@AroundHere noted. Thanks for letting me know!
@crewdad thank you for the recommendation! I’m not sure how I feel about LACs however. I’m lucky to have my writing skills near my math/science skills, but I have little interest in the former. Is there a way I could see if LACs are right for me? I took a few generic quizzes but they didn’t really answer my questions.
@gearmom ED? Yikes I’m not sure about that…I feel like I would have to visit before making that decision, but I don’t think there’s time.
LACs tend to be colleges by the historical derivation of the word. That is, they gather students inclined toward academic pursuits in primarily residential, undergraduate-focused environments. They can be top-notch for neuroscience, psychology and pre-med, particularly if you value direct instruction and mentoring from senior faculty. Most activities, such as organizations, clubs and sports, will be highly participatory and generally accessible. They may be, and often are, in beautiful and snowy locations.
This is a great thread with great help and suggestions and you seem to have a fine list going.
In the start of this thread, there was some discussion about racial diversity versus integration. I just wanted to add that simply looking for the most integrated cities will often lead to cities with a lack of diversity as well, and finding both a diverse and integrated city is a pretty big challenge.
https://priceonomics.com/the-most-and-least-segregated-cities-in-america/
From my time spent living/visiting in a few of these, I’ve come to find that neighborhood segregation is more nuanced than just where people live. It’s a big factor, but there’s a big difference between a city where people regularly visit their own neighborhoods and one where it may not be considered safe. For example, Chicago is a textbook case of a true divide with the south side.
Looking to find the balance between those two metrics will likely lead to a good combination of diverse and integrated.
Good luck!
@theminkim ED, I think would have pushed you into match/high match territory, IMO. If you are out of time then you are out of time. You could try RD and revisit for grad school if need be. There would be an integrated diversity that you asked for.
Maybe I’m missing something here. You didn’t provide an expanded and detailed EC list but it seemed to me that you had leadership, took initiative, many volunteer hours. You stats can’t get better. Some great recs and a solid essay and I just don’t see how you wouldn’t have been a peer candidate.
Some of the matches are drifting into safety territory IMO.
@merc81 so it seems LACs are the way to go…are there advantages that only universities can offer? I heard there is a strong writing-based curriculum in LACs, and I’m not sure I could do that.
@phengsphils it’s disappointing, but true that so many diverse cities are also very segregated. I’m looking into Boston–it seems to have a good-ish mix going, good schools, and a major airport (I’m a fan of plane spotting haha).
@gearmom thank you for the compliment! I chose to have a more streamlined set of ECs that match what I’m passionate about. It’s just that so many people tell me to be cautious–many of the very selective schools view thousands of applicants with stellar stats, and it seems that the people who stand out are national winners, publish papers, etc. I’m just not on that level. Also, I’m often an ORM since I’m Asian. I will definitely still be applying to top schools however.
That’s a great question, and honestly tough for me to address since I tend to post more frequently on smaller colleges. This thread has been an exception, and I’ve tried to adhere as closely as possible to criteria you have indicated (thus far) as being important to you.
Based on your writing on this thread, you would do fine. A strong writing curriculum, in any event, will be designed to enhance the writing of every student, but will not expect sterling writing from all students upon matriculation. Over time, however, you would learn to write with ease and confidence – an important skill, and one that would make future academic and career endeavors easier, rather than harder.
With respect to the emphasis on clear written communication at certain colleges, this quality is not unique to LACs:
https://www.usnews.com/best-colleges/rankings/writing-programs
Brown, for instance, might have no fewer expectations in this area than Kenyon or Hamilton.
I see, thanks for the information! I think I’ll talk to my guidance counselor more about this.
Re: post 85
The big advantage of a research university is its breadth of offerings. I have one child attending a LAC and a rising senior who is filling her college list with medium to large research universities. The biggest driver for my senior is her established interests in niche areas of science that aren’t offered at smaller schools.
The big difference is the personal attention at the LACs. We’re trying to compensate for the lack of personal attention by looking at honors colleges at the bigger schools. We are already dealing with big school bureaucracy during the application and school visit process. The bigger schools have everything you need but it’s up to the student to know what they want and be proactive and persistent to get it. If you don’t make appointments and ask, the advisors and professors won’t seek you out.
This seems to come up with mostly the same conclusion as https://fivethirtyeight.com/features/the-most-diverse-cities-are-often-the-most-segregated/ – that some diverse cities like Chicago are highly segregated at the neighborhood level, but other diverse cities like Oakland are much less segregated at the neighborhood level.
Along with Chicago, Milwaukee, Philadelphia, Atlanta, Washington, and Baltimore are highlighted in both articles as diverse but segregated.
The current Pell grant thresholds mean that Pell grant recipients approximate college students from the lower half of the family income range.
Most highly selective colleges skew toward students from high income families. However, the extent that they do so varies. For example, JHU has 12% of undergraduates on Pell grants, but 50% not receiving any financial aid grants at all (probably needs a top 2-5% income family to afford that).
University of Washington. It’s in a city, with a liberal, diverse culture. I’ve heard they have an excellent pre-med program, as well as a medical school. Hope this helps 
Thanks! Unfortunately, it’s a bit too big for me. Thanks for the suggestiont hough!
I think I’ve decided that out of state schools will be reaches for me, since al schools above UT is basically a reach.