Hello CC,
I’m a senior in high school and am making final decisions about where to attend for Fall 2019. If you have any advice as a current student or a prospective student in a similar situation please share!
Schools where I was admitted:
Dickinson College
Boston College
Hamilton College
Vassar College
College of the Holy Cross
Connecticut College
Wake Forest University
Colgate University
Villanova University
Waitlist (remaining)
Harvard University
Bowdoin College
Thanks:)
Tentative academic interests?
What a great list of acceptances. Congrats!
Things to think about while narrowing down your list:
You can’t go wrong with any of these schools!
Chemistry and/or Biology:)
I’m also very involved with classical ballet so if available I plan on minoring in dance
Great advice! Thank you! Sports aren’t very important to me but having dance on campus is! I’ll keep all of those in mind:)
Are you planning on being pre-med? If so, look at the pre-med advising services at each school and their rate of med school acceptances.
I haven’t really thought about premed- I think I would prefer research. But I’ll keep that in mind in case I want to switch as an upperclassmen
What is the net cost of each school, including transportation in the fall, spring, thanksgiving, christmas and spring break?
Have you picked a top 2 or 3 and gone to their admitted students days?
I would make a spreadsheet and include info like:
Net Cost
Number of Undergraduates
Faculty Student Ratio
%of students that live on campus
How big is the department for your major? If you are majoring in something that only has a couple of professors, that does not bode well.
Housing- do they offer all 4 years? freshman only?
Is this a commuter school? (do students go home on weekends)
Surrounding area - what is the nearby town/amenities like?
Urban/rural/suburban
Transportation - how would you get home
AP Credits - can you get credit for AP tests you have taken
Male/Female ratio
Greek life - what % of students are in greek life
Parking
Diversity
Safety
Sports
Campus
Jobs - what happens to seniors after they graduate
Internships - depending on your major, is it easy to get internships?
…and whatever makes sense for you
You might not care about, say, greek life. but if 50% of the kids are in greek life and you don’t want to be, that is something to know. Or you may want a big time sports scene or you might not want one.
If you are fancy, you could weight each of these.
Grade them from 1-5 as they make sense to you. Then see which one has the largest score.
Then see if that is the one you secretly would hope would win.
Vassar seems like a good choice for both biology and dance.
Visit as many of the schools on your personal short list as possible. You will likely get a good sense of the environment and energy of each.
Congratulations on having so many excellent options.
For your primary interests (chemistry and biology), I’d be inclined to recommend Hamilton or Colgate. Both offer top-notch science facilities, though Hamilton seems to emphasize fine arts more. Colgate offers D1 sports, which appear not to be of interest to you.
For dance, Connecticut College offers breadth and depth. Vassar also offers notably strong fine arts programs.
For information on colleges that offer faculty mentored support for research/creative projects, you can review this U.S. News list: https://www.usnews.com/best-colleges/rankings/undergrad-research-programs.
You might want to search “15 Best Value Small Colleges for a Chemistry Degree 2019” for an online article that describes some programs.
In light of your list of acceptances, you have reason not to feel disappointed with your waitlist result at Harvard: https://www.bostonglobe.com/metro/2014/10/15/charlie-baker-takes-proust-questionnaire/p2B2GsYFIUnYnVLsZCiX3I/story.html.
That’s too funny! I will be visiting Hamilton soon and can’t wait to see it! Thanks for the link!
Thank you! I will be visiting Vassar within the next few weeks and I’m hoping the environment/energy is a fit like you said:)
I too like the Vassar and Hamilton recommendations for the sciences.
Conn Coll is supposedly an underrated arts and dance school, as well as, a solid NESCAC level academic school.
Vassar has the reputation of being a bit less preppy than conn col. but things may have changed.
My niece is a dancer and photography major at Vassar and feels super comfortable there.
On the uni side of your choices. D is a bio chem (declares next year) major at BC. Her classes are pretty intense and as a freshman it’s pretty much pre health track students. She feels it is super demanding. And her science peers are very serious about school.
But she loves it and she has fun too. It’s a beautiful place. And there’s a lot of dance clubs. But I have no idea about ballet. And it’s is a mix of kids but my view while there it seems more on the preppy side than artsy. She’s not a sports nut at all but has found the big time sports being right on campus are a fun and safe thing to enjoy.
@classo2023K123: I hope you enjoy your upcoming college visits!
Boston College. Great school & the city should have ballet schools.
I agree with the Vassar and Hamilton recommendations for biology and dance. Keep us updated.
Hi everyone! Thank you so much for your recommendations and advice! I decided on Hamilton College and absolutely cannot wait. The community was so welcoming and the campus stunning!
Excellent choice! Best of luck to you at Hamilton, @classo2023K123!
For a cultural and visual perspective on your college you may want to read or watch The Sterile Cuckoo sometime soon, @classo2023K123.
Based on your suggestions of diverse interests on this thread, I’m pretty sure you would enjoy this article as well: https://www.nytimes.com/1996/09/26/nyregion/new-york-has-top-norway-spruce.html.
Wishing you the best of luck at Hamilton!