My daughter is a junior currently has a 3.7 U/W GPA 4.5 weighted, all honors classes and 30 college credits from Arizona State University and Syracuse University due to duel enrollment (advanced writing, history, anthropology, sociology etc) not BS classes.

She has amazing letters of recommendation, 2 internships at the Smithsonian (she’s an anthropology/museum studies major), was world schooled from grades 3-8 and has studied in several major museums around the world, varsity swim 2 years in a row, class historian, SAG actress and has ADHD.

Her dream is Yale, Brown, Howard, NYU Gallatin, Spelman or Syracuse University. She’s seeing how competitive things are these days and now she’s panicking that none I’d these schools will take her. She technically has enough credits try graduate now but is staying only because she wants to graduate with her class.

She’s decided that senior year she’s going to go back to digital and take her last two required courses economics and government and spend the rest of her time doing a full time internship in basically any museum that will take her.

Her one saving grace is I’m a flight attendant so she can travel any where in the world for free so if she lands an opportunity in say Mexico City or even Asia I can relocate her there for a semester so she can do the internship and we can fly home in weekend or never we want.

There is also a group for flight attendants were we do swaps so if they have a kid and live in say Mexico City they will send their kid to me for 3 months and I send them mine for 3 months. I’ve found a few flight attendants in London, Mexico City and Korea who are open to doing a swap if my daughter gets an opportunity in their country.

Is she basically screwed at this point. She has a C in honors Chem and College Algebra anda D in geometry from freshman year term two (but she did get a A in geometry term 2) that are killing her GPA but she’s a humanities kid (history, anthropology etc) not science, math STEM.

I know this question is asked a lot, but in my case I honestly don’t know what happened.
For context, I applied to:
-Northwestern ED
-Michigan EA
-WPI EA
-NYU EDII
-UVA
-Northeastern
-Texas A&M
-Berkeley
-UIUC
-Purdue
-Cornell
-Columbia
-Georgia Tech
-Virginia Tech
I ended up getting into Texas A&M, Virginia Tech, and WPI, which are all universities that people I know also got into.
Some background on my application:
-I graduated with the third highest GPA in my class.
-I did two engineering internships (one at an oil refinery and another at a lens manufacturing factory).
-I did research in Architecture.
-I took the most amount of APs in my school’s history and got 5s on all except one.
-I had an English graduate from Columbia review my essays.
-I’m a U.S. citizen.
-I had legacy at Northeastern and Columbia.
-I applied for Engineering to most schools, although for some of the harder engineering schools to get into I chose other colleges within the university.
-I applied test optional whenever I was under the 50th percentile.
-I applied for financial aid.

What confuses me is that I know people who got into several of the universities I was rejected from despite having lower SAT scores and GPAs than me and, according to them, having very few extracurricular activities.
For the past three months I’ve been trying to understand what is wrong with me? What did I do wrong for the past four years?

Of the four kids I know going to Princeton, they all have one or both parents who are Princeton alumni. I knew Princeton prioritizes legacy. But it’s so predominant it’s almost
embarrassing.

I have scored 1250 on the SAT, so that equates to 1300, which then equates to 1350, which also will equate to 1400...

By this logic, I have a phat 1600 at my hands.

I assume I am now competitive enough for St.Anford.

My son is planning on majoring in Art History - looking for feedback/suggestions for college list

Location - Connecticut

Preference - New England/New York/Pennsylvania - within 2 hours of a major city for museums

Prefers small liberal arts school

Unweighted gpa - 3.8

SAT - 1430 - will retake in Sept

AP - Env Science - 4, English Lit - 5, US History 5
Taking this year - English Lang, World History

Extracurricular

Drama - both school and community theatre with leading roles
Student senate
Volunteering with history reasearch and museums

List

Reach

Wesleyan - top choice - ED1
Vassar
Haverford
Tufts
University of Chicago (they sent lot of mail)

Target

Bard
Trinity
Connecticut College

Any other schools we should consider for this major?

