What schools would you suggest?

harvard_and_berkeley
Tue, 16 Jun 2015 21:42:41 +0000

Until you get your ACT scores up, there is no point narrowing down your list.

To give you some perspective:

U Chicago: middle 50% ACT: 32-35, middle 50% SAT: 1450-1550 (not including writing)
Northwestern: middle 50% ACT: 31-34, middle 50% SAT: 1410-1540 (not including writing)
Washington U: middle 50% ACT: 32-34, middle 50% SAT: 1420-1560 (not including writing)
Notre Dame: middle 50% ACT: 32-34, middle 50% SAT: 1380-1510 (not including writing)
Vanderbilt: middle 50% ACT: 32-34, middle 50% SAT: 1450-1560 (not including writing)
Rice: middle 50% ACT: 32-35, middle 50% SAT: 1450-1560 (not including writing)
U Michigan: middle 50% ACT: 30-33, middle 50% SAT: 1360-1500 (not including writing)
Case Western Reserve: middle 50% ACT: 29-33, middle 50% SAT: 1300-1450 (not including writing)

As you can see, you’re definitely going to need to get your ACT score way up… definitely over 30, and preferably 32 to have a decent shot. On the SATs, you need to get at least around 720 on each part.

Other schools to consider: U Illinois, U Wisconsin, U Minnesota, U Iowa, Purdue, Ohio State
However, these are all public and admissions may be harder… and they will most likely be stingy with financial aid.

For smaller colleges:
Most selective: Carleton (Minn), Grinnell (Iowa)
Highly selective: Oberlin (Ohio), Macalaster (Minn), Colorado College, Kenyon (Ohio)
Selective: Centre College (Kentucky), Sewanee (TN), Denison (Ohio), DePauw (Indiana), Rhodes (TN), St. Olaf (Minn), Lawrence (Wisconsin), Beloit (Wisconsin), Wabash (Indiana)