168 Noteworthy Colleges

College Search & Selection
61

<p>Benefiting from several helpful suggestions in this thread, here's my latest (and perhaps last) iteration of the consensus list of noteworthy colleges, this time listing 131 noteworthy colleges, including all but one on the Barron's list of the most competitive colleges. </p>

<p>Allegheny College (PA) /CR
American University (DC) /CR
Amherst College (MA) **
Bard College (NY) /PBK, WM
Barnard College (NY) **
Bates College (ME) **
Boston College (MA) **
Boston University (MA)
Bowdoin College (ME) **
Brandeis University (MA) **
Brown University (RI) **
Bryn Mawr College (PA) /PBK
Bucknell University (PA)
California Institute of Technology (CA) /PBK, WM **
Carleton College (MN) **
Carnegie Mellon University (PA) **
Case Western Reserve University (OH) **
Centre College (KY)
Claremont McKenna College (CA) **
Colby College (ME) **
Colgate University (NY) **
College of New Jersey (NJ) /WM, CR **
College of William and Mary (VA) **
College of the Holy Cross (MA) **
Colorado College (CO)
Columbia University: Columbia College (NY) **
Columbia University: Fu Foundation School (NY) **
Connecticut College (CT) **
Cooper Union (NY) /PBK, WM **
Cornell University (NY) **
Dartmouth College (NH) **
Davidson College (NC) **
DePauw University (IN) /CR
Dickinson College (PA) /CR
Drew University (NJ) /WM, CR
Duke University (NC) **
Emory University (GA) **
Franklin and Marshall College (PA) /CR
Furman University (SC)
George Washington University (DC) **
Georgetown University (DC) **
Georgia Institute of Technology (GA) /PBK
Gettysburg College (PA)
Grinnell College (IA)
Gustavus Adolphus College (MN) /CR
Hamilton College (NY) **
Harvard University (MA) **
Harvey Mudd College (CA) /NW, PBK **
Haverford College (PA) **
Illinois Wesleyan University (IL) /CR
Iowa State University (IA) /CR
Johns Hopkins University (MD) **
Kalamazoo College (MI) /CR
Kenyon College (OH) **
Lafayette College (PA) **
Lawrence University (WI) /NW, CR
Lehigh University (PA) /WM
Macalester College (MN) **
Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MA) **
Miami University (OH) /WM
Middlebury College (VT) **
Mount Holyoke College (MA)
New College of Florida (FL) /PBK, WM
New York University (NY) **
Northwestern University (IL) **
Oberlin College (OH) **
Occidental College (CA) **
Pitzer College (CA) /PBK, WM
Pomona College (CA) **
Princeton University (NJ) **
Reed College (OR) **
Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (NY) /PBK, CR
Rhodes College (TN) /WM
Rice University (TX) **
Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey (NJ)
Sarah Lawrence College (NY) /PBK, CR
Scripps College (CA) /WM **
Skidmore College (NY) /CR
Smith College (MA) **
Southwestern University (TX) /YD, CR
St. Olaf College (MN)
Stanford University (CA) **
State University of New York at Albany (NY) /Peterson, CR
State University of New York at Binghamton (NY)
State University of New York at Buffalo (NY) /CR
Swarthmore College (PA) **
Syracuse University (NY) /CR
Trinity College (CT) /CR
Tufts University (MA) /WM **
Tulane University (LA) /WM **
Union College (NY)
United States Air Force Academy (CO) /Fiske, PBK, WM
United States Military Academy (NY) /Fiske, NW, PBK, WM **
United States Naval Academy (MD) /Fiske, PBK, WM **
University of California: Berkeley (CA) **
University of California: Los Angeles (CA) **
University of California: San Diego (CA)
University of Chicago (IL) **
University of Dallas (TX) /WM
University of Florida (FL)
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign (IL)
University of Miami (FL) /PBK, WM, CR **
University of Michigan (MI) /NW
University of Minnesota--Twin Cities (MN)
University of Missouri: Columbia (MO) /PR, CR
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (NC) **
University of Notre Dame (IN) **
University of Pennsylvania (PA) **
University of Pittsburgh (PA) /CR
University of Richmond (VA) /CR **
University of Rochester (NY) /PR **
University of Southern California (CA) **
University of Texas at Austin (TX)
University of Virginia (VA) **
University of Washington (WA)
University of Wisconsin--Madison (WI)
University of the South (TN)
Vanderbilt University (TN) **
Vassar College (NY) **
Villanova University (PA) /WM
Wabash College (IN) /WM
Wake Forest University (NC) /WM **
Washington University in St. Louis (MO) **
Washington and Lee University (VA) **
Wellesley College (MA) **
Wesleyan University (CT) **
Wheaton College (IL) /PBK
Whitman College (WA)
Willamette University (OR) /CR
Williams College (MA) **
Yale University (CT) ** </p>