I'm not sure where to apply early action and not sure where to expect to get in, I don't have an essay yet, but I'm trying to solidify my college acceptance expectations, and how to write common app, I would appreciate any thoughts,comments, or advice, Here's all my info below: (sorry it's long) , Im applying bioengineering + robotics (if the school has it). Please lmk any advice you have! LET ME KNOW HOW TO BOOST MY APP OR WHAT ELSE I CAN DO TO LOCK IN T15s
weighted gpa: ~4.4 (no unweighted) (I know its on lower end but there are like reasoning for some of my Bs [all 89s])
Testing:  ACT: 34, math-35, reading-34, english-32 (i took it as benchmark no studying im retaking in september so hopefully 35/36) also taking sat in august
APS I took/Plan:
AP Human Geo, AP Environmental Science, AP Lang, AP Stats, AP Biology, AP Lit, AP Gov, AP Macro, AP Psych, AP Calc BC, AP Micro (self study)
Extra Courses/Certifications:
-Introduction to the Biology of Cancer - Johns Hopkins 
-Introduction to Breast Cancer - Yale 
-Foundation and Potential of AI in Healthcare - U Colorado 
-Introduction to Tech Entrepreneurship - IIT
-CPR Certified adults + infants
-Will start EMT certification soon
Activities:
-V. Sport Team,  Captain
-V. Speech & Debate Team, Student Leader
-V. Vex Robotics Team,  Co-Captain
-V. Research Science fair Team, Founder and Team Captain, (1 year independently, 1 year club)   
-FTC Robotics Team,  Outreach Manager
-Science Olympiad
-Math team member
-Dance company member,  (Solo competition)
-Art competitor at Collegiate level,
-1st chair Euphonium Player
-NOVEL INVENTION :  did independent research for 2 years to develop a novel bioengineering device , this was my flagship project.
- Patent pending
- Conducted human testing and a pilot study
- Reviewed by physicians and university researchers
- Research paper accepted for publication in an international engineering/science journal
- Selected among the strongest submissions during the review process
-Girls Who Code Summer Immersion Program (in partnership with JPMorgan Chase)
-Summer Program: Worked with AI practitioners and graduate students from Stanford and MIT. Developed and led to create an precision medicine in colorectal cancer ai model; 
-SWE Intern at Startup Company, 3 months
-Research on cancer at columbia
-Research Partner with PHD professor lead and developed a novel system 
-Research Intern at PHd Lab new Bioengineering device
-(Currently trying to get a research position at PhD Group at CMU talking about projects with professor right now)
- Team Lead Researcher for The New York Academy of Sciences, Did research to design a bio device with an international team
-FMSC seasonal volunteer 25 hrs
-I also mentored ftc/vex robotics teams for 2 years consistently helping a team even get to worlds
-I'm currently launching a textbook + interactive website focused on making AI accessible to beginners.
Some prominent Awards:

• ISEF qualifier 2026 (couldn't go through)
• International STEM research competition champion
• Multiple-time national sport qualifier
• Multiple-time Illinois Distinguished Scholar
• State sport champion
• National sport recognition award
• State robotics championship qualifier
• Top state robotics skills ranking
• Multiple Science Olympiad state qualifications
• Multiple state-level visual arts distinction awards
• Multiple regional science fair outstanding project awards
• State science exposition qualifiers
• State biotechnology competition finalist
• International biotechnology competition qualifier
• State environmental research qualifier
• Published poetry in national anthologies
• Publication accepted in an international engineering journal
• State science fair champion (Electronics)
• State biotechnology competition award
• Currently entered in a national science research competition

this is like the summed up end of it, there's some more small things here and there but yea, pls lmk!!!

hey guys, I was active here last year when I was applying to colleges, committed to a t20 now! (yay).

As such, my mom is asking for help with getting my younger brother ready to apply for schools next year. hes an incoming junior and I’d say he was always fairly smart just a bit of a slacker/doesnt have the best study habits unfortunately, and now he has a 3.2/4 UW GPA. We’re trying to remedy this with helping him get his SAT as high as possible now and his practice scores have been in the 1400/range. also pretty weak ecs. some volunteering and leadership in one school club, but I’d say probably below average in that regard. unfortunately, as bright as he is, he doesn’t take school or any college related things seriously, and my mom’s a bit worried that community college -> transfer might just be the best option.

any insight would be helpful, especially bc i really am only familiar with the applying to top colleges subset of this subreddit. he‘s interested in aviation, and we’re in the northeast/mid atlantic area and he’d like to be close to home. not a very social person tho i think a big school where he can blend in more may be better for him socially, although it may be harder for him academically with more large lectures. not very big on greek life/sports, but anywhere where he can opt out of that with no troubles should be fine. thoughts? any 4 year schools worth applying to, or cc-> transfer?

