<p>Case Western Reserve University
Depauw University
Hendrix College
Illinois Wesleyan University
Lafayette College
Rhodes College
St. Olaf College</p>
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<p>I only have seven right now, but I'd like somewhere between 8-12. Are there any colleges that you guys would advise to take off or add?</p>
<p>My current plan is to apply to Lafayette earl decision. And I think I will major in something science-related, maybe engineering. </p>
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<p>Male from Arkansas
SAT (taken twice): 2030 (650R, 700M, 680W)
Unweighted GPA: 3.17
Weighted GPA: 3.27
Class Size: 600 (public school)
Class rank: top 17-20%</p>
<p>Honors Math courses 8th through 12th grade, 3 AP's: AP Statistics (4), AP Physics (2), and AP Computer Science (1).</p>
<p>My grade trend is essentially 3.40 freshman year, 2.90 sophomore year, 3.40 junior year, and 3.60 senior year.</p>
<p>EC's: High school baseball, special needs brother, a little volunteering (and by a 'little' I mean only several hours one day), member of three clubs.</p>
<p>Rec's: Even though I got a 2 on the Physics exam, my Physics teacher is writing my rec. Although I obviously cannot know for sure, I think he will say only positive things and even spin the fact that my 2 on the exam was his fault --- it hardly was. So, point being, my rec should be strong.</p>
<p>Essay: Assume it is at least averagely good.</p>
<p>Your SAT's are fine....very good. Your GPA is problematic for some schools on the elite scale. However, it depends on many things, difficulty of courses, trends in your school, grading policies, and your whole picture.</p>
<p>That being said, Lafayette is a fine school. Did you also consider Lehigh which is just up the road a piece and also strong in engineering? How about another solid southern school like Virginia Tech? Its a gorgeous campus in a rural setting. That would be good for you culture wise, and a bit closer to home for holiday travels etc. If you want something smaller, and private, and you seem to prefer locations that are not in large urban settings, then your list is fine and I dont know too many more I would add to that. The Jesuit schools are all wonderful, but they typically are in large cities like New York, Boston, Chicago, St. Louis. St. Louis University is a FABULOUS science school by the way. Good luck.</p>
<p>@Erin'sDad...I'm actually going to take one or two courses at the U of A next semester, and I see it as my 'safety-safety' next year. I view Hendrix College as a safety, and so if I get rejected by literally every college on my list (or if I get accepted by one or two, for example, but I don't get enough money), I can always apply to the U of A during the summer -- they have rolling admissions. So I do have the U of A in mind.</p>
<p>@nocousin...I figure I have a better chance at Lafayette than I do at Lehigh, and Lafayette is only slightly worse (both things are true, right?). </p>
<p>I actually did have SLU on my list at one point, but marked it out immediately after I saw that its academic rating was only 77 in The Princeton Review's book. That might have been silly, but every college on my list was given an academic rating of at least 87. 77 just seemed remarkably low...</p>
<p>Maybe you should just apply to SLU. Marking it off by the rating was pretty silly but I cant say that I wouldn't do the same myself :/ Anyways, it seems like you could use a school that you'd most likely get into. SLU might be just that. Its a nice school too. I liked it when I went down there, very pretty and right in the middle of things in Saint Louis.</p>
<p>Actually, nocousin, you made me think of another question. </p>
<p>Should I apply to Lehigh early decision or Lafayette early decision? </p>
<p>Since Lehigh is considered the better school, and both are strong in engineering, and both have the same location, Lehigh would be my first choice if I applied. </p>
<p>...But Lehigh is harder to get into than Lafayette, right?</p>
<p>So should I apply ED to a slightly worse school that is slightly easier to get into, or should I apply ED to the school that is slightly better, but slightly harder to get into?</p>
<p>lol, why coolbreeze? Too demanding and often pointless homework, plus bad locations?</p>
<p>And, to the poster above, I would be happy at either Lafayette or Lehigh --- but I favor Lehigh very slightly more though, since they're slightly better. </p>
<p>So do I have a reasonable enough chance at Lehigh if I apply early decision to justify early decisioning at Lehigh and regular decisioning at Lafayette?</p>
<p>Or, since my chances are already perhaps quite low at Lafayette, and it's easier to get into the Lehigh, I should stick with my ED at Lafayette?</p>