College Application Time!

[fivetoadsloth]

Hey,
All High School seniors to be, what colleges will you be applying to in the fall?

If any current college students want to share where they are going, that would be nice as well.

I'll start. As of now I'll be applying to:
Johns Hopkins
MIT
Brown
Harvard (Questionable)
Princeton
Carnegie Melon
University of Chicago
Northwestern
and my state school.

[thegoldenmackid]

I will be a freshman at Wake. I didn't attempt to kill myself last year and only applied to five schools, of course my desires for a school basically meant I wanted to be at Wake, have fun and good luck. Apply E/D anywhere.

[jessica.]

Are you applying to those schools for a reason or because they're big name schools? You need to ensure you have a fallback school outside of the Ivy league, which I see you do, but I am just saying. Just because you wore Harvard Red or Yale blue growing up doesn't grant you admission to these schools as a high school grad!

Good luck! I'm happy to say I'm done with that stuff.

[fivetoadsloth]

Are you applying to those schools for a reason or because they're big name schools? You need to ensure you have a fallback school outside of the Ivy league, which I see you do, but I am just saying. Just because you wore Harvard Red or Yale blue growing up doesn't grant you admission to these schools as a high school grad!

Good luck! I'm happy to say I'm done with that stuff.
Thanks!
I'm one of the quirky people who like school too much, and as cliché as it sounds I would like to get the best education that I can. I think the schools have something to offer, and I hope I will get the opportunity to experience it.
:)

[toxictrix]

I'm at Baylor. It's the only school i applied to...

[thegoldenmackid]

I'm one of the quirky people who like school too much, and as cliché as it sounds I would like to get the best education that I can. I think the schools have something to offer, and I hope I will get the opportunity to experience it.
:)

Any college you go to has the ability for you to learn, because chances are the professors are a tad bit smarter then you are. Coming from a family with Harvard grads, it is harder to get in then it is to be at Harvard.

Also, if you are going into law/business/medicine, your undergrad is worth little in the professional world as to your grad school.

[Zombie Acorn]

Just because you wore Harvard Red or Yale blue growing up doesn't grant you admission to these schools as a high school grad!


If your parents kick in some donations it might help though.

[99MustangGTman]

Wish I could have afforded to go to a school like those. I went to a community college for 2 years and then transferred to OSU. All I can say is make sure you visit the schools of your choice and don't be bummed out if you don't get accepted, because you can always transfer later on.

[iAmAzN]

Going to be a sophomore attending the Colorado School of Mines.

Back in my senior year, I also applied for CalTech, UC at Berkeley, and Stanford University.

Some things you should consider when applying is what career are you hoping to get into? If that doesn't work out, what else does that university offer (though you can probably just transfer credit to another institution)? What's campus life like?--ie. social atmosphere, student organizations, sports, etc.

Mines was actually my fallback as they sent me one of their "Golden Scholars" applications which, from what my siblings (who also attended Mines) told me, was pretty much a guarantee that I was to get in if I applied. Suffice to say, I ended up being rejected by the three California schools and stayed in state, saving me some money on tuition!

[Signal-11]

Are you applying to those schools for a reason or because they're big name schools? You need to ensure you have a fallback school outside of the Ivy league, which I see you do, but I am just saying. Just because you wore Harvard Red or Yale blue growing up doesn't grant you admission to these schools as a high school grad!

Not if the reason you're wearing those colors is because mom and/or dad went there. Legacy admissions - that bottom 25% of admissions has to come from somewhere, or so the joke goes. :)

Wish I could have afforded to go to a school like those. I went to a community college for 2 years and then transferred to OSU. All I can say is make sure you visit the schools of your choice and don't be bummed out if you don't get accepted, because you can always transfer later on.

I think all of the schools TS is applying to are need blind and meet 100% of financial need.

fivetoadsloth, what's the reason you're applying to these particular schools? Harvard, Princeton and Brown are very, very different schools from MIT, Johns Hopkins and CMU. Which in turn, are very different from UChicago and Northwestern.

