<p>After reading some rather (depressing) reviews from college students, I started having doubts about the sort of colleges I will visit during this February break.</p>
<p>So, I decided to ask the pros (the people with experience!) about what kind of colleges fit my dream college criteria.</p>
<p>1) Good Pre-med and Med programs and school
2) Safety
3) Diversity and friendliness of staff and students. (this is major)
4) Challenging course work that is possible to learn with help from dedicated teachers.
5) Area. Somewhere near or in a city. I like a place that has history behind it and great architecture.
6) A place where the students are dedicated and motivated.
7) Globally involved
8) Good vibes! (Hahaha!)
9) An environment that me and my fellow students can contribute to, as well as it contributing to us. </p>
<p>Anyway, something like that is my dream school. I would greatly appreciate any college suggestions, (or colleges that may not be for me).</p>
<p>This can be a vast topic, as other people can post their dream college criteria, and have others respond. </p>
<p>Thank you all!</p>
<p>BTW, is studentreviews.com a good and credible source for college information? (the link does not work, so just go onto Google and type in college reviews. The site should be the first to pop up.)</p>
<p>Most of your criteria are rather imprecise and hard to measure. Any number of reasonably selective colleges will attract dedicated students and offer challenging courses. Virtually all of them offer the standard battery of pre-med courses.</p>
<p>What’s your class rank? SAT/PSAT scores? Are you looking for the most prestigious, selective schools that will accept you, or do you not care about that? What about your budget? How much is your family able and willing to pay? Are you willing to go anywhere in the country, or do you want to focus only on one state/region?</p>
<p>studentreviews.com can be useful, as long as you understand that it’s often the most disgruntled (and biased) students who are motivated to write a review. Students who are basically satisfied (if not deliriously happy) may not have the same motivation to post. If the same negative shows up repeatedly in reviews, then that probably is an issue to consider (if it is anything you care about).</p>
<p>1) Well respected for sciences and premed advising
2) Safe campus
3) Faculty-student interaction and student-student interaction scores are in top 10% nationally
4) Small classes, good teachers, high level of academic challenge
5) In heart of Memphis. Rich history - civil rights movement, rock & roll and blues, king cotton, etc. And I dare say we’re the only city in the U.S. with a full-size pyramid.
6) 90% of our students plan to go on to earn higher degrees
7) Strong study abroad program, fair number of Americorps and Peacecorps volunteers among alumni
8) I like it
9) The nation’s most service-minded school.</p>
<p>In addition to tk1769’s very pertinent questions, you need to think more about the size of the school (big state U, small liberal arts, medium privates, etc…), geography (what part of the country you want to be in? Happy in the south? Fine with frigid weather?) and culture - what kind of activities, people, are you looking for. Do you want a big sports scene? Intense intellectualism? Frat scene? Artsy? Granola? Find some adjectives to describe what you life. What would the deal-breakers be, besides small college town (since you said you wanted proximity to a city.) Would you consider religious or single sex?</p>
<p>It is hard to give suggestions without knowing your GPA/standardized tests/price limitations/desired location…but there are tons of great schools out there. And what is a dream school for one person may not be for another.<br>
I have found studentreviews to be mainly whining kids complaining. I would not pay too much attention to those reviews.</p>
<p>As others have said…‘Most of your criteria are rather imprecise and hard to measure’…c’mon, what schools does not claim to be globally involved?</p>
<p>It will be hard for people to make good suggestions using your criteria…as an example…</p>
<p>Your ‘Good Vibe’ may be my torture chamber.</p>
<p>If you have not already, I would start with the Fiske Guide. Read about the schools in locations that interest you. I have found that the Fiske analysis of the vibe, workload, etc to be fairly accurate based upon the visits that we have done or friends have done. </p>
<p>Once you have identified some possibilities, investigate further at each website to see where you stand from an admissions and cost standpoint.</p>
<p>I am loathe to have anyone use the term dream college for two reasons: students keep looking for the school that will fill all their desires (it may not even exist) and it implies your happiness will be maximized at only a single school. It could very well be a wild goose chase. Years ago most students went to their local U and were happy there. Manage your expectations.</p>
<p>I’d throw out Emory, in Atlanta for your consideration. Well known for pre-med and med, in a beautiful section of Atlanta, right next to the Centers of Disease Control. It has a very diverse student body, nice size, beautiful campus, etc. I accompanied my D there on a visit, and I was very impressed with the place. You should check it out.</p>