<p>I did some more research and here’s another copy of the list. I’m starting to understand what you’re saying about the party scene. I guess it’s something I’ll have to deal with and hope that I get a good group of friends!</p>
<p>How does my list look now?</p>
<p>Stanford
Rice
Vanderbilt
Clemson
Notre Dame
Virginia
Texas A&M
Auburn
UCLA
Virginia Tech
Pittsburgh
Baylor
Georgia Tech
Northwestern
Michigan
Illinois
Wisconsin</p>
<p>Why did you eliminate Carnegie-Mellon? Academically it has very strong programs in both business and engineering. It’s located in a vibrant part of Pittsburgh and its overall size and focus make it slightly less likely to have an overwhelming party scene. I no direct knowledge of its religious opportunities, but otherwise I think it fits your criteria quite well.</p>
<p>Now is a good time to start making lists. Assuming you add Carnegie back, order your 18 schools based on engineering, another list based on business, one for party scene and one for religion. I suspect that after you’ve done that a few schools are going to jump out as good opportunities.</p>
<p>N.B.: Stanford, UCLA and Northwestern do not have undergraduate business schools per se, so be sure they have the type of opportunities you want on that front.</p>
<p>In your research you also need to find out if it will be easy/possible to do what you want in two very different areas. At some schools it will be difficult if not impossible.</p>
<p>What happened to Trinity?</p>
<p>Surprisingly, Brown has a strong community of people who don’t drink or do drugs, and people here tend to be respectful of any life choices someone has (Choosing to dorm in the substance-free housing is a great way to get that community right away). I’m somewhat involved in the Catholic Community on campus, and I have friends who are part of College Hill for Christ (we got back from spring break the day after Easter, and they littered the greens with plastic Easter eggs containing candy and bible verses. It was a very inventive way of reaching out, and reminding kids of something that, pretty much anywhere, tends to take a back seat during school).</p>
<p>However, like Stanford and others, we don’t have a business program, but our “business-ey” program (Commerce, Entrepreneurship and Organization) is tied in closely to our engineering department (soon to be school), and one of the tracks requires a good portion of your classes to be within engineering.</p>
<p>Alright, I decided that I really wanted a school with Division 1 athletics so that’s why Trinity and Carnegie Mellon dropped off the list. I also decided that I want a school with a business school for undergraduates just in case I want to go that way (I am leaning engineering right now).</p>
<p>Here’s my updated list:</p>
<p>Penn State
Maryland
UVA
Michigan State
Illinois
Michigan
Notre Dame
Wisconsin
Georgia Tech
Texas A&M
Texas
UC-Berkeley
USC
Washington</p>
<p>I live in Massachusetts, how hard would it be to get in from out of state at the public schools?</p>
<p>With a 3.9/4.0 and a 2330 you should have a good shot at all those schools.</p>
<p>Wow, your list has changed a lot. I think you’re putting too much emphasis on D1 athletics, tbh.</p>
<p>Stanford has D1 athletics (go Pac-10!), and even without a business school has students do very well in the field. And is a powerhouse for engineering and the sciences.</p>
<p>Honestly, though, you shouldn’t worry about making your list “coherent,” i.e. having only similar schools. It’s probably better for your match and safety schools (and most the schools on your list seem like matches or safeties, except maybe UCB) to be really diverse (as in this one has one thing you love about it, another has something else, even if it has no D1 athletics), because your preferences might change by the time April rolls around, and you want to give yourself the room to choose someplace that matches up to you as best as possible. Which you might not know by the time you apply.</p>
<p>I’m going to direct you back to post #17. Your list and priorities have undergone some massive changes. Initially there were the concerns about partying and drugs along with a “Christian” environment, (to the point of not wanting any Catholic schools); now the new emphasis is on D1 athletics, (which Notre Dame qualifies for, but clearly violates your Catholic objection).</p>
<p>My suggestion is to now take all the schools you’ve considered, (Trinity, Vandy, CMU etc), and add them to your most recent list of 14 - I’m guessing this comes to 20 - 25 candidates. Then make a list of all the criteria you feel are important to you: engineering, business, D1, Christian, location, cost, size, selectivity, etc. Then arrange those criteria in order of importance to you, (don’t overlook intangibles like the fact that a few schools may have special programs for the type of engineering you’re interested in, etc). Under each criteria list your schools 1 through 25 as you perceive it. When you’re done I think you’ll find that 8 - 10 schools separate themselves from the herd.</p>
<p>Vinceh</p>
<p>I just saw you lived a few blocks from Wheaton College in Il.!!! I did too! I was by the intersection of Hill and Lorraine. I was there from 1990-1996. When were you there?</p>