<p>Does anybody have some options for excellent, well-recognized, highly ranked, reputable schools that aren't impossible to get into and an average student (3.5-3.8, minor club imvolvement, community service, mix of AP, Honors, IB and regular classes, talent in visual arts w/few awards,Upper 1100s-mid 1200 SAT) stands a chance of being admitted????? Thanks!</p>
<p>PS-Sorry for double posting, I wasn't sure which board it belongs in.</p>
<p>Some of the schools I've been looking at seem to be in that category, such as Skidmore, Muhlenberg, Dickinson, Franklin and Marshall, Vassar (though that'd be a stretch for both me and you) and many others out there. There are also the schools that I feel probably deserve a much better reputation then they have, such as the school I'm visiting tomorrow, Goucher College in Maryland. All of these schools have good reputations and all have their own personalities, it just depends on what you're looking for. I tend to be the type to lean more towards the Skidmores and the Gouchers of the world, as places like Franklin and Marshall scare me a bit with the dominating frats and all, but they're all very reputable schools.</p>
<p>Corman, let us know what you think of Goucher. My daughter loved it when she visited and has it on the top of her list. </p>
<p>RKATC - do you have any preference as to size, location, etc.? What are you interested in studying? Give us some idea of what you're looking for so we can help you out. There are PLENTY of schools out there that are excellent and not impossible to get into. For example, Whitman College in Washington State is a top-30 ranked LAC that accepts 60% of applicants.</p>
<p>Tell us more about Groucher - Does it have a real campus or spread out through the town? Best and worst parts, etc.</p>
<p>I'm not sure what 'impossible to get into' means to you in terms of admitted applicants. If you look through guides, like Fiske, they will give you the percent of admitted students and that'll give you a good idea how the odds are. But you seem very well qualified for selective schools with the exception of the SAT score. You might like to look over this list of Selective Liberal Arts Colleces that do not focus on SAT scores as much--</p>
<p>American University, DC
Bard, NY
Bates, ME
Bowdoin, ME
Connecticut College, CT
Depauw, IN
Dickinson, PA
Franklin and Marshall, PA
Gettysburg, PA
Lafayette, PA
Lewis and Clark, OR
Occidental, CA
Pitzer, CA
Skidmore, NY
St. John's, MD & NM
Union, NY
University of Puget Sound, WA
Wheaton, MA
Willamette, OR</p>
<p>Many of there schools are really outstanding.</p>
<p>Goucher has a beautiful campus which is one of the things my daughter loved about it --- it's on 200 plus acres, surrounded by woods (they even have an on campus equestrian center) --- yet you step off campus and you're instantly in the town of Towson with a mall, restaurants, movie theaters, bookstores, concert venue, literally right there. And, Towson is right on the out skirts of Baltimore. Goucher and the other colleges in Baltimore run a shuttle between the various schools and points in Baltimore. Goucher seems to take advantage of all of this proximity by stressing alot of internships and you can cross register for classes at Johns Hopkins, Maryland College of ARt, Towson State, Loyola, etc. Goucher's campus buildings themselves are all clustered in a small area - they're in the process of building a new library, campus center and dorm --- they're looking to boost their student body to 1500 in the next few years. The student body seems more artsy-creative than preppy. </p>
<p>My daughter's only concern is the male-female ratio (currently 35-65) but that's not far off from many other LAC's she's looked at. From going over their course offerings with a fine tooth comb, it appears that course offerings in some areas are a bit limited, as is typical with many small schools, but the ability to take classes elsewhere may compensate. The strongest programs seem to be in pre-med/sciences, history, English, theater, dance and art.</p>
<p>Also look at:</p>
<p>Trinity C.
College of the Holy Cross
College of Wooster
Dension U.
Whitman
Hendrix
Furman U.
Centre
Rhodes
Sewanee (The University of the South)
Gettysburg
Trinity U.
Rollins
Beloit
Earlham
Lawrence U.
Southwestern U.
Stetson U.</p>
<p>:)</p>
<p>I don't think American is a LAC.</p>
<p>Thanks for the responses. Anyone else have any suggestions?</p>
<p>Furman is very highly regarded in the south. I don't think that it gets the reputation it deserves from northerners. It has the most beautiful campus I have ever seen, and it's in South Carolina. It's one of the few southern LACs, but a great school. It's probably a slight reach for you, because the average SAT is a high 1200(25-75 percentile ranges from 1180-1370). 68% are in top 10% of HS class.</p>
<p>If you want non-LACs, you can try these out:</p>
<p>If you want publics:</p>
<p>University of Texas-Austin
University of Washington
University of Wisconsin-Madison
University of Florida</p>
<p>If you want private schools:</p>
<p>University of Miami-although this is a preppy&party school, it is decent in academics
Boston University
Tulane University
Case Western Reserve University</p>