[fivetoadsloth]

Not if the reason you're wearing those colors is because mom and/or dad went there. Legacy admissions - that bottom 25% of admissions has to come from somewhere, or so the joke goes.



I think all of the schools TS is applying to is need blind and meets 100% of financial need.

fivetoadsloth, what's the reason you're applying to these particular schools? Harvard, Princeton and Brown are very, very different schools from MIT, Johns Hopkins and CMU. Which in turn, are very different from UChicago and Northwestern.

I'm actually not 100% sure what I want to do, right now Neuroscience would be my number one choice, or BME. Johns Hopkins has a great Neuroscience and BME program, whereas MIT has a great Neuroscience Program. I know I want to study some aspect of Medicine/Biology, so I tended to select science schools, Harvard has a really nice Biology program, my friend is there. I realize Brown is different, with its very open course selection, but it has some aspects that really interest me, so I might as well give it a shot, better to be rejected but have tried then never to have tried. University of Chicago and Northwestern are close to home (I am from Illinois) and my parents would be happy if I attended one of them. So far, as I continue to take more science and math courses everyone interests me quite a bit, but so far Biology is by far my favorite, and best subject.


On a side note, I am getting the hunch based on the responses my initial post came off the wrong way. I was not trying to be arrogant, etc, and I was merely curios where other Macrumors users were going/planning on going to College.

[wywern209]

after i graduate from HS in 2011, i plan on going to UW madison. they have a good computer science program. My other choice is university of Illinois. they also have a good CS program.

[Nadav]

Isn't it a little bit early to start your applications? Also, if you do end up applying to all of those colleges, that will be pretty expensive. My sister went through the process this year, and colleges were charging 60+ just to apply. Are you applying early, or regular?

[Signal-11]

I'm actually not 100% sure what I want to do, right now Neuroscience would be my number one choice, or BME. Johns Hopkins has a great Neuroscience and BME program, whereas MIT has a great Neuroscience Program. I know I want to study some aspect of Medicine/Biology, so I tended to select science schools, Harvard has a really nice Biology program, my friend is there. I realize Brown is different, with its very open course selection, but it has some aspects that really interest me, so I might as well give it a shot, better to be rejected but have tried then never to have tried. University of Chicago and Northwestern are close to home (I am from Illinois) and my parents would be happy if I attended one of them. So far, as I continue to take more science and math courses everyone interests me quite a bit, but so far Biology is by far my favorite, and best subject.

Okay, just curious, because some of those schools could not be more different, other than them being elite, high prestige schools. I can't think of two schools more different than U of Chicago and Brown, for instance.

Anyway, BME and Neuroscience are serious, no joke majors at either Hopkins and MIT. It's more or less impossible to switch into BME at either school without tacking on another year and when I was at Hopkins, Neuroscience was the one department that didn't allow students to double major. On the bright side, you'll have every premed requirement knocked out by the end of your sophomore year if you suddenly decide you'd rather study Art History instead. :)

How many of these schools have you visited?

[thegoldenmackid]

Isn't it a little bit early to start your applications? Also, if you do end up applying to all of those colleges, that will be pretty expensive. My sister went through the process this year, and colleges were charging 60+ just to apply. Are you applying early, or regular?
If you are applying to that many schools or that caliber of school, absolutely not.

[gauchogolfer]

Going to be a sophomore attending the Colorado School of Mines.


There are a couple of Mines students/grads around MR; I graduated in '98 and '99. Good choice!

[OutThere]

I'll be a senior at Union College in September. Forbes just put us #26 in the country! :D I applied to Amherst, Bowdoin, Bates, Trinity, Kenyon, Washington & Jefferson, St. Andrews (Scotland), Union, UConn and Hamilton.

http://www.drien.com/macrumors/random/kegstand.gif

[fivetoadsloth]

Okay, just curious, because some of those schools could not be more different, other than them being elite, high prestige schools. I can't think of two schools more different than U of Chicago and Brown, for instance.

