<p>So I'm planning a trip to SoCal this summer (quite soon actually) to see my number one choice, Pepperdine. However, it seems a waste of a whole week there to only visit one college. Knowing this:</p>
<p>First Generation
White Female
2 AP classes this year, 3 next (i know, not every student on CC can handle or has access to 10 AP classes. shocking right?)
Shy at first, but not afraid to be outgoing and warm up to people
Not big on Greek life or hardcore partying
Smallish-Medium school size, will deal with bigger campus for good school
Cares about Student:Teacher ratio
Catholic
Major need for financial aid (lower middle class)
Interested in pursuing optometry, so a biology or biology related major and a minor in history (just for fun, i love history :P)
GPA: 4.03 W 3.96 UW
SATS: unknown, but planning to break the 2000 even if i have to take it 3 more times
ECs: EXTREAMLY involved in my culture and church, interning this summer for an optometry group and volunteering at a local hospital, various scholar awards, ect. </p>
<p>Can anyone recommend me any colleges I have a shot at and are worth visiting? I'm interested in Loyala Marymount(sp) and University of San Diego (the private one, not the UC), but not quite sure if they are worth the visit. </p>
<p>Upper-tier:
-USC (mid-sized...a party school reputation, but you should be able to find all sorts of people...they give good scholarships, so it's worth at least looking at)
-The Claremonts (a collection of small LACs...Pomona, Claremont McKenna, Scripps, Pitzer...known for being intellectual)</p>
<p>Middle-tier:
-USD (definitely worth checking out..it's right on the beach in a great location...plus, they give good scholarships)
-Occidental (a great LAC in a nice neighborhood of LA...pretty studious place, but with a balanced social life)
-Cal Poly San Luis Obispo (about mid-sized...good science school)
-LMU (the campus and facilities are really nice)</p>
<p>Safeties:
-U of Redlands (cute LAC...my friend liked it when she visited)</p>
<p>From my own research, definitely look at the 5 C's, the Claremont Schools. Very good schools, (Claremont McKenna and Pomona are almost aways ranked in the top 10 LACs), no Greek life, small-size (but with the resources of a bigger school, as the 5 pool libraries/dining/sports together), good student:teacher ratio... I'm definitely visiting/applying, and would recommend a look.</p>
<p>Scripps, LMU, Occidental all spring immediately to mind. USD, Univ. of Redlands both make sense as well. </p>
<p>All but USD are fairly easy drives from one another ("LA easy," anyway...San Diego is still a perfectly do-able day or overnight trip, but it's out of the way). When I did a similar trip (Claremonts, USC, LMU, Pepperdine), we were able to stay in Santa Monica without any trouble, which was nice b/c it gave us plenty to do to unwind in between visits.</p>