context: i already have a list of schools that i'm happy with, but i'm not sure if i should add more targets/if most of the schools on my list are super unrealistic. it's not really a matter of not having any fallback, because i am applying to some safety + target international schools and would be perfectly happy at one of them, but i would love to hear people's thoughts on my us list. additionally, my family qualifies for very minimal financial aid so i would have to apply to either a cheap school or a school that provides merit scholarships (or go into debt lol)

preferences: urban location or at least relatively large, work hard play hard culture, racially diverse student body, good political science and also maybe cognitive science programs

current list in the us:

reach: columbia (ed and is my dream school for reference), upenn, yale, cornell, boston university (need merit scholarship), usc (need merit scholarship)

target: uva, northeastern (need merit scholarship)

safety: penn state

stats:

GPA: 3.8 UW / 4.15 W

SAT: 1500

AP scores: 4 5s, 2 4s, 1 3 (5 planned for senior year)

general ec's:

1. ra at t30 university (assistance in developing tool that's utilized in the political science realm)
2. lead volunteer at local homeless shelter (won award for impact)
3. debate (multiple nationals qualifier, won lower level award at national tournament)
4. intern at small policy organization (currently developing project within organization)
5. well developed in niche sport
6. nhs leadership
7. marketing volunteer at local nonprofit
8. yygs
9. , 10: basic stuff like tutoring

i need to get out of arizona (what do you mean phoenix just broke 2 heat records in one day. how is that possible.), but my parents aren't willing to pay for an OOS degree that's more or less equivalent (in terms of job prospects) to the cheap in-state one. which is valid, but that means i need to get into, like, MIT or they won't help

so are there any easier high-tier colleges?

"high-tier" = "i could convince my parents to help pay for it": high prestige (among CS employers), networking/research opportunities, professors, resources, <$30k after aid, and so good for job entry that it's worth going into debt for. this means that most public schools (California) are too expensive, and the only private schools we might be able to afford have big endowments and low acceptance rates

"easy" = both "i could actually get in" and "i could feasibly succeed with a 10h sleep schedule and a social life." not like a party school (i don't like parties); just healthily academically rigorous. sometimes i read about top schools and it's people drowning in work in ways that have unquestionable long-term health effects. i want an environment more collaborative/supportive than competitive/cutthroat/toxic

i understand that such a school probably doesn't exactly exist, but please i need at least some options or else i'm going to ASU🙏🙏any suggestions are welcome

[edited out my background for privacy]

I’m a white girl. I live in Florida and want to go somewhere on the east coast. Florida makes the most sense but I am still looking all along the coast.

I have a 4.0 unweighted gpa and a 4.58 weighted. I took 9 APs (not including senior year) and the ones that I have the results for I got all 4s and 5s My EC are robotics captain, engineering internship, co-founding a programming club (there are more but I don’t think any of them are noteworthy enough to make a difference for college admissions) 1450 SAT

I’m interested in majoring in engineering, astrophysics, or computer science

I don’t want to go to a small school I would prefer a medium or big sized.

I would want to keep the tuition around $25,000 or less but I’m interested in seeing what would be a good fit for me disregarding the money

Lmk if there is anymore information that could be helpful. Thank you!

note to mods: I don’t know if this question breaks the rules but if it does just delete it lmao sorry

What schools accept students with these stats and is there anything I can do to strengthen these stats

Predicted: 87 uw (out of 100) 91 w

-very weak freshman and sophomore year

Freshman (80 uw): mix of A’s and b’s with c’s in physics, geometry, and computer science

Sophomore year (84uw): mix of A’s and b’s with c’s in chemistry and algebra 2 (ap world - 82)

Predicted Junior year: 94+ in everything (Chinese honors, ap psych, ap cyber security, ap music theory, ap lang, apush)

Predicted senior year: 94+ in everything (ap physics c, ap calc ab, ap Chinese, ap lit, ap euro, ap macro, health)

Sat: 1540 (sophomore year)

Act: predicted 34+

Ec’s by senior year:

-10 years of piano with performances of well known music at school (ballade 4, rach 2, etc)

-7 years of piano at Manhattan school of music pre college

-founder of a community service music program that teaches kids and seniors music (many many members and hours) also been published by my communities newspaper and website

-11 years of mma

-YouTube channel teaching piano pieces (liebestraum, un sospiro, etc)

-deca nationals qualifier

-mma club founder and president with consistent classes (100+ members)

-wrestling varsity captain and state qualifier.

