hello, everyone! i am wondering if my list of schools is well balanced. i took a gap year, but i’m not sure if that is important information, haha.
i’m a male from a small community in eastern tennessee (population of around 12,000).
4.0 UW GPA (my school did not weight our GPAs.)
29 ACT w/ a 30 super score and 10 writing (these scores are from two tests, but i plan on re-taking the SAT on november fifth for the second time.)
i was valedictorian (however, since our school didn’t weight GPA, there were ~35 valedictorians in my graduating class out of 300. i’m not sure if it’s “comendable,” but i’m still proud and believe i should include it, haha).
not many extracurriculars in high school, but i was very passionate about the ones i did (and still do), so i hope that’s shown in my applications.
i want to major in psychobiology / cognitive science / psychology with an emphasis/minor in neuroscience (i know, i’m all over the place. most colleges don’t offer psychobiology or cognitive science, which is why i have such broad options.)
safety schools:
rhodes college
university of tennessee (will apply for honors program)
i need more, i know! i prefer colleges outside of tennessee, particularly out west or northeast.
match/low reach schools:
kenyon college
oberlin college
colby college (i thought to ED here because their psychology program allows a concentration in neuroscience which allows nearly the same path as majoring in psychobiology.)
occidental college
university of miami
university of michigan (i am applying EA here because of the BCN program [biopsychology, cognitive studies, and neuroscience])
reach schools:
bowdoin college (i was thinking of applying test-optional? i’m not sure.)
carleton college
emory university
grinnell college
hamilton college
pomona college
reed college
swarthmore college (again, i thought to ED here because they actually have the psychobiology program; however, the hype surrounding the academic rigor frightens me because i come from an extremely uncompetitive high school. i’m unsure if i would be ready for such a dramatic work load.)
vassar college
williams college
wesleyan university (although, i might not apply here. something about it kind of turns me off…)
UCLA (although it offers the psychobiology degree, the aid for out-of-state admits is absolute trash, and i don’t want to waste money sending in an application.)
UCB (same reason as above except it does not offer psychobiology and instead offers cognitive science)
thank you in advance for the help! (also, i know there are a lot of schools which is why i have worked and saved up the money to apply to them all (and many of them are free to apply to) since i no longer qualify for a fee waiver for the common application as a gap year student!)
@kalons, have you worked with your guidance counselor, either now or previously, or your list of prospective matches, targets and safeties as this list is going to be a significant challenge with the ACT score you have achieved to date? If LAC’s are your focus, I would suggest you look at schools ranked in the USNWR #30-40 range as reaches, #40-60 range as targets and above that as safeties.
Also, what have you been doing during your GAP year as most schools want to see a purposeful gap year?
@kalons I agree w/ Chembiodad. Your standardized test school of 30. puts you below range for many of the schools you are considering matches. IMHO, Colleges like Colby, Oberlin, Kenyon may have students with ACT at 30 or below however those slots will go to recrutied athletes, first generation, etc. Sorry to say, but I don’t think you are a candidate for any of the schools on your reach list. I think you should spend the fee to get access to US News and World Report to get a more appropriate list.
However, perhaps you have done something so extraordinary during your gap year that colleges will be interested. Could you share more info regarding gap year?
While I agree with the posters above that your list is very reach heavy, being a male from TN may play well at some Northeastern LACs. Vassar for one has a much higher admit rate for males - 55% than females-15%, so that may be one to stay on your list. For test optional schools, like Bowdoin and Wesleyan, if they do stay on your list, you should apply without scores, unless your Nov SAT is strong. It’s okay to have some reaches, (though Williams, Swat and Pomona may just be too impossible), but since you have so many reaches, trim those and add more matches.
first, my counselor and i have NOT gone over my prospective list because i did not begin looking into liberal arts colleges/most of the schools on my list until my gap year. she works part-time at my old high school now, so communicating with her is a little bit of a challenge. my parents and i have taken it into our own hands to figure out colleges in my zone. we have been looking at bard, skidmore, and lafayette as possibilities as well but haven’t looked extremely in depth at those yet.
second, i’ve been writing, volunteering, and taking online classes during my gap year. i’m in the process of figuring out how to publish a book because i want to get my poetry (one of the things i really love doing– writing poetry) out there somehow. as of right now, it’s just a blog on tumblr, haha. i also began working because of a sudden divorce/shift in income sprung up without warning which eats up some of my time. i do what i can though.
my first choices as of right now are occidental, university of michigan, colby, and swarthmore. although they are my first choices, i would be super lucky to attend any of the schools i listed, even my safeties, which i think is really important. thank you both for the inquiries/advice!
(also - i am first generation! both of my parents went to but never graduated from college.)
College courses (online or otherwise) taken after high school graduation may jeopardize your frosh applicant status at some schools. Each school may have its own rules.
@ucbalumnus the courses i am taking are CLEP courses or courses i’m self-studying using books i bought and material i’ve found online so i don’t chance losing the knowledge i gained in high school during my year off.
Carleton, Vassar, and Grinnell might be interested in the TN male poet angle. Williams, Swat, Pomona, UCLA, Berkeley are probably worth pulling off the list. Michigan, Kenyon and Oberlin are not test optional and a 29 (30 if they superscore) is going to be tough, though again, maybe the TN male poet will help.
More match type schools would include Earlham, perhaps Centre College in KY, Lawrence University and Beloit in WI, maybe Wooster. Other than Centre and Wooster, those are test optional schools, and they all give merit, so worth a look. Is Rhodes really a safety?
@Midwestmomofboys thank you for the advice! i figured rhodes college to be one of my safeties since i’m in/higher up in the range of their test scores, and i’m in-state, but perhaps not? my parents and i believed it to be. hmmm…
In-state doesn’t really matter for Rhodes as a private LAC. Definitely “show the love” – visit, interview, follow on social media, reach out to see if admissions rep comes to your old high school, and go.
@Midwestmomofboys okay! yeah, i’ve been contacting admissions reps left and right. i’ve also been requesting information from each school so i know key things that interest me about each of them. thank you for the advice (again, haha)!
