Anonymous wrote:What is the obsession with Pitt?

No obsession but it's not a bad school to apply - rolling admission is always nice, not too hard to get in, middle of city, not TOO big or too small...Having one acceptance early in the process is priceless.

Mid size safeties in cities - what major(s) are of interest?

Also recommend schools like U Roch and Case, but they are not safeties - acceptance rates too low for that. Case also heavily considers interest/manages yield. I would put them at high target. Look at Tufts (another reach).

Hard to find Brown/Chicago atmosphere among safeties. But, in general, mid size safeties in or near cities, I agree with DU, add Marquette, Gonzaga.

Low targets: Santa Clara (suburban, yield management/show interest, some majors are high targets), Fordham, American.

Large: GWU

What does he plan to study?

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Searching for more safety schools for my DS. School does not calculate rank or GPA, but he's has mostly As &A-s in rigorous classes, with 3 B+s sprinkled across the transcript, at a very rigorous DC private school. SATs 1520. Solid extracurricular activities but nothing super-unusual or distinctive.

Any suggestions? He prefers medium sized schools that are not too isolated or rural. Dream schools are Brown and Chicago. Some semblance of a thriving college town or nearby city would be nice. Thanks for any ideas.

Brown and Chicago have polar opposite curricula/educational philosophies. He needs to dive deeper or he's not going to be admitted to either one. Those two schools in particular care that applicants demonstrate awareness/understanding/buy-in to their respective educational philosophy. (I'm trying to be helpful, not negative.)

Yeah, agree. (Granted, I majored in Economics and Stats, where there is a particularly big divide between the two schools.)

Anonymous wrote:Target/safety would be case western
Likely safety Brandeis (although maybe it’s too small?)
True safety Belmont (it’s a pretty campus near Vandy)

Brandeis is small and it's not really in a college town. I think Tufts, BU, and Northeastern would be better if he's interested in the urban or college city/town lifestyle.

Anonymous wrote:Searching for more safety schools for my DS. School does not calculate rank or GPA, but he's has mostly As &A-s in rigorous classes, with 3 B+s sprinkled across the transcript, at a very rigorous DC private school. SATs 1520. Solid extracurricular activities but nothing super-unusual or distinctive.

Any suggestions? He prefers medium sized schools that are not too isolated or rural. Dream schools are Brown and Chicago. Some semblance of a thriving college town or nearby city would be nice. Thanks for any ideas.

Brown and Chicago have polar opposite curricula/educational philosophies. He needs to dive deeper or he's not going to be admitted to either one. Those two schools in particular care that applicants demonstrate awareness/understanding/buy-in to their respective educational philosophy. (I'm trying to be helpful, not negative.)

What is the obsession with Pitt?

Anonymous wrote:Pitt, Ohio State, UMBC? All in cities.

Umbc is close to a city, not in it.

Pitt, Ohio State, UMBC? All in cities.

What does he want to study? What do his college counselors say?

Case western is great - I think of it as being very math/science focused (lots of pre-meds). But probably more of a target.

I can think of lots of targets but safeties are hard for those stats (my kid is similar). I would appeal to college counselor.

Franklin & Marshall, Pitt, GW (depending upon his major)?

I agree with Case. Also maybe U of Cincinnati.

Not sure these are exactly safeties but also consider:

Clark
U Rochester
Loyola Chicago
U Denver
Fordham
Drexel, maybe Haverford

Pitt? My DD at a W public school with a 3.98 UW and 4.73 W and a 1500 was just accepted here and it was her safety.

Target/safety would be case western
Likely safety Brandeis (although maybe it’s too small?)
True safety Belmont (it’s a pretty campus near Vandy)

Searching for more safety schools for my DS. School does not calculate rank or GPA, but he's has mostly As &A-s in rigorous classes, with 3 B+s sprinkled across the transcript, at a very rigorous DC private school. SATs 1520. Solid extracurricular activities but nothing super-unusual or distinctive.

Any suggestions? He prefers medium sized schools that are not too isolated or rural. Dream schools are Brown and Chicago. Some semblance of a thriving college town or nearby city would be nice. Thanks for any ideas.