<p>The double asterisks now mean exactly that the college is considered by Barron's to be "most competitive," and thus tells onlookers which colleges are most a "reach" to apply to. The other colleges on this list were mentioned at least six times in inclusion sources--there are eight of those as I have realigned my selection approach, sources 1) through 7) and source 9) above--and in the other selectivity source, source 8), Rugg's Recommendations on the Colleges. The selection principles are still debatable, as I would be the first to acknowledge, but I think this list is a little more plausible to me than my last attempt. Colleges that are not named by absolutely all sources are shown with the sources that omitted them, symbolized by abbreviations of the source title. </p>

<p>You'll see too that now states are listed for each college. As before, feel free to comment on anything that jumps out at you about this list.</p>

62

<p>To supplement the consensus list of noteworthy colleges, I'll post here this list of colleges that almost made it onto that list. Colleges listed here were named by at least five different sources. Because some of the sources systematically ignored national service academies, fine arts schools, music conservatories, or polytechnics, I listed schools in those categories if they were mentioned three or more times in my sources. The listing below is alphabetical. The unique Webb Institute is by far the most selective college on this list, a highly specialized college. </p>

<p>Agnes Scott College (GA)
Albion College (MI)
Alfred University (NY)
Alma College (MI)
Arizona State University (AZ)
Auburn University (AL)
Austin College (TX)
Babson College (MA)
Baylor University (TX)
Beloit College (WI)
Bennington College (VT)
Birmingham-Southern College (AL)
Brigham Young University (UT)
California Polytechnic State University: San Luis Obispo (CA)
Calvin College (MI)
Catholic University of America (DC)
Clark University (MA)
Clarkson University (NY)
Clemson University (SC)
Coe College (IA)
College of Wooster (OH)
College of the Atlantic (ME)
Colorado School of Mines (CO)
Colorado State University (CO)
Cornell College (IA)
Denison University (OH)
Drexel University (PA)
Earlham College (IN)
Elon University (NC)
Emerson College (MA)
Eugene Lang College The New School for Liberal Arts (NY)
Evergreen State College (WA)
Fairfield University (CT)
Florida Institute of Technology (FL)
Florida State University (FL)
Fordham University (NY)
Franklin W. Olin College of Engineering (MA)
George Mason University (VA)
Goucher College (MD)
Hampden-Sydney College (VA)
Hampshire College (NY)
Hendrix College (AR)
Hiram College (OH)
Hobart and William Smith Colleges (NY)
Hofstra University (NY)
Hollins University (VA)
Hope College (MI)
Howard University (DC)
Illinois Institute of Technology (IL)
Indiana University Bloomington (IL)
Ithaca College (NY)
James Madison University (VA)
Knox College (IL)
Lake Forest College (IL)
Lewis and Clark College (OR)
Louisiana State University (LA)
Loyola University Chicago (IL)
Marlboro College (VT)
Marquette University (WI)
Michigan State University (MI)
Michigan Technological University (MI)
Mills College (CA)
Millsaps College (MS)
Morehouse College (GA)
Muhlenberg College (PA)
New Jersey Institute of Technology (NJ)
New Mexico Institute of Mining and Technology (NM)
North Carolina State University (NC)
Ohio State University: Columbus Campus (OH)
Ohio University (OH)
Ohio Wesleyan University (OH)
Penn State University Park (PA)
Pepperdine University (CA)
Purdue University (IN)
Rhode Island School of Design (RI)
Ripon College (WI)
Rochester Institute of Technology (NY)
Rollins College (FL)
Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology (IL)
Saint Louis University (MO)
Santa Clara University (CA)
Southern Methodist University (TX)
Spelman College (AL)
St. John's College (MD)
St. John's College (NM)
St. Lawrence University (NY)
St. Mary's College of Maryland (MD)
State University of New York College at Geneseo (NY)
State University of New York at Stony Brook (NY)
Stetson University (FL)
Stevens Institute of Technology (NJ)
Susquehanna University (PA)
Sweet Briar College (VA)
Temple University (PA)
Texas A and M University (TX)
Texas Christian University (TX)
Texas Tech University (TX)
Trinity University (TX)
Truman State University (MO)
United States Coast Guard Academy (CT)
United States Merchant Marine Academy (NY)
University of Alabama (AL)
University of Arizona (AZ)
University of Arkansas (AR)
University of California: Davis (CA)
University of California: Irvine (CA)
University of California: Riverside (CA)
University of California: Santa Barbara (CA)
University of California: Santa Cruz (CA)
University of Cincinnati (OH)
University of Colorado at Boulder (CO)
University of Connecticut (CT)
University of Delaware (DE)
University of Georgia (GA)
University of Hawaii at Manoa (HI)
University of Iowa (IA)
University of Kansas (KS)
University of Kentucky (KY)
University of Maine (ME)
University of Maryland--Baltimore County (MD)
University of Maryland--College Park (MD)
University of Massachusetts Amherst (MA)
University of Missouri: Rolla (MO)
University of Nebraska--Lincoln (NE)
University of New Hampshire (NH)
University of New Mexico (NM)
University of Oklahoma (OK)
University of Oregon (OR)
University of Puget Sound (WA)
University of Redlands (CA)
University of Rhode Island (RI)
University of South Carolina (SC)
University of South Dakota (SD)
University of Tennessee: Knoxville (TN)
University of Tulsa (OK)
University of Utah (UT)
University of Vermont (VT)
University of Wyoming (WY)
Ursinus College (PA)
Valparaiso University (IN)
Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University (VA)
Washington and Jefferson College (PA)
Webb Institute (NY) **
Wells College (NY)
West Virginia University (WV)
Wheaton College (MA)
Wittenberg University (OH)
Wofford College (SC)
Worcester Polytechnic Institute (MA)</p>