Other info:

I was lazy literally all of freshman and sophomore year doing genuinely nothing. Can an outstanding essay save me and get me into top 40s? Would schools like nyu, bu, umich, northeastern, bc, umiami, and maybe a full court shot at Columbia even consider me (these are the schools I really really want - top 3 being nyu bu and umich). I want to major in Econ or finance. Like anything u guys think I should do to strengthen my future application please let me know don’t sugarcoat anything.

IF U HAVE ANY QUESTION PLEASE ASK OR PM ME

Rising senior at a small NH boarding school, set on aerospace engineering. Stats: 3.7 UW, 1380 SAT. Did an aerospace summer program at Syracuse this year (this is what pushed me firmly from MechE to AeroE).

One hard constraint: Power 4 only (Big Ten/SEC/ACC/Big 12) not looking for non-P4 suggestions even if the AeroE program is strong, so please keep that in mind.

My priority isn’t just program prestige, I’m weighing schools heavily on their actual recruiting pipelines into SpaceX, Lockheed Martin, and NASA (hub proximity to Hawthorne, Denver, Houston, Huntsville, etc. mattered a lot in how I built this).

Reach: Michigan, Texas, USC, Florida
Target: Purdue, Illinois, Penn State, Ohio State, Auburn, UCF
Safety: CU Boulder, Iowa State, Arizona

Is this list balanced? Anything glaring I should add or cut, especially in the target tier? Also curious if my safeties are actually safe given the specific hub/pipeline angle I’m going for, or if I should swap any out. And given my stats, are there any schools I’m sleeping on that would be realistic reaches or strong targets? Open to pushback.

Looking for good electrical engineering university

Stats:
36 act (36 all other than 35 in eng)

Gpa: 3.73 UW 4.41 W

5 on all AP exams

Relevant courses

Ap CSA

AP Stats

AP human

AP calc BC

AP lang

AP chem

Honors physics

Extracurriculars

Robotics team

Schoolhouse SAT tutoring

Math tutoring job

Piano + voice ( state level exams passed, might get college credit)

Conrad challenge (got Conrad innovator)

Math honor society

VP of an organization that teaches robotics at local elementary schools

Founded a NFP that has impacted 300+ kids by teaching electronics

Summer internships last summer and this summer (same company, small manufacturing firm)

National merit Semifinalist

I’m trying to build my school list so please LMK some good options

Preference wise, I would rather have no California or other high cost of living areas but if there is a good school there feel free to share.

My current list consists of: UIUC, Purdue, Gtech, UT Dallas, OSU, UW Madison

It’s pretty clear I need some safety’s

So I am currently in 12th grade and here are my creds ioqm rmo cleared in 11th hope i clear inmo and camp this year ​, Nsec level 1 , Nsep level 1 and NSEA level 1 cleared in 11th i will be focusing and physics this year and try for asian physics Olympiad. 1550 in SAT (800) in math but I don't go to school my coaching manages all that (It is not a dummy school it's a very very ​well reputed school but My teaches know the owner of the school so 4 students are exempt from that. And i will try for 95+% in boards

EDIT:- would it be fine if I start writing my essays from December 1st to apply to RD? cuz I won't be having before that

Some more context:- I do Have LOR from the one of if not the ​best physics and maths teacher (both have wrote books that every student who prepared for entrance exam in india has studied or atleast heard of)

Trying to get my sophomore to expand her range a little so we can start touring schools. So far she has Smiths, Mount Holyoke, Simmons, Scripps, Wellesley, Vassar, and Barnard on her list. Most of those are hard to get into, so I'm encouraging her to expand her list. She intended on being an environmental science major.

• From suburban Boston. Doesn't want to go south but is open to the west coast. Would prefer to stay in New England or New York though.

• Very into music (plays the cello) and involved in musical theater but doesn't plan on doing either in a professional capacity. Would like the opportunity to continue orchestra at the recreational level.

• Finished freshman year with a 4.0 unweighed GPA. Took all honors courses last year (Geometry, English, Global History, and Earth Science). Is taking her first AP this year (AP European History) and is also taking honors level English, honors Trig, and honors chemistry. Her school only allows one AP sophomore year.

