Any Ideas?

College Search & Selection
1

<p>Hey, i've started to look at colleges and for the most part I think I know what I want and I was wondering if anyone had suggestions for a college list for me including some matches and safeties.</p>

<p>I'm looking for a mid-sized school with a population around i dunno say 4,000 - 14,000, one that is not overwhelmingly guys (being a guy myself) and a school that I could have fun at while learning a lot (i guess thats ideal for anyone). I'm interested in Mechanical Engineering and in researching renewable energy and such. Money isn't really a problem for me and I'm open to just about region in the states. So far I've come up with UPenn and Yale as pretty good fits but they're both reach schools. I have yet to find some matches and safeties that fit. Any ideas? Here is my info:</p>

<p>GPA - 95 W 96.5 W (definitely going up though, will prolly finish junior year with close to a 98 weighted).</p>

<p>-This year taking: AP US History, AP English, AP Environmental, Pre-cal
-Took AP Physics and all the rest honors last year (sophomore year).</p>

<p>Didn't take SAT yet but took PSAT last year and got a 184 and took SAT II Physics and got a 730. I'm thinking my SAT score will probably be between 1950-2150.</p>

<p>300 hrs community service working for a conservation group.
25 hrs doing community service for BETA (soup kitchens etc.)</p>

<p>ECs (a bit weak, I know):
Tennis Team - 2 years
BETA Honor Society - 2 years: chairperson this year
Guitar - Played for a round two years
Tennis (outside of school) - 5 years</p>

<p>Also, my rank is in the top 10 percent of my school probably about 30/1,050</p>

2

<p>Some you might want to take a look at are Lafayette, Lehigh, Union and Case Western.</p>

3

<p>Berkeley, Purdue, Bucknell, Villanova, RPI, WPI</p>

4

<p>WPI is overwhelmingly male though.</p>

5

<p>yea, so it RPI. Thanks for the suggestions though. Bucknell and Villanova definitely interest me for match schools. Berkeley and Purdue on the other hand are huugggeee and I think i want to stay away from that</p>

6

<p>How about Johns Hopkins.</p>

7

<p>Admittedly smaller LACs like Lafayette and Union above: Swarthmore (another big reach) and Clark (3/2 Engineering with Columbia U.).</p>

8

<p>you can have fun at hopkins? not from what i've heard...</p>

<p>check out vanderbilt, sounds about right</p>

9

<p>thanks Brian. Vanderbilt looks like a great match.</p>

<p>swathmore on the other hand is waaaay to small for me to handle... its smaller than my middle school. but thanks for the suggestion</p>

<p>any ideas for some good safeties or matches? I think Vanderbilt is in the high match to reach range so it'd be great to find some match schools similar</p>

10

<p>Maybe Boston College as a match? How about Emory?</p>

11

<p>Emory and BC would be considerations except that they don't have mechanical engineering programs which i'm pretty sure is what i want to do</p>

12

<p>University of Rochester; Tufts; Brandeis.</p>

13

<p>I did this search for my son and couldn't come up with any safeties that weren't either mostly male or else large state universities. Your best bet for a safety other than your own state schools is to look for states that have smaller state universities like Oregon at only 16,000 students. Another school that might work is Santa Clara University, although it might be a match rather than a safety.</p>