63

<p>Wow, I can't believe you dumped PSU out of that first list.</p>

64

<p>Hi, ConanFan314, your comment prompted me to take a look at my sources again, and you can consider Penn State dumped back on to the main consensus list, looking like this: </p>

<p>Penn State University Park (PA) </p>

<p>I suspect there may be a few more state universities with reasonably strong engineering programs that should be moved from the supplemental list to the main list, for the same reason.</p>

65

<p>Thanks, token! You saved me from digging up all my PSU top ranked numbers.</p>

66

<p>Another correction: </p>

<p>University of Maryland--College Park (MD) /CR </p>

<p>should be on the main consensus list.</p>

67

<p>token~ you continue to amaze me! guess we all know what you did this weekend! seriously, i wish i knew of this list BEFORE my kids went to college(but they made it onto your first list, anyway! :) ) many thanks for your time and incredible diligence!</p>

68

<p>Token, </p>

<p>Thanks for all your work! That "second look" list looks like the table of contents to Colleges [and Universities] That Change Lives: The Expanded Edition." If you ever want to turn it into a book, I bet there would be lots of takers ;)</p>

69

<p>Hi, MarathonMan88, thanks for your kind words. </p>

<p>Yeah, it would be hard to turn the supplemental list into a group of colleges that could travel to hotel meeting rooms together, but it would be possible to put them together in a book. I'd want to do a lot of traveling before I would write a college guidebook. </p>

<p>A lot of my interest in these issues actually developed during days when I was still childless, when I began traveling to a lot of college campuses as a Chinese-English interpreter for official visitors to the United States. Some of those visitors were higher education officials from China who wanted to know how colleges work in the United States. On such trips, I have been to professional meetings at </p>

<p>Georgetown U
American U
George Washington U
Harvard (repeatedly)
MIT
Emerson
Yale
Columbia
NYU
John Jay College
one of the CUNY colleges (rather uptown on Manhattan, as I recall)
Princeton
U of Maryland
Johns Hopkins U
Duke
U of NC Chapel Hill
NC State U
NC Central U
U of Alabama Huntsville
U of Michigan
Michigan State U
Wayne State U
U of Chicago
U of Minnesota
U of Nebraska
U of Denver
U of New Mexico
Arizona State U
U of Arizona
U of Washington
Willamette U
Stanford
UC Berkeley
San Francisco State
U of Southern California
UCLA
UC Irvine
UC San Diego
San Diego State U </p>

<p>and I'm sure that list isn't exhausive, but it's what comes to mind right away. On one of those trips I went to the Washington, DC National College Fair. On another I went to a national meeting of the National Association of Foreign Student Advisors, which was very interesting. On personal travel, I've been to various university campuses, including but not limited to </p>