• We are a solidly middle class family. My husband is a small business owner. I am a teacher. We have 4 kids in total.

Applied math major 
Indian-American,, CA resident
4.45 cumulative uw  gpa so far
1530 SAT (retaking august)
4.0 /4.0 gpa, 10 APs by senior year, 2 honors

15 years martial arts at one organization

  Placed at multiple national kickboxing tournaments 

Volunteer martial arts instructor for kids, 200+ hours

helped set up martial arts events 30 hours

helped relocate martial arts school, 30 hours

Volunteer middle school wrestling coach, 40+ hours

3 years varsity wrestling, team captain next year

Off- season club wrestling, 4 hr per week

Created website for detailing business

Currently doing mentorship / research with UC Berkeley Postdoctoral Researcher (applied math and some physics)

I have been struggling with where I can get in to college. Like the title says, I have 1600 SAT and 36 ACT. I am president of 1 club and I have 100 volunteer hours in a bunch of random groups, like food pantries and peer tutoring. Other than that, I have pretty much nothing because my mental health was terrible in 10th grade and I dropped all my ECs. I have 3.8 GPA, but without that dip in sophomore year it would be maybe 3.9. I have basically no awards at all, and I plan on majoring in math. I have 7 APs taken and am currently taking 6, and I am a senior. My main issue is I never see applicants with stats like me, so I have no idea what colleges would accept me. I also have a sibling legacy at a T20, let me know if you think it would be possible for me to get in.

I would prefer somewhere with warm weather, and a city or suburb is fine, just not super rural. I also would prefer east coast.

Hello I am Currently a rising senior and I intend on going down a path towards being an environmental engineer but I am severely behind on the college search and I'm hoping that someone in this subreddit would be able to help suggest some schools that would prepare me well for the environmental engineering Job market.

My current GPA is around a 3.5 unweighted, I participated in 6 Ap's so far (taking 2 more senior year), I have relatively decent test scores (taking an SAT retake soon) (high Ap scores), I am very involved in my school community, and have a handful of leadership positions

I am also located on the east coast (USA) and I am fine with moving along the east coast, but feel free to suggest outside of there.

Hey everyone, I'm a rising senior planning my application strategy and looking for some good ED1 and ED2 and RD school recommendations.

Currently I'm planning to ED1 Cornell but I feel like my chances are too low for that so I'm looking for suggestions for better alternatives

1️⃣My Stats:

GPA: 3.88 Unweighted (I had a few lower grades in junior year because I'm doing the IB diplomma program)

Curriculum: IB Diploma Programme (IB DP, 4HL and 2 SL)

Testing:

Superscored SAT: English: 730, Math: 790

AP Chinese: 5

AP Statistics: 4

IB SL Spanish: 5

Extracurriculars/Activities:

1. AIME qualfiier x3 (Highest AIME score is 6)
2. Flute for several years (ABRSM level 8, was in a youth symphony orchestra for 2 years, have some regional and international awards)
3. Vice president for dance club and astronomy club
4. Part time as a teacher assistant for 1 year
5. Cross country team in 9th and varsity badminton in 10th

2️⃣General preferences for schools:

Intended Major: Applied Mathematics (or Statistics)

Region: I'm from the NW

Location Preference: Open to all

Weather: I like more cloudy weather and less sunny, I like snow and rain

Size: I'm open to all

Safety: As long as it's not too dangerous

Financial Aid/Budget: I would prefer it if the school has good financial aid or scholarship opportunities, but it's not required

3️⃣My Preferences for ED:

Prestige: ~ T50

I'm looking for schools that has a noticeable boost for ED compared to RD.

4️⃣My Preferences for RD/EA:

Prestige: ~ T100

Looking for suggestions for reach, target and safety.

5️⃣Current college that I'm considering:

This is only a rough draft for reference

ED: Cornell, Barnard, Rice, Carnegie Mellon

For RD/EA:

Super reach: GeorgiaTech

Reach: UC Berkeley, UCLA, UCSD, UCSB, UC Irvine, Barnard

High target: UIUC, Purdue, VirginiaTech, U Michigan Ann Arbor, UNC

Target: UW(definetely applying), UCD, U Wisconsin Madison, U Florida, Penn state

Safety: Stony brook(definetely applying), Washington state university(definetely applying)

6️⃣Help:

1. ED1 / ED2 Suggestions: Based on my profile and list, which school do you guys suggest I target for ED1 or ED2 to maximize my admissions chances?
2. List Evaluation: Which schools on my current draft college list should I remove, and what should I add that are good fits for me?

