<p>@Murphy600: Oh, I didn’t mean I don’t know ANY schools at all; I meant that know only a few beside Ivies. To be honest I didn’t know of Northwestern or UChicago (even though they’re so well-known!) before I came to Illinois. I studied at NU because my school sent me a scholarship program via e-mail which I applied to and got accepted into, if my school didn’t send it I would probably not have gone at all. </p>
<p>Unfortunately, Just like M’s Mom says, not that many American universities beside the Ivies are known outside of America. When I first came to the U.S., I had only heard about Harvard, Yale and Brown (I learned the last two from reading the Gossip Girls series, lol).
I’m not aiming for the brand name Ivy League, but I’d like to enter a university that is to some extent known for its academics. </p>
<p>@tk21769: I’ve looked at USNews top 50, but I don’t really know where I stand. I can’t really ball park what my match schools are since all I can see is the ACT score, and ACT score alone doesn’t reflect a student’s achievements. So I want to ask people who are more familiar with the colleges to give me an idea of that. </p>
<p>What really appeals to me about American education is the focus on intellectual stimulation. In my country there is a very relaxed and noncompetitive academic atmosphere and many go to universities just for the sake of getting a degree/pursue a certain career path. What I want, however, is not just to obtain a degree because I need it to get a job, but to obtain an education that exposes me to the world and improves me as a learner and person in general. I probably sound very vague, but basically what I want is like an extension of the International Baccalaureate program in which I can pursue a more specific direction of study. I’m very interested in the sciences, particularly biology and chemistry, less so in humanities but I know they are necessary in order for me to receive a good overall education. So perhaps a university that is good in pre-med, pre-pharm? I’m also very good at languages, so a good linguistic department would be great as well. </p>
<p>Other factors:
- a university instead of undergradute college
- in a suburb or city or somewhere where things are easily accessible
- academic atmosphere, I don’t study 24/7 but I’m not a party person either
- quirky/laid-back? I’m not a very competitive person. I do care about my grades, however.
- diversity. I’d love to meet and get to know new people with different cultures. I think this is one of the most appealing factors of American colleges!
- (if possible) good financial packages. Studying abroad is very expensive regardless of one’s financial situation (unless you’re Bill Gates that is) and getting a bit financial help wouldn’t hurt
- I’d prefer a smaller school than, let’s say, Urbana-Champaign. Not small colleges either. Somewhere in the middle would be nice. </p>
<p>NU and UChicago first caught my attention because they are the most known colleges in Illinois. I found out they both have liberal arts department which I really like, though Chicago seems to weigh more on it than NU does. Since I’m not sure yet what career path within science I want to pursue, I’m leaning toward UChicago because it seems like the Core Curriculum allows you to explore more. Also, it has a Scandinavian language/literature course which I’m interested in taking, not to mention the campus is formed like a small village - very fancy! NU seems laidback and fun, but I’m worried it’s too laidback. Also it seems … isolated somehow? I feel like the college is split into different social groups that don’t really interact with each other. I’d like to meet new, different people all the time, and the idea of being in a specific group doesn’t appeal to me. But I know both of these are difficult schools to get into, so that’s why I’d like to see if anyone has other suggestions of schools that they think may suit me.</p>
<p>@Barnard: I researched Wellesley and it seems like a nice school. However, it seems like it’s very focused on academics and very serious. A place that’s a bit quirkier would be nice. Wellesley, Barnard and Bowdoin are all LACs, and while the idea of a liberal arts education is really appealing, I’d prefer a university instead. </p>
<p>Nonetheless, I appreciate the comments and suggestions made!</p>