College Suggestions? Need to find more schools to check out!

College Search & Selection
1

<p>Hi everyone!
I'm currently a senior in high school and I'm searching for colleges to visit & apply to. I know I've kind of gotten a late start, but this fall I'm planning on visiting a lot of different schools and applying to a lot of schools, and just seeing where I get accepted, how much money I get, etc., and going from there.</p>

<p>I would really LOVE some suggestions of colleges to check out. I'm looking mostly at schools in the Midwest. I live near Chicago (western suburbs) so anything within maybe 6 hours would be great (mostly in Illinois, Wisconsin, Indiana, Michigan, Ohio, Iowa, Minnesota, and Missouri).</p>

<p>Here's everything you need to know about me:</p>

<p>Female
Caucasian
Senior in High School, Class of 2011</p>

<p>GPA - 3.4/5 <a href="weighted">/B</a>
ACT - **34
English 35, Reading 34, Math 30, Science 36
Classes - 2 or 3 honors per year
senior year taking AP Chemistry, AP English, Physics, Pre-Calculus, US Government, AP Studio Art
junior year took ICA (Intermediate College Algebra) Honors, English 3, Spanish 3 Honors, Chemistry Honors, Photography (Independent study), US History
****note about my GPA*: yes, I know it's low, and yes, I know this could affect my chances of getting into better schools. HOWEVER, there were extenuating circumstances that affected my schoolwork and life in general freshman year, that continued to affect me even through last year. I won't go into that all here, but basically I had some personal problems that were hard to deal with, and I plan on writing a personal statement explaining all of this that I will send with applications, so hopefully colleges will be understanding.</p>

<p>Majors - Chemistry, maybe Biochem or a double in Chem & Bio. definitely some sort of science,
Also, I'm looking at **Pre-Med<a href="I've%20wanted%20to%20be%20a%20doctor%20since%20I%20was%205%20years%20old%20=">/B</a>
Minors - considering a foreign language, maybe Spanish, German, or both</p>

<p>What kind of colleges I'm looking at (* means it's important to me)
small, maybe 5,000 students or less<a href="but%20I%20am%20open%20to%20larger%20schools%20if%20they're%20a%20good%20fit">/B</a>
lots of Liberal Arts schools (but it doesn't have to be)
<em>small student-faculty ratio, **very accessible professors that will take the time to talk with students, small class sizes
in the **midwest, no more than 6 hours from Chicago
*</em>good science program! this is rather important, since I most likely want to major in Chemistry, and am thinking Pre-Med
Most of the schools I've been looking at are top tier or ranked near the top. I'm not looking at like Ivy League schools or the top Liberal Arts, but I do want a school that is good academically.</p>

<p>Schools I've looked at so far:
Augustana College
St. Olaf College
Knox College
North Central College
Elmhurst College
Loyola University
Beloit
Macalester College
Carthage College
Lake Forest College
Valparaiso University
Grinnell College</p>

<p>I would really, really, really appreciate any suggestions you could give me. Sorry this was so long, but thanks for taking the time to read it. If there's anything else that would be hopefully to know, just tell me. Thanks again!</p>

2

<p>That’s a pretty high ACT score but it’s hard to know what top schools will make of your GPA. However, it seems like you could have Carlton as a reach. If you’re willing to go to western NY you could look at Colgate.</p>

3

<p>Carleton is a huge reach. One of my DDs had a 34 ACT and was waitlisted with a GPA much higher. I think you have a good selection of schools already.</p>

4

<p>You might want to look at Kalamazoo, too.</p>

5

<p>Grinnell has very strong science program, but a bit of a reach due to your GPA. Make sure you visit and interview so you can explain your situation in person. Add Oberlin (about 5hrs drive from Chicago).</p>

6

<p>Out of state tuition at the University of Northern Iowa is about the same as in-state tuition at UIUC, and it is within your driving distance. It is the smallest public university in Iowa. I know a student there from the Chicago area who has been very happy.</p>

<p>You might also take a look at the links to the various private colleges in Iowa at <a href=“https://www.thinkindependently.com/index.aspx[/url]”>https://www.thinkindependently.com/index.aspx&lt;/a&gt; Many of them fit your criteria.</p>

<p>Good luck!</p>

7

<p>You might want to consider Ripon College in Wisconsin or Coe College in Iowa.</p>

8

<p>I would also check into Lawrence (WI), Illinois Wesleyan, Wooster (OH) and Earlham (IN). Best of luck!</p>