Colleges I have a good shot at?Answered
First of all, I just want to say I’m not trying to flex my stats at all! I’m just genuinely curious as to what colleges I have a decent shot at.
Weighted GPA: 5.0
Unweighed GPA: 4.0
Rank: 1
SAT: 1580
I’ve been wanting to attend an Ivy League, UCLA, or Stanford. But these colleges are incredibly selective so I’m not sure if I should apply for more safe universities, or do a mix of both? What do you guys think? Any help is appreciated.
You too!! And no problem.
Earn karma by helping others:
5 answers
Your academics are amazing. You'll cross any threshold colleges have. But, academic achievement for the most selective universities is typically just that. A threshold. What have you done outside of academics? That's super important.
Also, you should have a mix of safety schools, target schools, and reach schools. CollegeVine has a resource which tells you what schools they think are safeties, targets, and reaches; Niche also has their own resource which tells you how much more academically qualified you are compared to other applicants. You should have a list of 8-12 schools to start, a mixed bag of all three categories.
Since no one has really give any specific schools some schools you likely have good shots at assuming essays and ECs are average (for that specific school as an average Harvard essay is probably better than the average areed College essay) for lack of a better term. These are spread out across the country so if you’d want I can give much more in a specific region. Schools have around a 30% admit rate to ~15%. (About +-1.5%)
Reed College
USC
Claremont Colleges
UT Austin
WashU
Georgetown
Tufts
NYU
Colgate
UVA
UNC Chapel Hill
UMich
GATech
Tulane
However please note that a school with a 80% admit rate may be better for you. I don’t think I could stand going to Dartmouth with how rural it is. So there’s that to consider so just cuase a school ha s the prestige or admit rate don’t decide to apply based on that apply based on what the school offers in terms of academics campus etc.
As for the question about how many reaches to apply to Id say as a very quick rule of thumb it shouldn’t be more than a third . Safeties should at least be either a quarter or at minimum 2 whichever is fewer. However that doesn’t take into account financial aid.
For example let’s say you are a New Yorker UCD may very well me a safety but it’s likely prohibitevily expensive and if you really need financial aid you should factor that into a safety schools consideration as in my mind and probably everyone else’s a safety school shouldnt just be a garunteed admit school but also one likely on the lower end of the spectrum.
The most important thing is to look at what schools are good for your major. Look at Niche.com and USNews rankings to find schools. Definitely add some target and safeties to the mix as well.
I totally think you should go for it and apply to the Ivys and Harvard/Stanford, but I would also apply to a few safety schools just to he on the safe side. Your academics are crazy amazing though!
I would you say you have a good shot but your essay is going to have to be what separates you from the rest
Your chance of acceptance
Your chancing factors
Community Guidelines
To keep this community safe and supportive:
- Be kind and respectful!
- Keep posts relevant to college admissions and high school.
- Don’t ask “chance-me” questions. Use CollegeVine’s chancing instead!
Some of my classes are on a 6.0 scale, but I understand this may not be the case for your high school. My overall GPA came out to a 5.0 due to my unweighted classes. It may not be possible to achieve a 5.0 at your school, but perhaps a GPA only slightly lower which is still FANTASTIC. Sorry if this isn’t too helpful, overall it comes down to your school’s policies or even state law. I’m sure your doing an excellent job with your academics and I wish you great luck on your journey. :)