School Compatibility?

College Search & Lists
1

<p>Hi, I’m trying to finalize my top 10 college list. (3 reaches, 5 matches, and 2 safeties)</p>

<p>Sorry, I’m not trying to brag in this next segment, but these are my ‘credentials’.
I go to an all-girls prestigious catholic school in KY. (however, I am jewish)
I have a 4.0 and am currently valedictorian (I’m a senior now.)
My SAT score was 2220 (Math - 770, CR- 740, Writing- 710)
My SAT 2 scores were as follows:
*Math 1 - 750 :\
*Math 2 - 780
*Biology E - 720
*Spanish - 750
I have played varsity tennis throughout high school(academic all-state for 3 years), I am on the varsity Quick Recall Team, I am the president of a club that I started (Teens Fighting Cancer). I have danced since 5th grade, I am VP of the Math Club now, I am in NHS and Spanish Honor Society… aka, very involved.
I take all IB classes which is the most rigorous that our school offers.
I attended the Governor’s Scholar Program which was a 5 week program where you took 3 classes and lived on a college campus in KY. You learned a lot from it, but you also met and lived with a great group of high-achieving kids with similar interests.
volunteer experience: I tutor Russian kids in the 1st/2nd grade in math at the Russian School of Mathematics. I also tutor at Adelante! Hispanic Achievers and help kids grades 6 through 10 of hispanic background with homework, school lessons, etc. I have found that I really love tutoring kids because it’s fun, demanding, and informative. You have to work on communication skills and you have to be able to see from another perspective, which i think has helped a lot with my problem solving skills. </p>

<p>other: I recently came back from a 2 week immersion trip in Cadiz, Spain with the CentroMundoLengua program. It had a focus on teaching spanish language and culture immersion, etc. I really loved it and thought it helped with not only that, but making me more independent because i flew internationally by myself and had to switch airlines/flights numerous times. I also did not know anyone else who was going to be participating in the program while I was there. Great learning experience…
um, I was born in Russia and my family immigrated to the US when I was one. I speak fluent Russian and know the customs/traditions, etc.</p>

<p>okay, thanks for sticking with me through all that.</p>

<p>Now, i am very interested in pursuing a medical major in college, especially neuroscience. i also want to either double major or minor in Spanish. So far, my top two schools (reaches) are Rice and Brown. I visited Rice and absolutely loved it, and I am planning to visit Brown in the fall. I am also considering Vandy, although i am not very passionate about going there. I liked it and its a beautiful campus, but something didn’t really click. I’m looking for a place that has a campus orientation, as in a close-knit community where the majority live on campus as opposed to a commuter college. Hopefully a moderate political environment, but that is not the ultimate deciding factor. I want a small to medium sized school, somewhere around 5 to 8 thousand students. </p>

<p>So, i was wondering if you all had any suggestions about some good reach and match schools?</p>

2

<p>Well, I believe you would certainly be at the top of most colleges’ wish-list. You’ve worked hard, and it shows in your stats.</p>

<p>As far as where you should go? Take your pick. My son has been looking mostly at East coast colleges, but we visited WashU this summer, and loved it. Think about Cornell, Columbia, McGill.</p>

<p>Keep a lookout for a school with good merit money. Wouldn’t it be nice to graduate with no debt?</p>

3

<p>Some others to possibly look into are JHU, Northwestern, Emory and Duke. Best of luck!</p>

4

<p>thank you so much for the feedback! </p>

<p>pageturner - thanks you and yes, no debt would be amazing. :] what did your son think about WashU in terms of campus life? I 've heard polar opposite reports, so a third opinion would be very helpful. </p>

<p>poi - thanks! i’ve looked into emory and northwestern, but i will definitely do some research on the other two!</p>

5

<p>Also, can somebody please suggest good match colleges? I have my safties and reaches. I do not have a single match college on my list</p>

6

<p>The problem with matches for you is that you are in that range of student who is a legitimate candidate at many of the nation’s most competitive colleges, but the current uncertainty of the admissions process makes it much harder to classify any of these as a match. </p>

<p>I’d join those who suggest Wash U as it seems like a match for an individual like you, but statistically, who knows these days?? Emory is probably a match and you may also want to take a look at W&M. It’s the right size with a beautiful campus, but not sure if you’re a fit personality-wise. W&M has many Division I college aspects to it, but in many respects feels like a LAC as there is very much a community feel there as well as a moderate and considerate political environment.</p>

7

<p>Politically, Brown leans far left. But do visit and see for yourself.</p>

8

<p>Take a look at MIT; many people who think they can’t possibly fit in there wind up loving it; I know you can double-major in Spanish there. It’s another one of those “you can be perfect and not get ins” but if anyone’s got the stats, you do. A lot of what you described (close-knit community, 5-8,000 undergrads, etc.) </p>

<p>You might want to consider one of the five Claremont Colleges–Pitzer, Pomona, Harvey Mudd, Scripps, CMC (although Claremont McKenna would not be a match; they’re more political/business than you probably want). There is a joint neuroscience major shared by the colleges. </p>

<p>Tulane might also be a good fit. Their neuroscience major is fairly new (about 8 years old, I think). </p>

<p>One thing, in my totally not-professional opinion, I’d tell you not to do is to write about your immersion trip in Spain as your essay topic. Yes, it was probably a wonderful, eye-opening experience, but it sounds like something your parents paid for, as opposed to so many of your other experiences (such as governor’s school) that most people can attend regardless of resources. </p>

<p>Good luck.</p>

9

<p>We went to WashU in the summer, so there wasn’t any campus life to observe. However, by touring the campus (excellent tour and info session, by the way, one of the best we’ve attended), exploring the park across the street, walking the Loop, and sightseeing St Louis; we loved the school and the surrounding atmosphere.
I live near NYC, so city life is nothing new to me. I was pleasantly surprised by what St. Louis has to offer. WashU is not well known in my area in NY, so we went to visit with open minds. </p>

<p>Can you find more matches? The difficulty you will find is that you “fit” in the highly competitive school range. Those schools, pretty much without exception have become reaches for everyone. A realistic match for you at this point would be a good school with an honors program, and/or significant merit aid. </p>

<p>Take a look at Rhodes College (Memphis) Macalaster College (St Paul), or one of my personal favorites: University of Rochester (Rochester, NY). You may get enough merit aid to graduate without debt, and get into one of those other schools for grad work.</p>