the DC semester is very interesting but unfortunately the location throws me off really badly. the pictures i’ve seen look gorgeous but i’m not really a nature person, unless you count a concrete jungle LOL. and thank you for the list !! many of these schools are already on my list or i’m considering them. my list is already wayyy too long so i’m looking to prune my reach list (although i like them all 
) and add more to my matches list. willamette seems interesting as a safety but i’m not quite sure about the pacific northwest in general ??
Since Quesbridge lets your know by December 1st, you won’t need a ton of additional schools. Should you get a match it’s over and if you don’t, then you’ll have other schools - you’ll need to find one within your budget.
You’ll have gone through reaches so maybe 3 match and a safety or two is enough.
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of course QB would be great and i feel confident in my chance to receive finalist status for NCM (since i got CPS), i’m entirely not confident in my chances for matching. i feel my stats and ECs are not nearly as impressive as those that have a chance of getting matched, and my essays might be the only things that give me a fighting chance. i’ll definitely be applying through QB RD in the event i don’t match, and i’ll start on Common App and UC app regardless.
Grinnell is in fact an interesting school for poli sci. Similar to Hamilton, they have an established DC semester program (https://www.grinnell.edu/academics/global-learning/campus-study/grinnell-washington) as well as a semester in London with relationships to internships in English Parliament (https://www.grinnell.edu/global/learning/ocs/gil). Since OP said she was interested in international relations, that could be a very compelling mix.
Grinnell is also in Iowa, which is a national political hub during the presidential primaries.
I know students who have had great success with this program!
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hi there! i don’t really like grinnell because the location is a huge dealbreaker. I’ve heard great things about its programs but I highly dislike the isolated location which is not at all for me.
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(Sidenote: I’m afraid primaries in Iowa have lived.)
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I think you can focus on
- walkable urban areas (Georgetown, Case Western Reserve, Macalester…)
- college towns (Ann Arbor, Madison, Chapel Hill…)
- big cities
Once you keep only colleges from one of these three types of locations, what Quesbridge colleges are you left with? What about other colleges?
You would likely be URM in the Midwest and for LACs in the Northeast, definitely not in the West/PNW and most big city areas along the East Coast, so you have to take that into account, too.
From your original list, I would replace Syracuse with Kalamazoo, because Kalamazoo is more likely to “meet need” for you. Both are in similar types of cities.
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I hardly ever quibble with @MYOS1634, but I don’t think that “URM”, in the sense of being a hook, is accurate for Asian students pretty much anywhere. I agree that in the midwest and for some LACs, Asians are not ORMs, but that just makes it a neutral, not an active plus.
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As a rule of thumb, colleges that are 8% AsianAmerican and under will consider Asian American applicants “URM”, especially if we’re talking 3-5%. These colleges usually want to increase diversity from all groups.
However these colleges may not meet need and may or may not use preferential packaging toward lower-income Asian American applicants (or other “minority at the college” applicants).
And then there are colleges that distinguish between Filippino/Hmong/Vietnamese-American applicants, or generally South-East Asian Americans, and applicants whose parents or grandparents came from China, South Korea, Japan, and/or from India and Pakistan, where South East Asian American applicants are explicitely considered URM like Native Americans, African Americans, etc. for scholarships or fly-ins.
An example: https://cspks.wisc.edu/
That being said, you’re absolutely right, in many cases, being Asian American or of Chinese descent like OP, would make one ORM (or “not ORM not URM”). That’s why taking that criterion into account will matter for OP’s chances at some colleges on her list. ORM+lower income can be a bad combination.
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If you want to be in a city the aforementioned Macalester is a great choice in state Capitol St. Paul and Minneapolis/St. Paul metro area.
Barnard puts you in the biggest city with access to the UN and all kinds of government and International offices. It’s an LAC that gives you all the resources of Columbia but is an easier admit. And it’s Questbridge.
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i definitely agree with this
Georgetown is a no for me because its a jesuit institution iirc ? in any case it is religiously affiliated which I don’t like at all.
thankfully there are a lot of QB schools that fit these. for colleges that i’m slightly interested but not listed in my post, i believe amherst, haverford, macalester (obvi), and wesleyan fit this?
btw, I’m taking out GWU because I just don’t think I would like it.
i’d need to look into kalamazoo, i know someone who went there and i’ll ask him soon hopefully. thank you for all your input !!
i’ve looked a little into barnard and im a little hesitant because it’s not coed. i’m actually nonbinary and i know that women’s colleges have increasingly become some of the most inclusive places for gender nonconforming and trans people. i just don’t know how it being a women’s college would change things. but for all other intents it seems really cool !! i’m applying to its fly in when it opens up for sure.
I think your research skills need some work. Barnard has been single gender / all women for its entire existence.
It is true that it is affiliated with Columbia College, which is co-ed, but Barnard is proud of it’s all-women ethos and history.
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OOPS i meant to type it’s *not coed LOL. i know barnard is a women’s college, sorry for the slip up
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OP, I have an idea for you but before I proceed, a single question:
When you mention journalism, what issues are you most passionate about wrt writing/storytelling?
i’m more passionate about political and social issues that affect underrepresented groups in america. for example, low income, POCs, LGBTQ people. overall i’m very interested in covering politics.
You know it doesn’t meet your needs in regards to city, etc but I think of Washington & Lee which is a qb partner. They have a minor in poverty and human capability and they have the Shepherd Program which would allow you to follow your interests. And it’s got a fantastic journalism program. It’s increasingly diverse. It’s also…a professor there told me so I have no other source…the #2 school in the country at placing students in govt per capita after sewanee. It may be worth a look.
i’ve heard w&l is kinda conservative ?? correct me if i’m wrong.
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I read a lot of that but my daughter was a finalist for a scholarship there and was wowed by the openness and the understanding. They’ve been through a lot protesting the ‘Lee’ in W&L’s name so you might be surprised.
No doubt it’s predominantly upper middle class and wealthy white kids but every interaction my daughter had on and off campus with both students and faculty did not remotely match the perception you and most have.
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mmm i see. the scholarship is a huge plus but as you said before… hows the location like? i know its in virginia but is it like close to DC ? and is the campus rural or a college town? bc college town i can deal with, rural i cannot.