@BrownParent I felt as if the environment of Uchicago was good enough that I could justify suffering through a few non-english classes. I’m beginning to become more aware that these classes are likely to kill my gpa and happiness. Alas, I’ve already applied. Brown is lovely, but waaaaay out of the reach of my stats, correct? As for help, I’m a first generation prospective college student who goes to a small, southern high school and lives with an 80 year old relative. Google helps me:)
@merc81 That makes sense, do you suggest that I find smaller schools using the lists you gave earlier as well as perhaps old stats for the schools?
If you’re applying to UChicago, I don’t see why not Brown. UChicago is “Ivy-like”, probably even harder to get into than Brown…
I strongly recommend you develop a bit of your background (1st gen, Southern, small/rural? HS, living with 80 year old relative) in the “additional information” part of the CommonApp.
It is a reach because the admit rate is so low but I know students with your stats who got in. Your first gen and family status will help and perhaps geographical diversity. I know 3 students in IB program low income area of CA 2 salutatorians one with 2350, one with 2050 (foster child) and one well ranked, maybe 15 or 20 in large school but lower sat about 1700 to 1800. No one had anything super amazing or EC almost just avg or below.Brown accepted the first one and the last one, reject the 2050. That last student was a URM but also got into literally dozens of schools with the Presidential scholarship at Washington and Lee. I believe this student also had a big personality and that came across in the application and the letters of recommendation. If you can get your personality across and they want you they will take you.
The 2050 also accepted to instate top schools Berkeley and UCLA, rejected Harvard, Yale, Brown, accepted Cornell, Notre Dame, U So Cal, Wesleyan, reject Grinnell, waitlisted Amherst, Dartmouth. So applications can be uneven. Cornell and Notre Dame gave full comprehensive no loan packages. It was worth the extra applications.
OP, you are getting some very good advise here. I would listen carefully.
If you have already applied to UChicago, then don’t worry. No harm done. It’s a big reach for everyone. I think from what I understand, the core includes quantitative classes but if math isn’t your strong point then UChicago offers less intensive maths also.
Who knows, your essays may shine and you could get in! Did you apply EA?
I would keep Brown. It’s admissions are some of the most holistic I’ve seen. Be sure they know that you are first gen to college and your rural background.
I think you should use current stats for your research. The older scores were used to illustrate the sometimes faddish nature of college selection.
You should view your own search as one in which the final result will not involve compromise, that’s how strong your position is. With respect to LACs, they are purely undergraduate focused, provide for great interaction between students and faculty, often have great aesthetics, and, in terms academic range, a good one will offer over 700 courses. If these qualities are appealing to you, then you should definitely research them individually and consider applying to several. If you have concerns about a particular school’s academic competitiveness, then simply look up its SAT averages.
The articles in post 12 are a good source for finding colleges. Add colleges from it that meet other criteria of importance to you. Do not eliminate a college you otherwise like based on them, however, as their inclusions and exclusions may have an arbitrary aspect.
Brown, discussed on this thread, is one of several highly selective colleges with a flexible curriculum. Others include Amherst, Grinnell, Hamilton, Smith and the University of Rochester.
The University of Chicago has the second highest SAT scores in the nation. Few schools, if any, should be regarded as being more selective than UC.
So my revised list looks something like:
Davidson, Uchicago, Wake (already applied)
NC State (not a perfect fit but I would like to at least apply to one public close to home), Boston College (relatively doable admissions, good location, maybe not best curriculum), Brown (a reach, but would be great if accepted), Cornell??? (also a reach, but for an Ivy, does have the highest acceptance rate. Is this a waste of an application?), and two/three (depending on whether Cornell is included) colleges such as Brandeis, Emory, Kenyon, Grinnell, Hamilton, Williams, or Amherst.
I’m glad you kept the colleges from your original group that you have an affinity for. Nonetheless, you will be happier in April with your revised list than the one you started with. It might be useful for you to state your best single-test-date scores, since not all colleges superscore. You should know as well that some colleges require SAT Subject Tests. I believe Williams is one of them. Cornell is a great school with a beautiful campus. However, I don’t think you have indicated anything that would make it seem like a particularly good fit for you.
Your list is oo reach-heavy. You should apply to all good UNC programs with strength in English.
NC State isn’t the best pick for someone interested in English - their points of strength are engineering, cs, and business. If you live in Raleigh, apply to UNC-CH, UNC-A, and either UNC-W or App State (or both). It’s easy, there’s the NC app system.
I’d recommend applying to 4 from the following: Brandeis, Emory, Kenyon, Grinnell, Hamilton; Williams and Amherst are more reaches. Include Sewanee (excellent for English) at the very least, plus perhaps Hendrix, Wooster?
I agree with @MYOS1634’s suggestions, including those related to NC schools. At some point fairly soon you will be deciding on where you will be receiving your college education. If your list now does not truly reflect your best academic matches, you will be limiting your choices unnecessarily. I’d emphasize that you should strongly consider Kenyon, for its English department, and Hamilton, for its strength in writing, open curriculum and generally balanced academics. Grinnell would be another possible excellent addition for its flexible curriculum and well-funded financial aid program.
^yup, for someone with strength in English, Kenyon and Hamilton are pretty much the standard-bearers, and Grinnell’s flexible curriculum would be a godsend for a well-lopsided applicant.
Check out American University in DC, they have a good journalism major and would be a match. Amherst is a super reach, and a tough application, so idk if id bother. Idk many schools close to NC tbh… maybe Virginia University or U of R?
When March rolls around you want to be sure to have some choice among your acceptances. So by all means, apply to your reaches. But make sure you have 3 or 4 other acceptances as backups, which might mean applying to some smaller, excellent schools that aren’t among the highest reaches. Kenyon and Sewanee have outstanding English departments. Denison does, as well. A campus visit to these improves likelihood of admission.
One of your concerns may be that, because of the uneven distribution of your scores, you will need to attend a college at which you would be an extreme over-performer in English/CR. This would not necessarily be the case for some of the colleges suggested. For example, the CR middle range for students at Hamilton is 650-740 (M: 650-740, W: 650-750), a range which neatly encompass your own. (Some of your other scores are so high that they would be over the 75th percentile virtually anywhere.)
Cornell, which I initially suggested as perhaps not an ideal academic match for you (28), does, however, receive recognition in a USNWR subcategory, Writing in the Disciplines, along with Brown, Carleton, Clemson, Duke, Elon, George Mason, Hamilton, Kenyon and UC-Davis.
If you have a chance to retake your ACT, see it as as a reading comprehension test rather than a science test as it does not test you on prior knowledge of science: just make sure you can analyze graphs
Seriously, don’t rule out women’s colleges. Smith seems like a great fit for you, and the five-college consortium means you won’t be in an all-female environment (which I would love, but I know that some are wary)
@merc81 I’m concerned that if I apply to schools where I fit into 2/3 of their expectations, I will be quickly overlooked as many candidates will be better suited in all categories. Though I fit within Cornell’s ACT score range and SAT CR score range, I fall far short of the math, which realistically probably makes my application useless. Thoughts?
@strivingforanivy Sorry, I genuinely just don’t believe that women’s colleges are my fit. I value a learning community that is full of all kinds of thoughts, and limiting a school to one gender limits the experiences and views of the community.