I’m currently a junior and would appreciate any suggestions about colleges that might be a fit for me.
small-medium (up to 10,000)
small classes
not dominated by greek life
up to 50% acceptance rate
urban area or near a city, but if in a city must have an enclosed campus
prefer but not necessary:
northeast
LAC
I like Brown for the open curriculum (this isn’t necessary but no schools with strict core requirements) non competitive atmosphere, and the location.
ACT: 29 (practice, only taken once)
4.3 weighted GPA
9 APs by graduation
from Connecticut
undecided major
Rochester, WPI (if interested in STEM), Vermont, William and Mary (if ACT up/grades strong this year, etc.), Santa Clara (Silicon Valley) (if you would consider the Left Coast), Creighton (very Midwest)
Connecticut College – in New London, but enclosed campus. No greek life. Traditional, but not overly burdensome gen eds/distribution requirements, as best I recall.
Haverford College, enclosed campus, in the Philly suburbs with 20 min train to center Philly, no greek life.
BC is a great size. 9k undergrad with a beautiful self contained campus just outside of Boston (actually have a T Stop at campus). One of the major draws is to be so close to the pulse of the city (entertainment, sports, internships, career, history, etc.) while having its own beautiful campus. Enjoy the city, return to your own hamlet. Freshmen are divided between main campus and Newton campus. Newton campus is just a mile away and is housing for about 40% of freshmen. They have their own dining hall, study space, rec fields, etc. A cool community. Main campus is more convenient as Newton campus kids have to take the bus (which runs constantly). Have heard many advantages of both. Either way, live on main campus as a sophomore.
School spirit is tremendous. Liberal arts philosophy tied to your concentration so you will get a well rounded education (some like that, some don’t as you will have to take a certain number of core courses). NO greek life, don’t have frats or sororities. D1 sports is big. ACC in traditional sports and then there’s BC HOCKEY - HUGE! Lots of traditions. Very close knit, welcoming student body.
Virtually no merit aid (award Presidential Scholarship to approx 20 incoming kids per yr - less than 1% of enrolled) but great need based aid if you qualify.
Ok, so obviously UConn and Connecticut College should be on your radar.
Work hard to get to 32 because that’s the number that “unlocks” a lot of scholarships.
Guessing you haven’t had the “budget” talk with your parents yet: run the NPC on UConn, Connecticut College, Penn State, UAlabama, UVermont, Colgate, Lafayette, Union - you’ll notice very different net prices: what can your parents afford from income and savings?
Muhlenberg is in Allentown, has a football team, happy students, not dominated by Greek life, but there is some, and would offer you merit aid, probably
I think I read BC’s core was 33 credits which is a year+. Some don’t like the concept and would prefer getting on with their major. However, the purpose is dual pronged: 1. Educate the whole person, and 2. Expose you to other topics that you may like (hidden passion if you will). My S is at another school and they have a 2 yr core with concentrations starting in junior yr. He doesn’t like all the classes but he has gained a deeper interest in history and political science. in fact, he liked one class so much he is taking another one with the same professor. It won’t count for his core because they only use so many per category, but he really is interested in it and may decide to minor. That would not have happened otherwise.