what schools should i look into

College Search & Lists
1

I go to a competitive private school in NYC. My test scores are great, but my grades are mediocre.

ACT: 36 C in first sitting (36 W, 36 R, 35 M, 36 S)
Subject Tests: Math 2- 800, Chem- 800, taking english lit in June
took AP Calc AB, AP Chem, and AP English Language

my school doesn’t calculate gpa or ranking (private school)
so, here are my grades (first semester/second semester)

Freshman
Algebra 2- B-/B
Biology- B+/B+
English- A-/A-
U.S. History- B/B+
French II- B-/B-

Sophomore
Pre-calculus- A-/A-
Chemistry- A-/A
English- B/B+
Word History- B+/B+
French III- A/A

Junior
AP Calc AB- B/A-
AP Chemistry- B/B+
English- B+/A
History- A-/A
French IV- A-/A

Senior Year Classes: AP Stats, AP Psychology, AP French, Physics, Regular English

At my school, juniors can take a maximum of 2 AP classes, and seniors can take a maximum of 3 AP classes. My school gets a lot of people into schools such as Yale, Brown, Duke, UPenn, Cornell, Dartmouth, Vanderbilt, Wash U, Middlebury, Tufts, UChicago, Northwestern, Emory and Columbia each year. The “worst” schools that anyone usually goes to are Syracuse, Bucknell, or University of Michigan.

Extracurriculars:
Competitive Dancer (15 hours a week) (won many competitions and performed at Barclays pre-game and MSG half-time)
photography (taken lots of classes)
Volunteer tutor for underprivileged kids (once a week since 9th grade)
Editor of school newspaper
started an annual food drive at my school
summer internship
and more

I would like a small or medium sized school in a rural or suburban area. Location (state) does not matter to me. Money is not an issue (I will not need any financial aid.) Schools that I have visited and liked include Wash U, Middlebury, Emory, Wake Forest, Colby, and Claremont Mckenna.

I would really appreciate suggestions for schools (safeties, matches, and reaches.) I know that my perfect ACT score but mediocre grades are unique, so it is hard to figure out what schools I would have a chance at getting into.

Thanks so much for helping me!

2

If you’re interested in CMC, add Scripps to your list. It’s part of the 5C consortium, and a little less selective. I think they have always had a decent Dance program, as a women’s college. I’d also look at Swarthmore, Haverford, Sarah Lawrence, Bard, Goucher, Tufts, Colorado College, and Davidson.

3

Thanks so much! I forgot to mention that I want to major in Economics.

4

Haverford, Amherst, Pomona, Tufts, Villanova, U Chicago.

5

Are you looking only in state?

6

Sarah Lawrence probably wouldn’t be a good choice, then, but most other liberal arts colleges have good economics departments. You might as well focus on the ones where you can dance, too.

7

No. I won’t need any financial aid, so it can be out of state.

8

Try visiting University of Michigan. I love that school, but I go there so I’m a bit biased :stuck_out_tongue:

9

thanks! @NurseAlyssa

10

Regarding your interest in economics, this is from a credible source and pertains to strength in that department, as measured by research productivity:

NLACs, Overall

  1. Williams
  2. Wellesley
  3. Colby
  4. Trinity
  5. Wesleyan
  6. Colgate
  7. Middlebury
  8. Hamilton
  9. Claremont McKenna
  10. Union
  11. Hobart & William Smith
  12. Bowdoin

Adjusted for size of department

  1. Hendrix
  2. Colby
  3. Trinity
  4. Hamilton
  5. Claremont McKenna
  6. Grinnell
  7. Wesleyan
  8. Middlebury
  9. Swarthmore
  10. Agnes Scott

On both lists

Colby
Trinity
Hamilton
Claremont McKenna
Wesleyan
Middlebury

To the extent that any of these colleges fit your other criteria, I would give them a very close look.

(“Economics Research at National Liberal Arts Colleges: School Rankings.”)

11

I realized that information is out of date. Here is a current list:

  1. Williams
  2. Wellesley
  3. Middlebury
  4. Wesleyan
  5. Hamilton
  6. Claremont McKenna (Economics Dept.)
  7. Claremont McKenna (Robert Day School of Economics and Finance)
  8. Vassar
  9. Colgate
  10. University of Richmond

I don’t know why there is a distinction within Claremont McKenna.

Four schools do particularly well through time, and when adjusted for size of department: Claremont McKenna, Hamilton, Middlebury and Wesleyan.

(“Top 25% Economics Departments at Liberal Arts Colleges, as of April 2015.”)

12

Regarding your actual chances, you should view yourself as a top, though, as you noted, somewhat uneven candidate for your schools of interest. I would not withhold an application from any of them – or others you may want to add – because of a concern that an acceptance would be unrealistic. My opinion with respect to your grades is that if you worked for them, then they are good grades. The standards at your school could just be particularly high.

13

thank you @merc81