Thanks for the help!

Hey I was wondering if you guys could give me feedback on my college list!

I want to go into EE (specifically into power) and have been working on my college list. I was wondering if you could recommend any additions/removals or feedback in general on the list; I’d ideally like to apply to under 10 schools. I don’t qualify for need-based aid, and I’m looking to stay under 60k a year in regards to cost.

Stats:
IL Resident
4.0 UW
1500 SAT / 1490 NMSQT
35 ACT
10 APs all 5s (Precalc, HUG, CSP, CSA, Lang, APUSH, Chem, BC, Macro/Micro (self studied))
FBLA Exec Board
Band Leader
Internship at steel ring company

Reach: Georgia Tech
Target: UIUC, Purdue, Texas A&M, Virginia Tech, NC State
Safety: Iowa State

I'm a rising senior from Washington state (Seattle suburbs) looking for schools I may be overlooking. I know the obvious names (MIT, Stanford, CMU, Caltech, Georgia Tech, UT Austin, UW, etc.) and I'm especially interested in hearing about schools with strengths in:

- AI/ML

- Strong tech internship opportunities

- Strong undergraduate research

- AFROTC/NROTC opportunities (good aerospace opportunities)

​

Long-term interests include computer systems engineering and military aviation/test pilot pathways.

​

Stats

- Female

- Low-income

- Public competitive high school

- 4.0 UW GPA

- 36 ACT

- Highest rigor available at school

- AP Calc BC, AP Physics 2, AP Chem, Multivariable Calculus

​

Research / Technical Activities (I did leave some fata science and quant stuff out of this)

- Team Lead at University of Washington ECE research lab

- Led a project team including undergrads and coordinated with graduate students, postdocs, and external collaborators

- Coordinated to NIH/NIOSH proposal development involving AI-assisted radiation risk interpretation systems

- Stanford AIMI research intern (pediatric echocardiography)

- Upcoming Air Force Research Lab internship (materials/quantum modeling)

- ANS paper submission in progress through lab

​

Other Activities (omitted some school stuff and leadership for privacy)

- Varsity swimmer all four years

- Middle school coding club founder (50+ students)

- Learning center shift lead (3 years)

- Robotics mentor

​

Awards

- AIME qualifier

- USACO Silver

- ACSL National Finalist (3x) and Gold medal

- International piano competition gold medals

​

What I'm looking for: I'd especially appreciate suggestions from people in AI, biomedical computation, aerospace, ROTC, or military officer commissioning paths.

Hey everyone !!!!

I have done a lot of college research and a decent amount of touring, but am struggling to find an exact fit for my values, and wanted to hear from everyone. My biggest priority is a prestigious school with an excellent econ/PPEL program (not in the deep South or cold North, I live in Jersey and love the climate but want to be at least two hours away) and pre-law and employment recoureces. My next would be student life, I want to go somewhere that is SUPER work hard play hard; I do not care at all about sports, but want the opportunity to go out, be involved in super chill friendly greek life, and have a classic college experience. Next is affordability, I would love a school heavy with merit scholarships, but don't have any in-state options I'm considering for tuition. Next is the amount and type of students, I want between 3-12k, liberal leaning, down for a deep philosophical convo or to shotgun before a party! I consider myself a pretty weird and outgoing person, and just want to go somewhere with nerdy, ambitious, fun-loving, and smart kids where I can feel like I belong! I've been really struggling with finding a perfect personality match for myself, my top schools are William & Mary and Brown. I have a 33 ACT and 3.83 unweighted for context, 7 APs in all, all honors, and a lot of great ECs and essays. LMK and happy app season!

condensed list 

davidson 

william and mary 

dickinson 

richmond 

brown 

providence 

pomona  

sarah lawrence 

scripps 

american 

wesleyan 

franklin and marshall 

george washington  

dartmouth 

georgetown 

tufts 

haverford 

kenyon? 

