Likely / foundation schools for very top students ? (Not in VA/MD)

[Anonymous]

Here's a mix, depending on kid: grinnell, Keyon, Oberlin, fordham, Santa Clara, Wisconsin, UMN.

[Anonymous]

Pittsburgh sounds about right. Syracuse?Willam & Mary? U of Vermont?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Pittsburgh sounds about right. Syracuse?Willam & Mary? U of Vermont?

+1 or places like VT, Indiana if they want the "big state U" vibe. Sticking to cities in the midwest: Macalester (small) or UMN (big).

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:What does top scores mean? Perfect A+s, 1600, national awards (science and math olympiads) winner?

If all of those, aim for Harvard, MIT, Stanford, etc...

Some posters on this site complain that their not-so-top in the nation but still excellent students are being denied admissions to these top colleges, but most of that is just sour grapes. There are 50,000 valedictorians in the country. Not all of them should be going to HYPSM.

Very top student like you say and national recognition in two different areas…..very interested in Stanford , Princeton , brown , and maybe Dartmouth but they know those are all a gamble

For research: University of Rochester

fyi---school is filled with kids who applied to T20 schools and didn't get in and/or were waitlisted. Really smart kids, most start research by sophomore year. Lots of ability to take the courses you want in other interests if a stem major, as the Cluster system allows you to focus on what you love---if history is not your thing you will never take a history course. Only "core" requirements is a freshman writing course, then you take 3 courses in each of the other areas (STEM, Humanities, Social Sciences) that are not your major.

[Anonymous]

Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh checks all criteria you mentioned. My DC is a current student and feels it is the best place for her and also loves Pittsburgh very much. Based on the information you gave about your daughter’s credentials, she would have a great chance of getting into CMU, especially if it isn’t CS. Please look closely at CMU.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:What does top scores mean? Perfect A+s, 1600, national awards (science and math olympiads) winner?

If all of those, aim for Harvard, MIT, Stanford, etc...

Some posters on this site complain that their not-so-top in the nation but still excellent students are being denied admissions to these top colleges, but most of that is just sour grapes. There are 50,000 valedictorians in the country. Not all of them should be going to HYPSM.

Very top student like you say and national recognition in two different areas…..very interested in Stanford , Princeton , brown , and maybe Dartmouth but they know those are all a gamble

For research: University of Rochester

fyi---school is filled with kids who applied to T20 schools and didn't get in and/or were waitlisted. Really smart kids, most start research by sophomore year. Lots of ability to take the courses you want in other interests if a stem major, as the Cluster system allows you to focus on what you love---if history is not your thing you will never take a history course. Only "core" requirements is a freshman writing course, then you take 3 courses in each of the other areas (STEM, Humanities, Social Sciences) that are not your major.

This is a great recommendation

[Anonymous]

She’s going to need to be strategic with ED 1 and ED 2. That’s the real play here.

[Anonymous]

Connecticut College.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:What does top scores mean? Perfect A+s, 1600, national awards (science and math olympiads) winner?

If all of those, aim for Harvard, MIT, Stanford, etc...

Some posters on this site complain that their not-so-top in the nation but still excellent students are being denied admissions to these top colleges, but most of that is just sour grapes. There are 50,000 valedictorians in the country. Not all of them should be going to HYPSM.

Very top student like you say and national recognition in two different areas…..very interested in Stanford , Princeton , brown , and maybe Dartmouth but they know those are all a gamble

ED and EA at schools that prize her national recognitions. easy peasy if those are in athletics or an academic area where there's a standard ranking of "top" (e.g. Regeneron or USAMO). Less easy if it's a smushy national recognition (e.g. lots of art competitions are "national")

[Anonymous]

Macalester

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh checks all criteria you mentioned. My DC is a current student and feels it is the best place for her and also loves Pittsburgh very much. Based on the information you gave about your daughter’s credentials, she would have a great chance of getting into CMU, especially if it isn’t CS. Please look closely at CMU.

She is interested in CS and knows CMU is great at it but feels like at CMU it would be difficult to explore areas outside CS or change majors if she decided to…and she knows CMU is a reach for everyone in CS

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:What does top scores mean? Perfect A+s, 1600, national awards (science and math olympiads) winner?

If all of those, aim for Harvard, MIT, Stanford, etc...

Some posters on this site complain that their not-so-top in the nation but still excellent students are being denied admissions to these top colleges, but most of that is just sour grapes. There are 50,000 valedictorians in the country. Not all of them should be going to HYPSM.

Very top student like you say and national recognition in two different areas…..very interested in Stanford , Princeton , brown , and maybe Dartmouth but they know those are all a gamble

ED and EA at schools that prize her national recognitions. easy peasy if those are in athletics or an academic area where there's a standard ranking of "top" (e.g. Regeneron or USAMO). Less easy if it's a smushy national recognition (e.g. lots of art competitions are "national")

It’s not art

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:She’s going to need to be strategic with ED 1 and ED 2. That’s the real play here.

It feels harder to know where ED is really an advantage or if 1/2 the ED slots are athletes /legacies….feels like a lot of schools don’t offer ED2…

[Anonymous]

Is this an NCS kid? Your use of the word foundational makes me think it is.
I think safety schools would be Drexel, Pitt, Vermont, Syracuse, William and Mary, Tulane.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Is this an NCS kid? Your use of the word foundational makes me think it is.
I think safety schools would be Drexel, Pitt, Vermont, Syracuse, William and Mary, Tulane.

Given OP's posts, I think those are "too low" ranking.

There's 7 sisters up north for high-performing DDs. But if DD has a perfect academic record and is national recognized in a STEM (especially in CS), she's a shoo-in for most top CS schools (who would be fumbling over each other to grab a nationally recognized female CS applicant).

So UW, GT, CMU could be her safeties, IMO.