<p>So basically I know I don't want a small liberal arts college, but I also don't know if I want a huge school. However, I have Michigan and Wisconsin on my list of schools. I am thinking of applying to Vandy, WUSTL, Emory, Cornell amongst other elite top universities. I wish there was a school that had the academia of WUSTL lets say and the spirit and sports vibe of a Big Ten school. (I'm not sure what I want from a school in terms of student body size but mid sized sounds best to me as of now) I understand that Michigan might fall under that description but I'm still looking for more options to apply to as well. I come from the East coast and am only looking at schools east of the Mississippi River (with the exception of WUSTL). My unweighted gpa (with basically most difficult schedule offered) is around 3.7 and i have a 33 act. my ec's are very solid but i prefer not to list them here. Perhaps there are other schools I should be looking at and if possible please tell me any information that would be helpful about some of the schools i have mentioned here. Thanks!</p>
<p>I’m considering Duke and Dartmouth, but both are big reaches i think. i could be wrong though</p>
<p>How about Northwestern? You haven’t mentioned what your financial situation is, though. What can you afford? Your ACT is at the 50% mark for Northwestern. Given GPA it is a reach, but not a high reach.</p>
<p>I’ve heard from some friends that Northwestern’s social scene is not great, but I could be completely misinformed. Can someone speak to their social scene and what its like? </p>
<p>Look at U Dayton. FBS Division 1 football, good basketball and other sports, lots of school spirit. You would get some merit aid. <a href=“http://www.udayton.edu/guidance_counselors/afford/#2”>http://www.udayton.edu/guidance_counselors/afford/#2</a></p>
<p>okay thanks </p>
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<p>Pittsburgh? Many like it as a safety if nothing else, and then some find out they like it better than other options they thought they would like - esp if pre-med or neuro or similar. Pitt can be a better school than some give them credit for, plus sports are big there.</p>
<p>I’ll check into that @Creekland‌ thank you. Can anyone speak to the schools I have mentioned and which would be best for me based on what I described and why. Thanks!</p>
<p>University of Minnesota good academics and it is a Big Ten school. It’s on both the east and west of the Mississippi.</p>
<p>@gman333 Thanks but I’m looking for something a bit more on the academic scale of Michigan and some of the others i mentioned</p>
<p>Vandy, Emory, and WUSTL are three my middle son considered (brain & cognitive and pre-med). He ended up picking U Rochester… Vandy will have the sports vibe I think you are looking for, but it’s got a southern (gals dress up) vibe to them and it’s higher in Greek presence. Emory and WUSTL are most like U Rochester - great schools academically, but not into sports, etc. </p>
<p>My guy opted not to apply to Vandy (not his fit) or Emory (personal issue) and got waitlisted at WUSTL, but it didn’t matter as U Roc was his top choice by then. Pitt was second. He did not want sports or Greek - just great research ops and studious, fun-loving, non-sports or partying peers. He’s quite happy with his choice (though there are party lovers at URoc of course). If he had wanted sports, Pitt might easily have topped his final list. They truly are quite good with neuro.</p>
<p>What is your intended major? What are you looking at paying for school? Also what is your weighted GPA?</p>
<p>I don’t see why you would care about weighted GPA… colleges only look at unweighted…</p>
<p>Woah, not really @intparent‌. If someone has like a 3.7, but took AP’s could have a weighted GPA of like 4.1. This shows they took challenging courses. This looks better than someone who took 0 AP’s (when the school offers them) and has a 4.0. To say that colleges only look at unweighted is incorrect. They look at both to understand the context of your grades.</p>
<p>Many high schools do not weight. Colleges do not recalculate weighted, they UNWEIGHT to compare across schools. They ask the GCs about whether the applicant took the most difficult schedule, and look at the school profile to see what is offered in terms of honors and AP courses. But the actual weighted GPA – not considered.</p>
<p>Well my school does not report Weighted GPA nor do we offer AP courses. But I take the highest possible level of pretty much all my courses. Should I calculate Weighted GPA by assuming those courses are APs? </p>
<p>Are you listening? Colleges DO NOT look at weighted averages. They want the unweighted GPA for precisely the situation you are in (no APs) so they can compare students across high schools. They use other methods to determine if you have taken the most rigorous courses your high school offers.</p>
<p>They still take into consideration the course load you are taking, so informing other CC users of my weighted average just helps everyone’s perception of what type of student I am</p>