<p>Lots of good ideas here. </p>
<p>My D also started with a list of about 20 but narrowed it down after visting a few campuses and getting a better feel for what student numbers and locations really meant to her. </p>
<p>My D got her list down to 10 this summer after consulting with some friends who were already in college and had been through the process.</p>
<p>So the spreadsheet as data wasn't really working out so well, so I've decided to get creative. </p>
<p>I'm applying a forumla to all the schools to sort them by a composite of these data points: </p>
<p>(250-US News Rank)/10
+Climate(out of 10)*0.5
+Interest Points (to adjust for not being on the US News List)</p>
<p>I'm pleased with how it's working.
I'm going to add more data and tweak the formula a bit, but for instance, the first 10 colleges on my list (excluding the schools receiving "Interest Points")</p>
<p>I'll also be adding more "Interest Points" to tweak the sheet to give me a list of schools to which I'll apply.
Points School
33.6 Stanford
33.5 Caltech
31.3 Emory
31.3 Rice
30.3 U Southern California
30.2 Duke
30.1 Vanderbilt
29.6 Johns Hopkins
29.5 Georgia Tech.
28.8 Washington U</p>
<p>So yeah, I think it's working well. I'm just trying to decide what I should add next that can be quantified easily (Climate was tough...). I don't want to use mid-50%tile SAT/ACT... Any Ideas?</p>
<p>Look at the academic and quality of life ratings of PR, they range 60-99</p>
<p>I'd like small classes but a large student body, I guess. If I were to constrain myself to (good) schools within a two hour drive that would be exactly three schools: LSU, Univ. Louisiana @ Lafayette, and Tulane. Not exactly gonna work. </p>
<p>I think I really need to get some visiting done.</p>
<p>In general, small classes /=/ large student body. You can maybe compromise with medium-sized classes and a medium-sized student body.</p>
<p>
[quote]
I'd like small classes but a large student body, I guess. If I were to constrain myself to (good) schools within a two hour drive that would be exactly three schools: LSU, Univ. Louisiana @ Lafayette, and Tulane. Not exactly gonna work. </p>
<p>I think I really need to get some visiting done.
[/quote]
</p>
<p>You need to think about honors programs at state unis for small classes at big unis.</p>
<p>I'm already considering the LSU honors college. And a small university isn't a bad thing; I guess what I want is a school with lots of resources at my disposal.</p>
<p>Wow, this could have been me exactly a year ago.</p>
<p>I live in Illinois. I was interested in a ton of schools and ended up applying to 15.</p>
<p>Ironically, when all the offers came in, LSU ended up being the best fit for me. Strange enough that you happen to live close by.</p>
<p>I have tons of stuff to tell you about LSU, the opportunites I will have there, and why I ended up choosing it if you're interested.</p>
<p>By the way, I had a 34 ACT Composite and an LSU calculated GPA of 3.87 or something.</p>
<p>Obviously what's right for me may not be right for you.</p>
<p>What you really have to do is analyze your priorities. For me they were cost, programs that fit my needs, chance to be treated as someone "special," a student body that appealed to me, and a campus life that suited me.</p>
<p>What was not important to me were college prestige and knowing fellow students.</p>
<p>That's what really helped me narrow down my list. If you can come up with something similar, it will be a huge help.</p>