<p>U of MN
Carleton College
St. Olaf College
Macalester College
Augsburg College
Normandale Community College
UW Madison
UW River Falls
UW Milwaukee
Milwaukee School of Engineering
Iowa State
U of MI
Michigan State
Northwestern U
U of Illinois
Indiana U
KS State
U of Washington
George Washington U (I lived on campus one summer)
UCLA (I lived near there one summer) </p>

<p>and I've been to the Minnesota National College Fair three times in a little more than a decade. There are lots of colleges looking for lots of students.</p>

70

<p>Most high school students expect to go to a college within 500 miles of home, often within commuting distance of home. The "go away to college" pattern of living in a dorm on a privately operated college campus may look like the typical college-going experience here on CC, where we talk about this kind of college experience most of the time, but most high school graduates commute to state-operated colleges, sometimes finishing college degrees many years after they graduate from high school. </p>

<p>Both ACT </p>

<p><a href="http://www.act.org/news/data/07/statemenu.html%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://www.act.org/news/data/07/statemenu.html&lt;/a> </p>

<p>and College Board </p>

<p><a href="http://www.collegeboard.com/about/news_info/cbsenior/yr2007/reports.html%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://www.collegeboard.com/about/news_info/cbsenior/yr2007/reports.html&lt;/a> </p>

<p>publish state-by-state tables of how test-takers do on college entrance tests in each state, and also specifying where test-takers in each state send their test scores. Those tables reveal huge regional differences in which colleges are hot, and which are not. Here are some examples from the Minnesota tables: </p>

<p>SAT Reports Sent by Class of 2007 Minnesota Students </p>

<p>UNIVERSITY OF MINNESOTA MINNEAPOLIS MN Pub 1,833 43.3
UNIVERSITY OF WISCONSIN MADISON WI Pub 982 23.2
NORTHWESTERN UNIVERSITY IL Priv 549 13.0
CARLETON COLLEGE MN Priv 401 9.5
NATIONAL MERIT SCHOLARSHIP PROGRAM IL Scholarship 396 9.4
SAINT OLAF COLLEGE MN Priv 385 9.1
STANFORD UNIVERSITY CA Priv 381 9.0
UNIVERSITY OF MINNESOTA DULUTH MN Pub 347 8.2
UNIVERSITY OF SAINT THOMAS MN MN Priv 340 8.0
HARVARD UNDERGRADUATE ADMISSIONS MA Priv 324 7.7
MACALESTER COLLEGE MN Priv 316 7.5
MASSACHUSETTS INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY MA Priv 281 6.6
NEW YORK UNIVERSITY NY Priv 270 6.4
UNIVERSITY OF CHICAGO IL Priv 261 6.2
UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN ANN ARBOR MI Pub 260 6.1
YALE UNIVERSITY CT Priv 251 5.9
CORNELL UNIVERSITY NY Priv 249 5.9
BOSTON UNIVERSITY MA Priv 244 5.8
WASHINGTON UNIVERSITY MO Priv 237 5.6
PRINCETON UNIVERSITY NJ Priv 236 5.6
UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA BERKELEY CA Pub 223 5.3
UNIVERSITY OF SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA CA Priv 214 5.1
BOSTON COLLEGE MA Priv 214 5.1
GUSTAVUS ADOLPHUS COLLEGE MN Priv 199 4.7
COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY COLUMBIA COLLEGE NY Priv 196 4.6
GEORGETOWN UNIVERSITY DC Priv 190 4.5
BROWN UNIVERSITY RI Priv 188 4.4
UNIVERSITY OF NOTRE DAME IN Priv 186 4.4
DARTMOUTH COLLEGE NH Priv 185 4.4
IOWA STATE UNIVERSITY IA Pub 169 4.0
UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA LOS ANGELES CA Pub 157 3.7
DUKE UNIVERSITY NC Priv 148 3.5
UNIVERSITY OF PENNSYLVANIA UNDERGRADUATE PA Priv 143 3.4
HAMLINE UNIVERSITY MN Priv 141 3.3
COLLEGE OF SAINT BENEDICT/SAINT JOHN'S U MN Priv 130 3.1
PURDUE UNIVERSITY WEST LAFAYETTE IN Pub 130 3.1
SAINT CLOUD STATE UNIVERSITY MN Pub 122 2.9
UNIVERSITY OF COLORADO BOULDER CO Pub 120 2.8
UNIVERSITY OF MINNESOTA MORRIS MN Pub 109 2.6
UNIVERSITY OF WASHINGTON SEATTLE WA Pub 108 2.6
BETHEL UNIVERSITY MN Priv 108 2.6
JOHNS HOPKINS UNIVERSITY MD Priv 107 2.5
DEPAUL UNIVERSITY IL Priv 107 2.5
MIDDLEBURY COLLEGE VT Priv 105 2.5
CARNEGIE MELLON UNIVERSITY PA Priv 105 2.5 </p>