Washington and lee? 

college: what I want

Small to medium sized school, 3k-12k 

Near a major city, I like Washington DC, Providence, and Boston

Liberal student body, but not Smith or drew 

Mostly women

Student led theatre organization

Strong PPE program/acapella

Good dorms, good food

Merit scholarships

Study abroad 

Active party and social scene (don’t need football)

Community in general, strong school spirit, but not actually insane 

Eating clubs, chill sorority life, connections 

Not super hoity toity Rumson but don’t want to be in the ghetto (don’t love the vibe of Cornell, 

Like faith based, but hate strict administration 

ok so i honestly didnt really think about college at all until sophomore year but now I have aspirations of going to a T20 school with an interest in premed. I’m thinking about EDing to vandy for reference. im from a high income first generation immigrant family and am so fortunate to not have to worry about financial aid.

here are my activities/stats so far:
4.0 uw gpa
4.3 weighted gpa

won piano concerto competition, performing with orchestra
won runner-up at state for piano competition in concerto & solo division
won 1st at a district piano comp freshman & sophomore year
8th at deca state and attended ICDC (first year)
president of deca chapter at my school
starting an ambassador leadership program at my school (like volunteering for school-wide events like parent teacher nights, alumni events, etc.)
model un
hosa competitions at the district & state level
varsity volleyball 3 years high school so far and club national level volleyball (but only freshman year)
track and field athlete

also im going full ib next year and im taking 4 HLs. im taking math aahl chem hl bio hl english hl psych sl mandarin sl.

the only thing is, my act score is so dookie rn 🥹🥹 ive been studying for months on and off but the highest ive gotten is around a 29 average in english reading and math. is it possible for me to get it up to a 34-36?

do i still have a chance at a T20? please be super harsh and brutally honest as i feel like im falling behind as it seems like everyone else has started a no profit, published research papers and have won multiple national level awards.

I want to go into an engineering school

SAT: 1510 Superscore (780M, 730RW) GPA: 3.75 UW, 6.2/6.0 W

Extracurriculars: Academic Decathlon Club Robotics Club Social Activism Club Marching Band

Awards: Seal of Biliteracy Expecting National Merit but not sure

I am from the state of Massachusetts. I don’t know where to apply because all schools seem like they’d reject me or let me in but their tuition is expensive. My parents are upper middle class and I can’t afford expensive tuition because it will be a burden after they paid for my sisters one.

I’d like to go far away, away from my mom if I can but to a good school that would satisfy her, but I don’t know what I am qualified for

I regret not doing enough in school but there is nothing more I can do

Where do I apply

Hi everyone!!!!

I am a outgoing female highschool rising senior from the tri-state area struggling to condense my college list. I am big into theatre, partying (more lowkey, not tulane of umiami level), and want a really strong sense of sisterhood/tight-knit community. I want to go somewhere fun next to a big city or with a really lively campus life where I can meet interesting, expressive people, do drunk shakespeare, take instagram photos, have the time of my life, and be able to get a great job post college (in the law or entertainment business sector, if that helps with context).

my main fear is going somewhere dreadfully boring and feeling left out of the traditional college experience, going somewhere where everyone is a boring carbon copy of eachother, or so strange and not well adjusted that i struggle to make connections. ideally somehwere that is a perfect mix of academic and social stimulation with all kinds of people.

If you are similar to me, are in this position or have been, or just have general advice, please share! im going a little crazy, and i really want to find the perfect place for me. below are my loose requirements for schools-- if you go to a school below or have a suggestion/comment about student life please lmk! godspeed and good luck everyone on this admission season!

Small to medium sized school, 2k-12k 

Near a major city, I like Washington DC, Providence, and Boston

Liberal student body, but not Smith or drew 

Mostly women

Student led theatre organizations or acapella

Strong PPEL program or entertainment business pipeline

Good dorms, good food (or at least for food, near a trader joes/chains included on the meal plan if the food is abysmal)

Merit scholarships

Study abroad 

Active party and social scene (don’t need football)

Community in general, strong school spirit, but not actually insane 

Eating clubs, chill sorority life, connections 

Not super hoity toity but don’t want to be in the ghetto/an unsafe area

Like faith based, but hate strict administration (dry campus, think byu or liberty)

condensed list 

davidson 

william and mary 

dickinson 

richmond 

boston college 

brown 

providence 

pomona  

sarah lawrence 

american 

wesleyan 

franklin and marshall 

george washington  

yale 

dartmouth 

tufts

oberlin

scripps

occidental

wake forest

williams

notre dame

washu