<p>During my spring break in April, my parents are taking me on college tours. They've been bugging me for a list of schools that I'd like to visit, but I'm having a lot of trouble finding ones that fit all my requirements. My school guidance counselor is not helping me at all.
Between Massachusetts and Georgia (not in midwest)
Liberal political atmosphere
Isn't a huge party school
In a large town or city (basically anything that?s not rural and preferably has a form of public transportation)
If it?s in a city, it should still have a campus feel
Medium to large size (4,000+ students)
I'm not really sure what major I'm interested in, but right now I'm leaning towards english, communications or education. (In other words, I don't know yet)</p>
<p>My gpa is somewhere around a 3.2 - 3.4, but it has an upward trend. (I'm guessing 3.0 fresh, 3.2 soph, 3.5 junior, but like I said, I'm not really sure of my actual grades). I?ve taken AP and honors classes. Also, I'm taking the SATs in May so that?s really not a factor, but I have fairly strong ECs. </p>
<p>My favorite school so far is American, but I understand that's going to be a reach. </p>
<p>Oh also - I'm a white female, from a competitive high school in a rich area. But my parents will probably want some form of financial aid.</p>
<p>But seriously, any ideas you can give me will be a huge help. (safety, matches, reaches, any ideas) Or even if you could just point me in a direction. I'm clueless. Thanks so much</p>
<p>there are over 2,000 4-year schools in the US so there are probably several hundred that match the criteria you've given so far. Petersons or some of the other online search engines can help to give an initial list based on things such as size & location, as can the comprehensive books listing US colleges. Then you'll have to dig a little deeper to find if they match your other criteria.</p>
<p>I do recommend reading thru some of the books about college admissions such as "Admission Matters" by Springer and Franck to get an idea of what to look for in colleges and how to pick ones that are a match for you. Another way I recommend is to read thru one of the "Insider" type books, not so much to learn about the schools profiled but to get a better sense of what college students like and dislike in their schools. You have given far more factors than most people on this forum, so kudos for that! But there are many more variables in choosing a college. It shouldn't be overwhelming; most people pick only a few that matter to them and can safely ignore/minimize the rest. But the problem as a HS student is that if you've never even considered* them (even if to decide they're not important to you] then you might make a choice that isn't a great fit.</p>
<p>What are some examples? The presence & strength of the greek system. Whether housing is available on-campus, and if so if you are required to live there. Whether some (or many) classes are taught by TAs or by the profs. Whether you get a faculty advisor. The types of things kids like to do in their spare time. Whether the campus has many commuting students, or if everyone lives nearby. Whether it is hard to get the classes you want. What they have for a counseling and advising system. Whether they make it easy for students to spend a semester abroad. Whether alums are helpful in landing internships and available to advise current students how to enter their field.</p>
<p>University of Connecticut, Syracuse, Penn State, University of Delaware, University of New Hampshire, Northeastern but some of them are party schools.</p>
<p>Georgia is a HUUUUUGGEEEEE party school. Its actually not a very good school period. Its also extremely conservative. Unless your instate, don't even bother. The only thing it really matches are your stats, but even then, its a slight reach</p>
<p>thanks for your help. I'll definitely try an online search engine and I think I'll try to pick up some books at the library sometime. </p>
<p>linkinpark14 - do you really think I'd have a shot at either Penn State or University of Delaware? I might be able to get my gpa up to a 3.7 this semester but fresh and soph grades really pull me down. I know a girl that went to Penn State last year but her gpa was at least a 4.0. I thought that would be way out of my league.</p>
<p>and any other advice would be appreciated :-)</p>
<p>It's very hard to find a college in a city with a true campus feel. Most of the city schools I've seen are pretty much scattered throughout an area. Visiting is definitely a good idea, though.</p>
<p><a href="I'm">quote</a> from a competitive high school in a rich area. But my parents will probably want some form of financial aid.
[/quote]
Wanting and getting can be 2 different things ;) Before you go much farther in your college search, you should have your parents fill out one of the online FAFSA calculators to see what your family's estimated financial contribution (EFC) will be. Families pay the EFC out of savings, current income, and taking out loans.</p>
<p>Colleges will try to meet the cost above the EFC with work-study, loans, and grants. But you need to find out now if your family will be able and willing to pay the EFC amount in order to guide which schools you are considering; many families are unhappily surprised by this number. If they are not willing to pay this amount then you need to think about whether you want to be saddled with loans for the difference and graduate in a lot of debt, or start focusing on less expensive schools or searching for schools where you can get generous merit aid. </p>
<p>And given what you're implying on what your family is willing to pay for college you need to be considering the numbers now so you don't get your heart set on a group of colleges you won't be able to attend due to cost.</p>
<p>There is an excellent college search feature there if you want to just shoot in the dark.</p>
<p>Good luck!</p>
<p>Oh, by the way, the best way to learn about a campus is to visit it. Keep notes of each visit too, because you WILL get them confused with each other.</p>
<p>Consider James Madison U. It is larger than you would have liked, but you can choose many classes that are small. You can pick larger ones if you like that too. They have excellent public tranportation. The pricetag is 10,000 less than Penn State. At Penn State consider that you might be put into one of their other campuses first. Also, I hear that it is quite rural. JMU does have parties, but mostly off campus, and you can decide if you want to participate. The campus is gorgeous. I think that JMU would be a high match (meaning match/reach, but that could change depending on the test scores. They do consider gpa and classes as most important). If you live in a rich area, this school may be a good deal for your parents. My S goes there, so if you have further questions just send a PM. As far as liberal, well they are in the south, but there are 30% out of state students. Many students come from northern VA too. The area is not a city, IMO, but Harrisonburg considers itself to be a city. There are malls, nice movie theatre, restaurants, with public transit going to these areas. If you are looking for a nearby an opera house, or art gallery then this is not your school. The school is in the Shanenoah Valley so camping, hiking, skiing, and outdoor activities are wonderful. If you visit American/Towson, the school is about a 2 hour drive from there. BTW, Syracuse, Fordham, Sarah Lawerence, Boston U, American etc.will cost more than JMU for an upper middle class student with a 3.4, in my opinion.</p>
<p>Be careful about the U of Richmond. You might that you love it. The campus I have heard is just wonderful. I have never visited. I do know someone who transferred out b/c they seem to accept a fair number of students from wealthy families that have attended private/prep schools. The person that I know came from an upper middle class home, and attended a public hs (competitive). He felt uncomfortable there. He transferred to a large U in a city after one year.</p>
<p>If you do visit Syracuse, you might want to have a look at Ithaca College at the same time. They have a strong communications department. The school of communication at Syracuse (Newhouse) is very difficult to get into.</p>