Anyway, BME and Neuroscience are serious, no joke majors at either Hopkins and MIT. It's more or less impossible to switch into BME at either school without tacking on another year and when I was at Hopkins, Neuroscience was the one department that didn't allow students to double major. On the bright side, you'll have every premed requirement knocked out by the end of your sophomore year if you suddenly decide you'd rather study Art History instead. :)

How many of these schools have you visited?

Thanks Signal-11,
I plan on applying early decision at Hopkins. I visited Harvard, MIT (they are close enough together...) and Hopkins. Getting into the BME program at Hopkins is already pretty intense, so I am pretty sure I'll go with Neuro. Of course I am hoping my number applications will be cut down a bit when Early Decision results come in, and in the mean time Brown, Carnegie, and another may be cut.

[Signal-11]

Thanks Signal-11,
I plan on applying early decision at Hopkins. I visited Harvard, MIT (they are close enough together...) and Hopkins. Getting into the BME program at Hopkins is already pretty intense, so I am pretty sure I'll go with Neuro. Of course I am hoping my number applications will be cut down a bit when Early Decision results come in, and in the mean time Brown, Carnegie, and another may be cut.

I'm not sure that's the greatest application strategy.

Remember, the school accepts you, not the department. OTOH, if you apply with an intended major declared, you'll be compared to the rest of the people applying BME or NS and those are extremely competitive. The smart play is to apply undeclared and once you're accepted, sign up for the department. For Hopkins anyway. For MIT, it doesn't really matter.

Also a lot of people will tell you that you have plenty of time to decide. That's generally true, but these two majors are the exceptions. You really need to hit the ground running right out of the gates.

Anyway, it's up to you.

[it5five]

I was a bad HS student, so I only applied to one of my state universities since I was guaranteed admission (SAT score surpassed their minimum requirement). I plan on applying to better universities for my graduate studies though.

[seven7seven]

What'd you get on the SATs?

[Eanair]

I visited Harvard, MIT (they are close enough together...) and Hopkins.

My personal advice is don't even apply to a school you haven't visited/definitely plan on visiting.

There were several schools that I was practically in love with - especially some of their programs - but when I visited them, they were immediately crossed of my application list. I actually eliminated many of the Ivies that way. The only one I ended up really liking was Princeton for some reason.

[dukebound85]

Hey,
All High School seniors to be, what colleges will you be applying to in the fall?

If any current college students want to share where they are going, that would be nice as well.

I'll start. As of now I'll be applying to:
Johns Hopkins
MIT
Brown
Harvard (Questionable)
Princeton
Carnegie Melon
University of Chicago
Northwestern
and my state school.

Are you paying for college? I mean those schools will rape you tuition wise and so not worth it

Seriously, my advice is to get your undergrad at your state school and then do you grad work at a big name school

why pay more for undergrad when you dont need to? it rarely is worth it imo and I would ONLY considier it for grad options


my 2 cents

Going to be a sophomore attending the Colorado School of Mines.

Back in my senior year, I also applied for CalTech, UC at Berkeley, and Stanford University.

Some things you should consider when applying is what career are you hoping to get into? If that doesn't work out, what else does that university offer (though you can probably just transfer credit to another institution)? What's campus life like?--ie. social atmosphere, student organizations, sports, etc.

Mines was actually my fallback as they sent me one of their "Golden Scholars" applications which, from what my siblings (who also attended Mines) told me, was pretty much a guarantee that I was to get in if I applied. Suffice to say, I ended up being rejected by the three California schools and stayed in state, saving me some money on tuition!

haha, hows that male/female ratio working out for you? lol

I went to CSU and did meche and had the best time of my life there

Any school in CO is where it's at as far as I am concerned!

There are a couple of Mines students/grads around MR; I graduated in '98 and '99. Good choice!

yay for another CO person!

