<p>thought that Parental Advice would be great in helping me out...so here goes:
Class of 2010: so junior
School
-No APs, IB, nothing...nada
-3.8 GPA (worst comes to worse) aka if I get a A- in Physics II this semester)
-12/50 (rank, if I get an A- in Physics): otherwise around 6-9/50
- "Most Rig. Courseload"
-considered best school in state (western state)
- Most good students(top 15) go to liberal art schools (swarthmore, claremont mckenna, etc); or, most students (top 25) to honors college at state school</p>
<p>Test scores
670-690-760 (2120: retaking though, I'm expecting much higher for CR, since I did way better in CR on the PSAT)
no way I'm gonna be NMSF, but commended for sure
SAT subj: at least a 780 in Math IIC for sure (taking in Jan. but have taken 2 PR practice tests: 800, 790)</p>
<p>ECs
are really, really good. They probably couldn't get me into college on their own, but they are very good: i've already won some awards just for my ECs and leadership</p>
<p>Awards- plentiful, but nothing that could get me into college, just a lot of prestigious, supplemental ones</p>
<p>Schools I like:
UIUC
U of Michigan
Columbia
Cornell
Rice
Emory
Swarthmore
Scripps</p>
<p>but in no way am I bound to these schools...any other ones?</p>
<p>Need more information! What is the state of your finances - do you need merit money or need-based aid?
What are your top criteria in choosing a college?
One thing I have witnessed is that most of the top students from northern Illinois don't go to UIUC unless they have financial limitations or want to major in engineering, accounting, or another of Illinois' top programs.</p>
<p>If you are an instate student for University of Illinois Urbana campus...it is a fine school. I'm not sure what data the above poster has to support his claim that the brightest kids in Illinois don't go there. I know plenty of very smart students from Illinois who attend or attended UIUC. </p>
<p>Do you want other schools to add to your potential list? If so, what types of characteristics do you want in a college? Most of your schools are urban with the exception of Cornell. It looks like you'll consider any part of the US. Anything more specific that might help folks with other suggestions? Are you instate for any of these schools, and if not...where are you instate.</p>
<p>Sorry for not giving you all more info:
intended major: environmental engineering/environmental undecided (thats where my ECs are!)
money situation is fine, but if a school offers me merit aid, I would obviously love to have it
Arizona is my safety school (instate)</p>
<p>I would love if you all could add/suggest more schools!</p>
<p>here is my opinion
While I think it is wise to be thinking now of colleges you would like to attend and that you are keeping an eye to keeping your grades up, I feel FAR too many students become obsessed with "looking good" to a college when they should be feeding a passion in something. (not to the exclusion of all else but....)</p>
<p>If you have a passion and pursue it and not worry so much about what classes you "should" take or how many times you should take the SATs to up your grades by 30 points, you will be a happier person and will do well wherever you go to school. </p>
<p>And if you do well, you will likely be able to get into awesome grad schools and continue with whatever it is you find in college to be passionate about.</p>
<p>I have learned that much of CC is about these chance threads, but I think they can be destuctive. As collegeboard.com says - You are more than your numbers. It seems ultimately important to you right now, but believe me, in the larger scheme of things, which you will come to know, it is not.</p>
<p>just to clarify:
This is NOT a chance thread...I just want to find more schools. If I post this on the "college admissions" forum then I will only get "name" schools (aka I will get Columbia over and over and over again)..
I don't think chance threads make sense because kids (or even parents) are never going to be able to predict if I will get accepted or not
I already have a passion which is environmental engineering (which = my ECs). I just need help with research.</p>
<p>I know #theorymom is just trying to put in her two cents, but I'm not asking about what classes I "should" take or anything like that...if you read the beginning of the thread ALL I am asking about is schools
I am not trying to up my SAT score by 30 points...I am just looking at schools</p>
<p>Thumper -
You wrote, "If you are an instate student for University of Illinois Urbana campus...it is a fine school. I'm not sure what data the above poster has to support his claim that the brightest kids in Illinois don't go there. I know plenty of very smart students from Illinois who attend or attended UIUC."</p>
<p>I didn't say that smart kids did not go there - perhaps I could have worded it more elegantly. UIUC is a fine school, but it isn't for everyone. The ACT cutoff score seems to hover around 26, and is higher for engineering, etc., so, obviously, many smart kids do choose U of I. Of the ones I know, it was not their first choice, unless they were interested in one of the top drawer programs. UIUC does have its drawbacks, and I think an out-of-state student would want to be aware of that. Since the OP is interested in engineering, the argument is irrelevant since I would have no qualms in recommending UIUC for a potential engineer.</p>
<p>Assuming you are female since you have Scripps listed, you might want to look at Smith. They have engineering, not sure about environmental. How bound do you feel to engineering? You don't have tech schools listed but perhaps RPI, WPI?</p>
<p>If you are not looking for ivies and top tier schools:
Look at Rose-Hulman for engineering (as well as WPI and RPI and RIT)</p>
<p>Look at Marlboro for Environmental Sciences as well. My hubby went there and ended up at Yale for graduate work at the Yale School of Forestry and Environmental Studies and his PhD at the Yale Grad school in population biology.</p>
<p>Look at Humbolt for Environmental Studies too. Looked interesting to me. Northern Arizona I think is highly regarded for Environmental Sciences. Look at their School of Engineering, Forestry and Natural Sciences.</p>
<p>These are just a few of the lots of very good schools that do not have much name prestige. I stand by my intitial statements for most students. Find what you are good at and have a passion for and apply to schools in which you find a good fit. Good to see you feel you are on that track and that you are keeping your mind open about schools.</p>
<p>I was going to suggest Case also. Very generous Merit Scholarships. However, I heard that they primarily focus on pre-meds and engineering. Worthwhile to check though. My D. applied but choose to go to a different school. We would be paying only about $5,000 for tuition because of the Merit $$ Case gave her.</p>
<p>Sweetie, I think you are selling yourself a bit short. All that leadership in the EC's can be treasured. I'd put Dartmouth on your shopping list because personal traits are on their "Strongly considered" list.
Also, what do you LOVE to do? Snowboarding? Caroling? Yoga? Skydiving? That's the stuff that can really make a place a champion in your heart for all four years. It can be harder to figure out which schools have the loves of your life (start a thread here -- what colleges have . . . ?"
A good winnowing tool is to think about the size of your high school. Does it feel too big? Too small? About right? -- and then start thinking about what SIZE of student population you want to rub shoulders with for four years. I have an outgoing personality and it did not bother me to go to a huge school (so many potential friends!) -but so many kids can get overwhelmed and isolated at a big place. Figure that piece out and THEN start your shopping list. Good luck!</p>
<p>piles and piles of environmental work is my main one, but I also play some sports, I'm president of a charity club that I founded</p>
<p>in terms of environmental work
-I do a ton of projects for UNEP (united nations environ. program)
- I present my project to schools around the country and the world
- I run my own environmental club
- I mentor six other environmental groups around the nation</p>
<p>and I'm adopted so I like to help out in a local foster home</p>
<p>---so obviously a ton of environ. stuff--</p>
<p>Oh, and I got a merit scholarship to go to RPI last year...so I suppose I could always go there :-)</p>
<p>In terms of size---I would prefer a Cornell'ish like population...with hugeness, but still not too huge--my current high school is so small that I'm absolutely dying to leave (but I think leaving AZ could just help with that...)</p>
<p>Things i like to do (in response to Hopping Lass's first post): i like to take walks (boring, maybe, but I like it), I like to sing (a-capella), and I like doing humanitarianish stuff...</p>
<p>btw, Colgate's name is its main turnoff...toothpaste?</p>