Hey,
I’m a current high school junior who has been on a whole host of college tours (we’re in the twenties now…) and I’m starting to seriously hone in on a much smaller list of potential schools to tour (massive state schools aren’t for me).
Anyway, I’m a strong student and thus far I’ve liked Vanderbilt and Georgetown the most, as well as Tufts and Brown (although these are less realistic as far as being accepted) so I’m looking for some schools that are similar to these in their characteristics, but a much easier acceptance.
All suggestions would be greatly appreciated.
-WJ
Each of these schools have distinctive qualities while sharing some things in common. What characteristics are you most looking for?
Similar to Vanderbilt/Georgetown in what respects? Size? Urban setting? Eastern location? Something about the campus atmosphere or curriculum?
You might want to look at Villanova and Fordham. Or maybe the University of Richmond, or Loyola University Maryland.
@inthegarden @tk21769 Similar to Vanderbilt/Georgetown in their size, the presence of grad students while maintaining a strong focus on undergrad education, their type of closed campus in/near/around a larger city and still having the typical collegiate feel (unlike BU or NYU).
Also they are somewhat smaller schools with school-wide support for athletics (other schools that have this in my opinion are Northwestern and Stanford)
As far as academics go: strong ones (this is the most important thing for me) but also the ability to explore a wide variety of majors which is present in both the aforementioned schools.
-WJ
University of Rochester, University of Pittsburgh, Case Western, American University? Rhodes? Maybe not true safeties, but strong schools spanning the “safer match” boundary?
No schools similar to Vandy/Georgetwon are safeties for anyone pretty much by defintion. But @inthegarden lists good match schools.
Other possibilities, in addition to those mentioned above:
Tulane
University of Denver
Syracuse
These too are selective and expensive enough that they might be more in “target” than safety territory, depending on your qualifications and financial needs. For true admission & financial safeties, many students do consider in-state public schools.
Marquette, Loyola Baltimore, some of the Philly schools like St. Joseph or Villanova. Yep,the schools in a city of about 8000 students are Catholic schools.
We don’t know what 20 schools you’ve looked at.
I’d go through the list of Jesuit colleges (most of which meet that description) and find ones that are good academic/geographic matches – offhand I think Fordham may be a great option. http://www.ajcunet.edu/institutions/ Some other ideas might be URochester, Villanova, URichmond, American, and Tulane.
As someone who applied to both and ended up at SMU may add that to a list to research.
I am wondering about your stats and your finances. What is a safety to one person might be totally beyond reach for a different person in both dimensions (getting in, and affording to go there).
Also, what state are you from? Do you already have a couple of safeties on your list?
Fortunately as a Junior you still have some time to sort this out (there have been some “where should I apply” posts from seniors who of course right now are in a totally different time frame than you are).
@DadTwoGirls My family does not qualify for need-based aid as far as finances go…
I’m from California but willing to go anywhere (UCLA is the only in-state school that I’m considering but I’m not a huge fan of the 40k total enrollment)
My stats are pretty good and I go to a nationally ranked prep school: UW is 3.63, W is 4.01, I’ll get my SAT score back in two weeks but my practice SAT test was 1540.
Current “safer” schools on my list are Wake Forest, University of Rochester
Only true “safety” is George Washington even though it doesn’t exactly meet my usual criteria
Basically, I need some more schools that are a little safer… Vanderbilt and Georgetown are by no means sure acceptances
I second rochester and BC, fordham could also be a good fit as a safety
I would also check out oxford college… it feeds into emory after 2yrs but is an easier acceptance
I read that you weren’t a fan of larger state schools, but are you opposed to the idea of an honors college within a larger school? That’d also be something you could look at
Definitely look into SMU.
Wake, BC, Tulane, Miami, Villanova.
My kid knew lots of kids at Tulane whose dream school was Vandy but didn’t get in.
If Vandy ends up being a top target for you and your folks can handle the finances, strongly consider applying ED.
This poster has an unweighted GPA of 3.63. I don’t think a lot of the schools listed here are a safety with that GPA. Definitely not Wake or BC.
This year’s Freshman Class Profile for Tulane : https://tulanehullabaloo.com/27262/showcase/class-2021-academically-qualified-diverse-class/. You decide whether it’s a safety.
Sewanee is similar to Vanderbilt both culturally and geographically–though it is, of course, a liberal arts college rather than a university.
I would say that the OP has the sat score (if it’s actually that) for tulane and wake to be on the safer side, even though both are schools that are certainly trending up. However acceptances aren’t solely based on a test score… gpa seems solid though
And idk about BC for a safety…
OP –
Here’s the USNWR selectivity index score of some of the schools that have been mentioned. It should give you a rough sense of how these schools might compare to each other.
Vandy #11
Brown #11
NWU #11
Gtown # 21
BC #28
Wake #33
Tulane #37
Villanova #45
Tufts #57
You definitely want to come up with a balanced list of schools for your particular profile.
While all the schools suggested would be “safer” than Vandy or Gtown, they’re probably more from low reach to match for you.
Fordham and SMU are probably in your safety zone.
The lower ranking for Tufts is surprising to me, even though they show a 14% admit rate. Could be evidence of so-called Tufts Syndrome (i.e. keeping their stats up by deferring a lot of high stat Ivy-aspiring kids using Tufts as a back up). Tulane has been known to do that too.
So you might want to dig into the details on those two. Those schools might be good targets for you, especially if you show a lot of interest (Tulane) or apply ED (Tufts).
Good luck!