Seeking safeties for 1800 SAT and 4.0 GPA in NE/SE/Midwest - not many ECs -thank you!
Look at your local state flagship.
Cost constraints? State of residency? Academic interests?
http://automaticfulltuition.yolasite.com/ says that you will get a full ride at Prairie View A&M, full tuition at Florida A&M, and possibly other full tuition or better scholarships, depending on your SAT CR+M.
What is your M+CR? Are you retesting?
Safeties MUST be affordable. How much will your family pay per year?
Do you want a large or small college? If your finances are flexible, and you are interested in smaller colleges, you would be an excellent candidate for most of the “Colleges That Change Lives.” Many are test optional, but your SAT is within range for most. If finances are a bigger concern, then your home-state public colleges are your safest bet. Your GPA is good enough for almost any college, but your SAT might limit your prospects for sizable merit scholarships at selective liberal arts colleges.
undecided interest, from new england, wants medium size college, wants name brand university, cost not a factor, retesting in fall, thank you!
La Salle University, University of Mississippi, Seton Hall University, University of Scranton, Arcadia University, Manhattan College, University of Maine, Niagra University, Towson University
Given your criteria, I suggest looking at fairtest.org. Numerous “name-brand” schools are now test-optional, which means they will weigh your GPA exclusively. If your ECs are weak, you should probably focus on writing strong essays and be sure that your counselor and teacher recommendations will be good. Unfortunately, many “name-brand” colleges will be reaches or high-matches with your scores, even if they improve in the fall. The only “safeties” will be less prestigious colleges. What about, say, College of Charleston? Wake Forest is test-optional, and probably a good fit for you, but I wouldn’t say it’s a true safety. With a 4.0 GPA, and a 3-test SAT score under 2000, I think the strongest “name-brand” colleges for you will be test-optional ones. American University is test-optional, or at least test-flexible, and your chances are pretty good there (again, probably not an absolute safety) if you’re full-pay. For smaller, New England colleges, Clark and Wheaton are very good options.
Test optional is a misnomer. It was on public radio recently. Google for it.