<p>ACT Reports Sent by Class of 2007 MN Students </p>

<p>UNIVERSITY OF MINNESOTA-TWIN CITIES Minnesota 12,631 5,514 7,117
UNIVERSITY OF MINNESOTA-DULUTH Minnesota 8,009 2,351 5,658
SAINT CLOUD STATE UNIVERSITY Minnesota 6,000 1,691 4,309
MINNESOTA STATE UNIVERSITY MANKATO Minnesota 5,582 1,814 3,768
WINONA STATE UNIVERSITY Minnesota 3,289 838 2,451
UNIVERSITY OF SAINT THOMAS-MN Minnesota 3,143 689 2,454
NORTH DAKOTA STATE UNIVERSITY North Dakota 2,796 777 2,019
UNIV OF WISCONSIN-MADISON Wisconsin 2,582 538 2,044
MINNESOTA STATE UNIVERSITY MOORHEAD Minnesota 2,123 560 1,563
UNIVERSITY OF NORTH DAKOTA North Dakota 2,045 573 1,472
BEMIDJI STATE UNIVERSITY Minnesota 2,018 651 1,367
COLLEGE OF ST BENEDICT/ST JOHN'S UNIV Minnesota 1,825 614 1,211
GUSTAVUS ADOLPHUS COLLEGE Minnesota 1,806 411 1,395
SAINT OLAF COLLEGE Minnesota 1,633 406 1,227
UNIV OF WISCONSIN-EAU CLAIRE Wisconsin 1,593 284 1,309
CONCORDIA COLLEGE-MOORHEAD Minnesota 1,406 425 981
BETHEL UNIVERSITY Minnesota 1,388 465 923
UNIV OF WISCONSIN-RIVER FALLS Wisconsin 1,371 289 1,082
UNIVERSITY OF MINNESOTA-MORRIS Minnesota 1,218 262 956
HAMLINE UNIVERSITY Minnesota 1,185 220 965
AUGSBURG COLLEGE Minnesota 1,174 250 924
UNIV OF WISCONSIN-LA CROSSE Wisconsin 1,071 196 875
NORTHWESTERN COLLEGE Minnesota 1,060 350 710
UNIV OF WISCONSIN-STOUT Wisconsin 1,034 247 787
SOUTH DAKOTA STATE UNIVERSITY South Dakota 951 285 666
IOWA STATE UNIVERSITY Iowa 942 212 730
COLLEGE OF SAINT SCHOLASTICA Minnesota 909 252 657
SOUTHWEST MINNESOTA STATE UNIVERSITY Minnesota 862 205 657
NORMANDALE COMMUNITY COLLEGE Minnesota 826 256 570
COLL OF ST CATHERINE-ST PAUL CAMPUS Minnesota 810 218 592 </p>

<p>All Other Institutions 39,854 9,762 30,092 </p>

<p>Total 113,136 31,605 81,531</p>

71

<p>Contrast to another link.</p>

<p>Another list was compiled over a period of weeks for "Brag about your "lesser known" school!" started by "abasket." Great thread with great insight.</p>

<p>That list is large and about 20 schools overlap with this list. I tried to weed out the overlapping schools. I attach below the list of schools of that thread, less those already included in this thread.</p>

<p>Many personal comments about the schools are in that thread:
<a href="http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/showthread.php?t=370873%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/showthread.php?t=370873&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p>

<p>Some comments. Tried to list town and state for each school to aid parents to identify region -- note some schools have similar names, but location indicates dissimilar campus.</p>

<p>Reference ending with CTCL is for Loren Pope's list of Colleges That Change Lives.</p>

<p>This site liberally and exhaustively references Pope; and, his resources can also be found at:
<a href="http://www.ctcl.com/why/myths.htm%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://www.ctcl.com/why/myths.htm&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p>

