differentiating between privates

College Search & Selection
1

<p>I'm trying to make my final list, I'm looking for a medium to large school that has a defined campus, good reputation and a large range of majors. 2270 SAT above 4.0 GPA and good solid extracurriculars with leadership roles. I want somewhere chill, for lack of a better word, somewhere that doesn't deviate too much from the Bay Area vibe. This is my tentative list, I know alot of these are reaches. Any suggestions on what to cut would help.
I feel like I'm applying blindly, does anyone ever feel like all the privates sound the same after a while? I dont have the time or means to go visit them all before im accepted so I'm just going on what I can see from brochures etc. </p>

<p>Public (I'm from CA) - UCB, UCLA, UCDavis
Privates -
Harvard
Brown
Stanford
Rice
Northwestern
UPenn
Duke?
Boston College?
Tufts?
Yale?
Wash U?<br>
Emory?
Georgetown?</p>

2

<p>laid backish ..laid back in a hippie way
northwestern
brown
stanford
dartmouth
all LAC's with the excemption of swarthmore</p>

<p>southerness ..laid back in that way
washu
emory
georgetown-kinda i guess
rice
duke </p>

<p>the rest seem more uptighish</p>

3

<p>Duke is definitely NOT a Southern school, although it does have a laidback atmosphere. We have a lot of people from California here. I didn't think Georgetown was too laidback, but maybe that was just me. </p>

<p>Among the LACs, I think Wesleyan in particular might fit you.</p>

4

<p>second checking out the LACs; besides Wesleyan also look at Whitman, Reed (though very academically intense), Vassar, Hamilton, Skidmore, Bowdoin, Carleton, & Grinnell...</p>

<p>If you are female: add Smith</p>

<p>If you want it more "Berkeley" than Berkeley, try Hampshire, Bennington</p>

5

<p>I dont know about the LAC, I've never really considered them... they seem too small and quirky (especially Reed, swarthmore ect)</p>

6

<p>Well if you want a very similar "chill" factor and high-caliber students they are worth checking out.</p>

<p>Your initial list above is all super-reaches; certain LACs are less on the national radar, so they are slightly easier to get in and the experience/vibe/population is very, very similar. </p>

<p>Even if you have incredible stats and GPA it is wise to include a few less selective schools as Matches & Safeties and mostly kids who want a "Brown" are going to be happier with a "Vassar" as a match than with a big State U.</p>

7

<p>I love it......someone from Bay Area CA calling LACs quirky....isn't that an oxymoron???</p>

8

<p>LACs have a lot to offer- don't just shut them out before you've researched them. Okay, so Reed is on one end of the spectrum, but most offer just the normal crowd, and aren't quirky at all.</p>