% acceptance rate).
@WilliamNYC Well me being very self-deprecating and being on College Confidential is definitely not a good mix for me, but just comparing myself to the previous students from my HS that have gone there and the current students there as a dual enrollment person, I see no reason for me to be denied but I am NEVER the person to be 100% confident with anything.
Emory, University of Rochester, Richmond, William and Mary, and Wake Forest would probably all be matches.
@Zion101 Add Northeastern definitely. Maybe BC and NYU. - for a math potential CS major. Your GPA sounds strong.
The problem with the way you described your EC is that you mention athletics with success at the state level. Unless you are a recruited athlete that won’t help you so much.
@Zion101 The reason is the thousands of other qualified applicants applying to the same schools with stats as good as yours. As other posters mentioned, schools with low acceptance rates are really a crapshot.
@LeastComplicated Visited Swarthmore and wasn’t a fan but would consider Haverford though it is a bit on the small side for my preference. Thank you.
I knew I should have applied to UW, but my mom discouraged me so much that I didn’t. If I truly don’t get in anywhere other than my “safeties” (I hate that term, because really the US has so many great schools and we should be more thankful for that instead of relegating them to a lower tier with this label), I think she would be absolutely stunned, so I hope I don’t disappoint her.
My daughter who went to Carleton applied to many schools. Her high school GPA was 4.0 (unweighted), she was a National Merit finalist, she had a 35 ACT, 1580 SAT, and 800 on her SAT subject test, I think. Of the schools on your list, she applied to Yale (rejected), Brown (rejected), Pomona (waitlisted), Dartmouth (waitlisted), and U Chic (accepted but might have been helped by her legacy status; her father and two grandparents received degrees there).
You have a high probability of getting into one, and probably more, of the reachy schools on your list. I think what everyone is saying is that while it’s high, it is certainly not 100%. Make a good plan for the lower probability outcome. Just in case.
@gearmom Thank you for the suggestions and advice. Everything really is “all relative.” I am All-State and a national qualifier (but barely) which is rare for my surroundings, but I have to keep in mind that I’m competing with the whole world really. But also, as a negative person, I shouldn’t diminish my accomplishments either as they are impressive and something to be proud of in their own right. It’s just hard to find the balance between delusion and deprecation for me.
@Zion101 Sorry I know that you are getting flooded. Probably better to apply as a math major than CS which will be impacted (flooded with perfect stat kids). You’re stats are as good as many, many other students. I’m just not sure how competitive your ECs will be. There are kids who have insane lists of ECs including research in their prospective field.
@rosered55 Thank you. That anecdote really resonated with me, and I’ll be sure to keep it in mind when I’m talking to my parents and GC.
@gardenstategal I was starting to feel very negative about myself, but thank you for basically summing up what I should take from this thread. CC can be a great place if used carefully. Thanks to everyone so far
@Zion101 The problem with the athletics is unless you compete for the school the don’t care. It’s what you will be doing for them. Don’t get discouraged. You’re the whole package. You just need the right risk balance. Could you be recruited?
@gearmom I’ve heard at many info sessions that they take your school’s circumstances into account, but with some recent interview questions and the rejection, I’m starting to get the impression that it doesn’t matter as much. Academic competitions and research are simply unheard of at my school. My MIT interviewer was surprised when she moved to a similar school district that no one has heard of the Math Olympiad and such. However, she still asked me about research, so I’m getting the impression that a lot of applicants do indeed have research when it really just isn’t something that exists in the HS culture where I live.
Take a serious look at Vanderbilt. They have the most stats focused admissions process among the top 20 schools. The scattergram for our high school shows clearly delineated lines where people above a certain SAT and GPA are mostly accepted, and those below are mostly rejected.
It is also a fabulous school environment, usually in contention for “happiest students” award. My D was accepted ED elsewhere, but would have happily applied to Vanderbilt during RD if needed.
^I could be recruited at some very very low D1 schools and some D3 schools (Carleton and possibly Pomona I could be recruited for instance), but I’m not entirely sure that I want to continue my sport for the next four years of college so that’s the main issue
If you liked the Twin Cities, Macalester might be a good school. Their computer science department has stats and data science tracks.
@Zion101 What is your state if you can say? If not just the region. Midwest… Geographic diversity could work in your favor. Especially if you are in a disadvantaged place or a place with little opportunity. If you’re typing from Appalachia this becomes a different calculation.
@zion101, our DD’s had similar results to @rosered55. Both had 35 ACT, multiple 750-800 SAT’s, National Merit, AP Scholar with Distinction, 3.9 UW / 4.3 W GPA, good EC’s including Varsity Sports (All County, All League) and Siemens Competition internships, but they are ORM from the NE so they were Deferred, Denied or Waitlisted at every Ivy and every top-10 LAC, except Carleton. That said, they did get into every #10-20 LAC they applied to, so they ended up with great choices.
@gearmom I sent you a PM. I don’t think my state is underrepresented haha.