<p>I'm starting to think about applying to these as relative safeties/low matches, but don't know too much about them...</p>
<p>As a safety, Arizona seems like a great place, solid academics, good sports, attractive females...but it's basically in the middle of the desert; I guess it's warm though. How is the campus? How is Tucson?</p>
<p>From what I've seen University of Washington would be a great place, too. I know Seattle is a great city, but how is the area in which the campus is located? I also hear the dorms suck? </p>
<p>I'm pretty sure I'm looking for a larger state flagship university, I'm just not really sure. I know I defininitely want to be in an urban/suburban area and would prefer somewhere where it doesn't get freezing cold in the winter, but that isn't as big a deal. I live in Northern Virginia, but distance really doesn't concern me too much.</p>
<p>I have a 2060 and my average gpa over junior and senior years is about 3.75 weighted, so I'm not exactly an amazing student. Does anyone have any knowledge of other largish schools (public/private) that may be worth applying to, safeties or otherwise?</p>
<p>UW is academically superior to U of A. With your scores you can get into a MUCH better school than either of them. You should look at some Big 10 schools, they'll have better academics and good social life, if you're willing to sacrifice weather.</p>
<p>I don't know much about UW, but I live instate to U of A. If you want to do a lot of partying and not a lot of studying, go there. Weather is great at UA, as is social life, but yes it is in the middle of nowhere. However, it's a huge college and there's a lot to do for college students in the area, so I wouldn't worry about it.</p>
<p>"With your scores you can get into a MUCH better school than either of them."</p>
<p>Yeah man, I know that I, the me of now, can get into better schools. I'm just worried that the person who got a 3.1 his first two years of high school with 1 or 2 Ds will tarnish the image of the academic I am becoming. </p>
<p>It's a poor position to be in, because now I'm always going to be wondering "Would have I gotten in there if I had tried sophomore year?", but I guess I've made my bed and now I have to sleep in it, so to speak.</p>
<p>I guess what I'm trying to say is that I need to hedge my college prospects in order to ensure getting into somewhere acceptable, but I'm just unsure of what my potential safeties look like.</p>
<p>Incidentally, would it be appropriate to write my personal statement about this sort of thing (How I have evolved as a student)? Is that something that needs to be addressed or should I write about something less related to my grades? I feel like I'm capable of writing an amazing essay, I just don't really have anything to write about.</p>
<p>I would write your personal statement about something that's YOU. It's your one chance to express yourself, not explain yourself. Ask your counselor to talk about your academic changes in his/her rec. UW and UA are two very different schools. UW will be much more laid-back and relaxed, UA will be much wilder and more hard-partying.</p>
<p>Please take Salpert's opinions with a grain of salt -- just as you should take anyone's (including mine). I live in Arizona and personally know about a dozen current students at UA (friends of my son). Not one of them is a wild, hard-partying type. In fact, most of them are in the honors college, several are involved in research projects, and two are very serious pre-med students. The biggest complaint from most of them is the lack of things for college students to do off-campus in Tucson. (They're all from the Phoenix area which has many more attractions.) No, they are not academic grinds, but well-adjusted, mature young adults. </p>
<p>You will find all types of people at all large public universities -- some partyers and some future PhDs. It depends on what you're looking for and who you want to hang out with.</p>
<p>I do agree with Salpert that you should talk to your GC about your change of attitude regarding academics and see if he/she would write about that in their report. But if they don't -- and even if they do -- it would be quite appropriate for you to write about it in your personal statement since that is most certainly "something that's YOU." If you put together a well-reasoned discussion on that topic, I think you might be able to get the admissions officer to give you a second look and perhaps cut you some slack based on your more recent performance in classes.</p>
<p>U of A is more of a spirited, party school.
UW is more quiet and laidback. </p>
<p>U of A is really strong in Anthropology and some types of engineering.
UW is really strong in the biological sciences. </p>
<p>Both are good schools. You can get a solid education from either. It all comes down to personal fit. Also keep in mind, that like worried_mom said, there are always exceptions at every school. I'd suggest visiting both, if you can.</p>
<p>UW is a top, top school. Many students with your stats choose it over seemingly more prestigious schools. (It is in fact a very prestigious school)</p>
<p>My D tells me a fair amount of people come from the northwest including Seattle to attend the U of A to escape Seattle's wet/overcast Winter. She works very hard at U of A, and has a bit of fun at the same time...</p>
<p>My guess is that neither the U-Dub OOS or UVA in state would be a slam-dunk for an admit. UVA wait-lists a ton of NOVA people with decent stats.
At Arizona the OP might be eligible for some merit $$ to bring costs in line with UVA in state.</p>
<p>Nine of the "Big Ten" (there's Penn State, too) are not "better" that the U of Washington. And impartial observers realize that it's hard to find a SUBSTANTIAL difference in academic quality between U of Michigan and U of Washington. I'm not crazy about UW, but you can't deny its quality.</p>
<p>I agree with Lake Washington. If you know you want a large state U, you can't go wrong with UW. Great academic programs in many varied departments, and an atmosphere with something for everyone: Greek scene, crunchy types, geeks, normal kids. The dorms might be a little crowded - I seem to remember reading several years ago that some doubles were converted to triples - but the dining facilities are nice, and the athletic facilities available to all students are amazing. Campus is in a beautiful location, nestled between 2 lakes but about a 10 minute ride to downtown Seattle and the waterfront of Puget Sound. Bus service from UW is very good. Seattle is an expensive place to live, but that's not such an issue if you're living the student lifestyle. It rarely gets really cold in Seattle, but it's grayer than most places.</p>
<p>UA isn't in a bad part of Tucson (it's not particularly fantastic, but there are way worse areas). In fact, it's pretty close to downtown where most of the good concert venues are.</p>