<p>HERE IS THE LIST (with omission of duplicates)</p>

<p>Alberston College (Caldwell, ID)
Albion College (Albion, MI)
Albright College (Reading, PA)
Alma College (Alma, MI)
Alverno College (Milwaukee, WI)
Augustana College (Rock Island, IL)
Austin College (Sherman, TX) CTCL 1
Beaver College (Beaver, PA)
Belmont Abbey College (Charlotte, NC)
Beloit (Beloit, WI) CTCL 1
Bentley College (Waltham, MA)
Berea College (Berea, KY)
Bethel Univ (St. Paul, MN)
Bradley University (Peoria, IL)
Butler University (Indianapolis, IN)
Cal State Monterey Bay (Monterey, CA)
Calvin College (Grand Rapids, MI)
Carrol College (Waukesha, WI)
Carthage College (Kenosha, WI)
Chapman University (Orange, CA)
Christopher Newport University (Newport News, VA)
Clark (Worcester, MA) CTCL 1
Coe College (Cedar Rapids, IA)
College of Santa Fe (NM)
College of St. Rose (Albany, NY)
College of the Atlantic (Bar Harbor, ME)
Colorado State University (Ft. Collins, CO)
Cornell College (Mount Vernon, IA) CTCL 1
Curry College (Milton, MA)
Denison (Granville, OH) CTCL 1
Depaul (Chicago, IL)
DeSales University (Center Valley, PA)
Earlham College (Richmond, IN) CTCL 1
Eastern Illinois University (Charleston, IL)
Eckerd College (St. Petersburg, FL) CTCL 1
Elizabethtown College (Elizabethtown, PA)
Elmurst College (Elmhurst, IL)
Elon Univ (Elon, NC)
Embry Riddle (Daytona Beach, FL)
Evergreen State College (Olympia, WA) CTCL 1
Fairleigh Dickinson University (Madison, NJ)
FAU (Boca Raton, FL)
Fontbonne Univ (St. Louis, MO)
Gannon University (Erie, PA)
Geneva College (Beaver Falls, PA)
Georgetown College (Georgetown, KY)
Georgia State University
Gonzaga (Spokane, WA)
Goshen College (Goshen, IN)
Grand Valley State University (Allendale, MI)
Grove City College (Grove City, PA)
Guilford College (Greensboro, NC) CTCL 1
Hampshire (Amherst, MA) CTCL 1
Hanover College (Hanover, `IN)
Heidelberg College (Tiffin, OH)
Hendrix College (Conway, Ark) CTCL 1
Hillsdale College (Hillsdale, MI)
Hiram College (Hiram, OH) CTCL 1
Hobart & William Smith College (Geneva, NY)
Illinois College (Jacksonville, IL)
James Madison University (Harrisonburg, VA)
Juniata College (Huntingdon, PA)
Kansas State University (Manhattan, KS)
Keene State College (Keene, NH)
Kettering Univ of Engineering (Flint, MI)
Knox College (Galesburg, IL) CTCL 1
Lake Forest (Lake Forest, IL)
Linfield College (McMinnifield, OR)
Louisian Tech University (Ruston, LA)
Manhattan College (Riverdale, NY)
Manhattanville College (Purchase, NY)
Marquette Univ (Milwaukee, WI)
Mercer College (Macon, GA.)
Millikin University (Decatur, IL)
Millsaps College (Jackson, MS) CTCL 1
Mitchell College (New London, CT)
Montreat College (Montreat, NC)
Muhlenberg College (Allentown, PA)
NC State University
Nebraska Wesleyan University (Lincoln, NE)
New England College (Henniker, New Hampshire,)
New Mexico Institute of Mining and Technology (Socorro, NM)
Northland College (Ashland, WI.)
Northwestern College (Orange City, IA)
Ohio Dominican (Columbus, OH)
Ohio Northern University (Ada, OH)
Otterbein College (Westerville, OH)
Prescott College (Prescott, AZ)
Principia College (Elsah, IL)
Randolph College (Lynchburg, VA)
Ripon College (Ripon, WI)
Roanoke College (Salem, VA)
Rollins College (Winter Park, FL)
Santa Clara University (Santa Clara, CA)
Seton Hll University (South Orange, NJ)
Sewanee/The University of the South (TN)
Simmons College (Boston, MA)
Southeastern Missouri State University (Cape Girardeau, MO)
Spring Arbor Univ (Spring Arbor, MI)
St Louis University (St. Louis, MO)
St. Ambrose (Davenport, IA)
St. Catherin (St. Paul, MN)
St. Francis College (Brooklyn Heights, NY)
St. Lawrence University (Canton, NY)
St. Mary’s (St. Mary’s City, MD)
St. Mary’s College (South Bend, IN)
St. Michael's College (Colchester, VT)
St. Vincent College (Latrobe, PA)
Stetson University (Deland, FL)
Stonehill College (Easton MA)
SUNY College of Environmental Science and Forestry
SUNY Purchase
Taylor Univ (Upland, IN)
TCU (Texas Christian U)
The College of New Jersey (Ewing, NJ)
Truman State (Kirksville, MO)
University of Alabama (Huntsville, AL)
University of Cincinnatti (Cincinnatti, OH)
University of Dayton (Dayton, OH)
University of Delaware (Newark, DE)
University of Denver (Denver, CO)
University of Mary Washington (Fredricksburg, VA)
University of Maryland (College Park, MD)
University of Mass (Amherst, MA)
University of North Dakota (Grand Forks, ND)
University of Oregon Clark Honors College (OR)
University of Pittsburgh (Johnston, PA)
University of Portland (Portland, OR)
University of Redlands (Redlands, CA)
University of San Francisco (San Francisco, CA)
University of St. Thomas (St. Paul, MN.)
University of Wisconsin at Milwaukee (Milwaukee, WI)
Walla Wlla CC (Walla Walla, WA)
Warren Wilson College (Asheville, NC)
Washington & Jefferson College (Washington, PA) CTCL 1
Wayne State College (Wayne, NE)
Wells College (Aurora, NY)
Western Washington U (Bellingham, WA)
Westminster College (New Wilmington, PA)
Whitworth (Spokane, WA)
Wichita State (Wichita, KS)
Willamette (Salem, OR)
Winona State University (Winona, MN)
Wittenberg University (Springfield, OH)
Wofford (Spartanburg, SC)
Wooster, College of (Wooster, OH) CTCL 1
Xavier University (Cincinnati, OH)
Yeshiva U (NY NY)
York College of Pennsylvania.(York, PA)</p>