[rhsgolfer33]

Not applying to college per se, but masters in accounting programs. I'm applying at the following schools (not necessarily in order of preference):

London School of Economics
University of Texas - Austin
USC
Boston College
William and Mary
University of Virginia
University of Georgia
Ohio State University
University of Notre Dame
Cal Poly San Luis Obispo

I've got my GMAT coming up and have been working on essays and resume. I'm looking to eliminate maybe two schools since apps are pretty expensive, but I've been having trouble.

[iAmAzN]

haha, hows that male/female ratio working out for you? lol


Well, the ratio is the best it's been ever. 3:1 now a days. Though it doesn't bother me as I go up north often enough ;)

[Shotgun OS]

I'm attending John Carroll University this fall as a freshmen. I was also accepted at Baldwin Wallace, Ohio State, and Bowling Green, but I'm poor and JCU gave me a full scholarship. I waited til the day before to submit my applications before last Thanksgiving; glad to see some people are getting on top of it.

[11800506]

Not applying yet, but as an incoming junior I'm starting to look this summer. Ugh... I'm not looking forward to this year at all. But anyways, I'm interested in architecture (although not set on it) and I'll be looking at a bunch of schools in a week or so when I go to drop my sister off at school in Connecticut. So here are some schools that I might end up looking at in the New Englandish area:
-Boston College
-MIT
-Yale
-Brown
-Rhode Island School of Design
-Columbia
-Cooper Union

[Signal-11]

Are you paying for college? I mean those schools will rape you tuition wise and so not worth it

Seriously, my advice is to get your undergrad at your state school and then do you grad work at a big name school

why pay more for undergrad when you dont need to? it rarely is worth it imo and I would ONLY considier it for grad options

I think people vastly overestimate the cost of the above listed schools. If you apply and are accepted, the bottom line needs are almost always met by the school. There's plenty of sites that can help people who want to get the most out of their financial aid package and it's worth looking into.

Be it fair or not, but the name brand of the school, it's perceived value and reputation do count. I've caught myself doing this, where I give graduates from certain schools a second glance when based on the strength of their CV, I normally wouldn't given them a first.

[techlover828]

applying EDI to Bates, then if I don't get in Connecticut College EDII, and also union (ny), maybe a few others.

Hope bates works out

[Badandy]

Not applying to college per se, but masters in accounting programs. I'm applying at the following schools (not necessarily in order of preference):

London School of Economics
University of Texas - Austin
USC
Boston College
William and Mary
University of Virginia
University of Georgia
Ohio State University
University of Notre Dame
Cal Poly San Luis Obispo

I've got my GMAT coming up and have been working on essays and resume. I'm looking to eliminate maybe two schools since apps are pretty expensive, but I've been having trouble.

*cough cough*

That's a good one ;)

I'm a senior at USC majoring in business with an individualized concentration in business law/finance/entrepreneurship. Individualized means instead of concentrating in one area of the business school (above the regular requirements, that is) I'm free to just take whatever classes interest me. I'm having a great time and it's a fantastic university. If you want to apply somewhere on the west coast you should definitely look into it. We are need-blind like some of the other schools you have on your list and provide amazingly ridiculous tuition discounts for national merit scholars and the like.

rhs, I'm going to send you a PM soon, I hope everything's going well with accounting.

[leomac08]

well back in 2008 i had a 3.999 GPA

i applied to

UC Berkeley (failed) avg GPA 4.2
UCLA (failed) avg GPA 4.1
USC (wait listed) avg GPA 4.0
UC Riverside (in) avg GPA 3.5
UC Irvine (In) avg GPA 4.0
LMU (wait listed) avg GPA 3.8
Pepperdine University (failed) avg GPA 3.8
Cal State Long beach (in) avg GPA 3.3
Cal State Dominguez Hills (in) avg GPA 2.5
and many other CSU'S! (ALL ARE IN) idk

i ended up in Orange County in UC irvine. :D

[buffalo]

I'm a freshman at the United States Air Force Academy.

I also applied to:

Naval Academy
University Texas at Austin
The Ohio State University
Texas A&M
University of Utah