Diversity (not the kind you think) in my college list

College Search & Selection
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<p>I'm your typical Asian (Chinese) girl from the NE, although an obscure state (Delaware). I'm interested in English, computer science, creative writing, and linguistics, in about that order of priority. I don't party, don't plan on drinking, want real relationships versus random hookups, and dislike sports (both playing and as a spectator).</p>

<h2>STATS</h2>

<p>School: competitive public magnet
Rank: unranked (~250 per class)
GPA: 4.0/4.18 (theoretical max. 4.3)
SAT (taken in eighth grade): 2170 (M 650, CR 760, W 760 w/ 11 on essay)
PSAT: 219 (M 67, CR 79, W 73)
Courses: All honors, taking 2 APs (Calc AB and English Lang) next year and 3-5 senior year. (This is NOT my school's most rigorous load.)</p>

<h2>COLLEGE LIST (in rank order; asterisks are definite choices)</h2>

<p>Yale*
Pomona
Williams
Amherst
Swarthmore
Vassar
Oberlin
Macalester
URochester*
Beloit*
UDel*</p>

<p>Possibles:
Middlebury
Brown
Haverford
Grinnell
Bryn Mawr</p>

<p>Curricular freedom is important to me, as I'm likely to double-major in two unrelated fields. I'm also attracted by meaningless quibbles like a beautiful library and lack of bugs buzzing around the campus (I'm endomophobic). And I intend to pursue study of French to fluency, so immersion/study abroad options are vital.</p>

<p>As you can see, I'm finally set with safeties (two + disliked state U) but I have too many reaches. I will probably be limited to 10 apps plus UDel, so any schools added from the "Possibles" will necessitate cutting a school from the current list.</p>

<p>I plan to visit the Tri-Co schools sometime next year (Swat, Haverford, and Bryn Mawr) but the others will NOT be visited until/if I'm accepted. Parents' decision, not mine. Also, FA is an important factor; I will qualify for need-based aid and parents are willing to pay our EFC, although merit aid is always nice (less loans).</p>

<p>So, I'd like to balance my list and make it thoroughly diverse, reach/match/safety subcategories and in location. It seems to me that Pomona, Williams, Amherst, and Swarthmore are all about the same selectivity level. I think that being from Delaware will be a slight geographic tip at Pomona--true or false? Anyway that leaves Williams/Amherst/Swarthmore--I visited the first two and liked them both for varying reasons, Williams's tutorials and tightly knit campus (but SO isolated and Williamstown's Spring St. is tiny) vs. Amherst's curriculum and college town (but the admissions office had two wasps in residence!). I haven't visited Swarthmore yet, since it's only a hour or so from my home--attractive to my parents for financial and convenience reasons. But I have reservations about Swat and Bryn Mawr's "intensity"; I'm not a partier, but I'd like to have some free time to pursue things like writing a novel.</p>

<p>Info on any of the non-asterisked or possible colleges is welcome, but I'd especially like perspective on Williams/Amherst/Swarthmore/Middlebury/Brown/Haverford (for three slots) and Vassar/Oberlin/Macalester/Grinnell/maybe Bryn Mawr (for three slots).</p>

<p>Thanks in advance from a quirky rising junior who actually enjoys doing college research and finds herself haunting CC...</p>

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<p>Also, I’m adding Bowdoin to the list of possibles.</p>

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<p>Anyone? I didn’t think the long post was THAT discouraging…</p>

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<p><em>1tear</em> Is diversity such a scary buzzword?</p>

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<p>well you could check out some of the schools in something called NESCAC. not sure if you’ve heard of them. kinda athletic. have a friend who goes to middlebury and its very rural. its a small school but in regards to diversity, i have no clue. not sure if i helped lol. at least it was a bump? :D</p>

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<p>OK, I’ll bite . . . Here’s 10 + UDel for you, assorted for diversity in terms of geography, culture, and setting:</p>

<p>Reaches: Yale, Pomona, Williams, Brown, Bowdoin</p>

<p>Targets: Rochester, Oberlin, Macalester, Bryn Mawr</p>

<p>Admission Safety: Beloit</p>

<p>Financial Safety: UDel</p>

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<p>^^ Not quite what I mean, but thank you anyway. Essentially, at the moment I’m comparing Amherst/Swarthmore/Middlebury/Haverford. I’d like to balance it out because Amherst/Swarthmore are more reachy than Midd/Haverford–that’s what I mean by a diverse college list.</p>

