<p>I really love the city of Boston and want to apply to at least one school there. My SAT is 1840, but I am retaking it next month , and it should go up. My GPA is 97.31/100 (I think it's weighted, but I'm not sure), and I'm in the top 10% of my class. </p>
<p>I haven't really looked at any schools in Boston or its suburbs so I'm not sure where to start. I am considering studying anthropology with a focus on archaeology and history or international business with a foreign language, maybe Spanish because I already had 6 years of it. </p>
<p>I know I want a school with an average class size lower than 40 students and a great networking system with successful alumni. Good study abroad programs are also important to me.</p>
<p>Do you have any college suggestion in Boston or the surrounding area that would be worthwhile for me to look at?</p>
<p>I would say Northeastern University and Boston University would be right up your alley. I have visited both colleges, and truthfully I loved them both. There are pros and cons to both of them, but you will get an excellent education from both. The biggest downfall that I think they have is that the freshman classes can be pretty large.</p>
<p>There are your pretty selective colleges such as Boston College, MIT, Tufts, and Harvard, I’m not sure if you might be interested in those. There are so many smaller liberal arts colleges in Boston, you would have to do some exploring to check them all out.</p>
<p>I think it is fair to say that the more selective colleges are completely off the table for me because of my SAT score. Even if I do considerably better when I take it next month, I don’t think I would be a competitive applicant there. </p>
<p>@mislysBB For you, what were the absolute best and worst qualities of BU and Northeastern?</p>
<p>(I am mislysBB, I just have two accounts, one for my phone and one for my laptop so I hope I won’t confuse you). I really, really liked BU’s networking system. There are many, many opportunities, internships, and connections that I feel it would be difficult to get at other colleges.
I really liked Northeasterns co-op program. Technically when you attend NU, you graduate in 5 years versus 4, since you take one year to do an internship and work.</p>
<p>With your stats, I would shoot for Tufts, BC and Northeastern. You could also throw in Brandeis (if Jewish), UMASS, and BU to cover your options. Add Emerson if you’re into theater. </p>
<p>I’m not at all religious, so BC and Brandeis are going to be a no for me. Also, wouldn’t Tufts be quite a reach for me even if I were to raise my SAT score by a couple hundred points?</p>
<p>There’s nothing religious about Brandeis. It is a secular university like any other secular university. It is Jewish in terms of the traditions of its founders, but not in terms of Judaism. I, too, couldn’t have gone there otherwise. No one in the administration is going to say boo about your religion or lack thereof. It was a completely different experience than, say, Georgetown where I’ve also spent a lot of time. </p>
<p>In the immediate Boston area, only Simmons, Wellesley, and Pine Manor remain all-women. You could get into Simmons; tiny Pine Manor is an academic safety but not a very good school. Wellesley is highly unlikely, further-out Smith and Mount Holyoke less so. Then there’s Bay Path out in the CT valley of MA, which would be an academic safety.</p>
<p>Simmons is not a world beater and is not the equivalent of those two schools. However, the classes are markedly smaller and there’s just something about the women’s college experience that’s worth considering. However, I don’t see any sign of anthro or archaeology at Simmons or Northeastern. </p>
<p>Would you agree that my best options in Boston would be BU and Brandeis? With my current stats, what would my chances be for both? What would my chances be if I raise my SAT score to at least a 2040?</p>
<p>I would say your best options would be BC and Northeastern as reach/target schools. BC doesn’t have a religious feel (think Georgetown, not Notre Dame) and it is definitely not more religious than Brandeis (which is Jewish). BU is a decent fall back if you don’t get into BC or Northeastern. You may be able to pull a scholarship from UMASS if you can’t afford the others. </p>
<p>Regardless, I would apply to all of the above-mentioned schools and see where you fall out.</p>
<p>Northeastern would not be a great choice for Anthropology or Archeology. If money isn’t an issue, consider applying early to BU, which has excellent departments. Your test scores are a little low for BU, but certainly not out of range. I think BU is perfect for you and your interests. </p>
<p>Informative, with all due respect, you keep saying that Brandeis is a Jewish school. You’ve been incorrect on this in a number of threads. I know that you want to be informative, but you need to get your facts straight. </p>
<p>BRANDEIS IS NOT A JEWISH SCHOOL. THE MAJORITY OF STUDENTS ARE NOT JEWISH. BRANDEIS IS AND HAS ALWAYS BEEN NON-SECTARIAN. </p>
<p>It was created by Jews looking for a college that wouldn’t discriminate against them when the ivys had Jewish quotas. </p>
<p>It has historically attracted a large Jewish population, and as you might expect, has a strong near eastern and Judaic studies department, but Jews are in the minority at Brandeis. </p>
<p>^^Well, sort of. Brandeis does have the highest concentration of Jewish students outside of the obvious Jewish schools like Yeshiva or JTS. Hillel actually lists it as 50% Jewish, but your point about it being secular is correct. But at the same time, it is different among major universities for its rather unique founding culture. For example, there are no classes tomorrow or Friday for Rosh Hashanah, none on Yom Kippur or Sukkot or Simchat Torah. That you won’t find at other secular schools.</p>
<p>There are many who would consider the most Jewish thing about the place is it’s name. Many in the Jewish community have real questions about the place after the latest revelations about the politics of the professors and do not take kindly the the blatantly anti-Israel positions of its professors. Jewish or not, the politics of the place should be of bigger concern for the prospective student - either they’re going to work for you or they’re not, and some people just prefer not to be exposed to political arguments 24/7 regardless of political position. Others just don’t care or welcome the debate or are actually comfortable with the prevailing atmosphere. Each person has to make their own decision, but you should be aware of it before you get there.</p>
<p>Regarding other Boston schools, BU used to be the ideal school for the OP, but it’s gotten much harder to get into lately. OP is right around the 25% percentile with their current SAT, another 150 points would make their admission much more likely.</p>
<p>CRD is correct that Brandeis is not a Jewish school and is non-sectarian, but I am not sure about his assertion that majority of students are not Jewish and that Jews are in the minority.</p>
<p>If I wanted to apply to Brandeis, would you suggest the test optional route with my SAT score? Even if I’m able to raise it by about 200? I have quite a few graded research papers I could choose to submit instead, all options earning high As.</p>