72

<p>I think the alphabetical listing of colleges on College Confidential is a pretty good list. At some point, the list is so long it is not of too much value.</p>

<p>I appreciate the effort put into it. But being noteworthy is not what needs to be emphasized in a college search. The applicant needs to determine if they fit that institution and its standards of admission.</p>

73

<p>Any ideas for a B student? It seems more and more difficult for students in the 3.0 - 3.2 range to find decent schools to apply to. I'm looking for schools in the northeast, midwest or south that have decent sport teams and a population of at least 5,000. Any ideas?</p>

74

<p>I realized after seeing a couple of the latest replies that one thing my list stumbled into, for finding "fit," is that it lists the colleges that have more than one write-up in a guidebook with detailed write-ups. That has to be some kind of advantage in building a college application list. To know which colleges have written descriptions from third parties (who may even be unbiased third parties) helps narrow down which colleges to consider, because among those you can find out which ones are a good fit for YOU faster. </p>

<p>Good luck to this year's applicants. There is still plenty of time to add more regular decision round choices to your application list.</p>

75

<p>Tokenadult,</p>

<p>I think now you should really try to put all that work into a College Selection Guidebook, publish it parents and student, and you will make some worthy $$$. :-)</p>

76

<p>Has anyone heard the quality of education at the City of New York Honor Colleges, Hunter Honors to be exact?</p>

77

<p>Hunter makes it into some of the guidebooks.</p>

78

<p>Why is Tufts not double starred?</p>

79

<p>Hi, lianri (Chinese screenname?), thanks for asking. </p>

<p>Tufts is double-starred in my underlying database and in the latest posting from that database (post #61) in this thread. </p>

<p><a href="http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/showpost.php?p=4808603&postcount=61%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/showpost.php?p=4808603&postcount=61&lt;/a> </p>

<p>I think earlier I applied a different criterion for the double stars; now they represent inclusion on the Barron's list of most selective colleges.</p>

80

<p>Have you all sent in applications yet? Now is a good time to get in applications to a rolling admission college, if you haven't already, and it is near to the deadline for most early action or early decision programs. (I don't advise applying early decision, but some students know what one college is the favorite, and want to show strong interest in that college.) </p>

<p>Good luck in your applications.</p>