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<p>gadad: Hmm, very interesting. I had considered Rochester a safety, and I had a strong interview. But maybe it’d be better categorized as a low match. Would you care to chime in on picking 2 from Amherst/Swat/Midd/Haverford? (Plus maybe a third if I can convince my parents to go to 12.)</p>

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<p>I’ve heard that Amherst has more of a sports & drinking scene than Haverford or Swat but don’t take my word for it.</p>

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<p>^ Thanks anyway, despite the caveat. ;)</p>

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<p>I’d go with:
Swarthmore/Brown/Haverford (for three slots)
Vassar/Macalester/Bryn Mawr or Grinnell (for three slots).</p>

<p>Based on the culture you seem to want (I’ve noticed your other posts re: athletics) and the academic programs which interest you (English, computer science, creative writing, and linguistics)…</p>

<p>You can decide on Bryn Mawr or Grinnell based on your visit to BMC…</p>

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<p>Not to make your decision any more difficult, but what about Carleton? It fits right in with some of your choices, like Grinnell and Oberlin?</p>

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<p>^ Hmm, what made you cut Oberlin? I’m curious because it’s remained on my list largely due to meeting my academic interests (very strong English and creative writing). Grinnell is strong in CS, but I’m not enamoured with its English/CW offerings. And BMC I keep going back and forth with–if only it wasn’t a women’s college.</p>

<p>Also, from curiosity–if I remove Brown from consideration, thus reducing the list to all LACs, what three would you choose for the reach slots?</p>

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<p>^ Carleton’s curriculum doesn’t have the flexibility of easily double-majoring. Unfortunately, although I really like the school, that’s a deal-breaker.</p>

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<p>Why did I cut Oberlin? Oberlin is a great school. But, it’s students are the most extreme, out there, almost a little weird and awkward for my personal tastes. Based on reading your posts, you don’t seem that far to the left of the spectrum.</p>

<p>Bryn Mawr I kept b/c they have a creative writing and joint liguistics programs. If you don’t like the school after your visit you can remove it.</p>

<p>If you remove Brown, it would be down to Williams or Amherst for the spot. IMHO, I don’t think Middlebury is in the same league as the others in that top group. If you force to me to choose between Wms. & Amherst, I’d lean to Williams…</p>

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<p>you kinda fail at life</p>

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<p>^ I assume that Scotchtape is a ■■■■■.</p>

<p>pointoforder: So in your opinion, Oberlin is more extreme than Vassar or Beloit? I would self-identify as artsy-weird (or geeky-weird) rather than alternative-weird, one reason I cut Wesleyan early on; but the BSFFA (Beloit Science Fiction Fantasy Association) really excites me. And I have yet to figure out a way to judge a particular creative writing program’s views toward genre.</p>

<p>Here’s where I’m leaning thus far, of course hinging on those all-important Tri-Co visits:
Swat/Haverford/Williams? (tutorials/4-1-4 vs. Amherst/non-isolation)
Vassar/Macalester/BMC or Oberlin (women’s vs. too quirky)</p>

<p>And sometimes I don’t know if I’m really ready for Swat/BMC’s academic intensity, though I do long for it as well. But I have a straight-A Asian personality… could probably get over it, but my parents would not be satisfied with a 3.0 GPA.</p>

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<p>We visited Beloit last year. It’s a lovely campus full of strange and wonderful students! The town isn’t much, though.</p>

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<p>Yes, I’d actually consider Rochester a safety for you too. I just wanted to have a reason to include it because it’s larger than your other non-Ivies.</p>

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<p>I visited Rochester with misgivings about the size, but was surprisingly charmed by the school. I would be able to do humanities research, and there are certain programs/professors that attract me (Certificate in Literary Translation Studies, plus a genre-published English professor).</p>

<p>Also, I’ve decided to take Williams, Amherst, and Middlebury off the table entirely because of heavy drinking issues. The alcohol culture is important to me, despite the allure of Williams’ academic programs. So the new list:</p>

<p>Yale
Pomona
Swarthmore
Vassar
Haverford
Oberlin
Macalester
URochester
Beloit
UDel</p>

<p>Possibles:
Brown (not an LAC, high reach, reportedly bad reslife)
Bryn Mawr (women’s college! –>introvert seeking a relationship in college)
Grinnell (English and CW courses look…boring and traditional) </p>

<p>Would I be correct in categorizing Haverford as a low reach? And I do have an extra slot open now. Thoughts?</p>