Mr. Basnet, if she wants to go for a Tech school, that is a good decision. If she gets a really good score on ACT/SAT, I would recommend Boston University, Syracuse and Northeastern. I know these schools are private but they have a very strong alumni and reputation. Hence, chances of getting a good scholarship and placement can be high.

She has 33 in ACT, 4.4 GPA. took 3 times 33 composite in all, didn't move the needle, 34 superscore. Dissappointed she might not get into top 20 even though her extra curriculars are decent. So realistically those are the schools she has chosen.

I went to school long time ago so I do not know what they ask for currently. I live in Boston right now so aiming towards either Boston University or Northeastern but won't rule out Syracuse or University of Rochester either.

How about small elite liberal colleges like Amherst, Swarthmore, Grinnell (Iowa) etc?

Chicagoan and Kevin,

Thank you for your input, I spoke to her during the weekend and it looks like she will be doing her undergrad in computer science. While MIT and Yale are totally out of reach, she is leaning more towards Wellesley, Mount Holyoke, Smith, Amherst, Williams, BU and Northeastern.

But Liberal art schools, no matter how elite they are, do not have research opportunities like BU and Northeastern. Also Computer science isn't a major to brag upon in schools like Wellesley, Wellesley, Mount Holyoke, Smith, Amherst and Williams. Based on her performance, Amherst and WIlliams might still be out of reach.

What do you think?

At 4.4 GPA and 33 ACT, she has a lot of choices across the US. I suggest not limiting herself to Boston or North East. A lot of students come up with a short list of colleges on their own based on the particular major e.g. Electrical Engineering, Computer Science, Accounting, Business etc. they pick, their desired location to work after graduation, rigor of the coursework, and reputation of the college itself. She will need to do some homework and leg work herself by doing own analysis on the websites such as usnews.com, Princeton Review, and the individual webpages of the colleges or universities of her interest. Many people also do college tour to get a first hand feel for what the college is like. 

The family background and income could also play a role. Certain private colleges give a free ride if admitted when the family income is below a threshold. Public Universities of home state give an advantage in terms of tuition being in-state which could be less than half of the tuition at other state's public colleges or one third or even one fourth of tuition of private colleges. I think it would be a better idea to consult with her other classmates and school advisor than seeking generic and random advice on the web discussion boards.

She will also have to understand that admission application process is really competitive. Admission to highly selective colleges is not guaranteed regardless of the GPA or test scores. But in general if she is interested in Engineering, it would not hurt to aim for colleges like Cornell, Purdue, Washington University of St Louis, University of Texas at Austin while still keeping 3 or 4 safe bet colleges as alternatives. Just my two cents.

I would go by US News and World Reports rankings. If I were her, I would use common application and apply at institutions at various level of acceptance rates.