<p>Hi all, I'm trying to fill up my top 10 colleges that I'll probably apply to. So far my top choices are Vassar, Wesleyan, Brown, Skidmore and Oberlin. What other schools based on these 5 schools would you recommend me to look deeper into? I especially need some safeties, since the schools above are reaches and targets.</p>
<p>Middlebury, Amherst, Grinnell, Williams, and Carleton. I don’t really know any safeties.</p>
<p>Eugene Lang</p>
<p>Sarah Lawrence, perhaps. Similar to those on your list but easier to get in.</p>
<p>Sarah Lawrence is a bit small with <1.4k students. Are there any similar schools with 2k to 3k students? And kellian, those schools are great, but I can only apply to 10 and I’d like to have a couple more safeties :).</p>
<p>Kalamazoo, College of Wooster, Allegheny, Beloit,</p>
<p>I made this post about colleges you might want to look at if you like Wesleyan, which might be helpful: </p>
<p><a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/wesleyan-university/407021-if-you-like-wes-you-might-also-want-consider.html[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/wesleyan-university/407021-if-you-like-wes-you-might-also-want-consider.html</a></p>
<p>Check out Wheaton (in MA, but only 1600), Muhlenberg, Clark U, and Hamline.</p>
<p>Eugene Lang and Sarah Lawrence are both ridiculously expensive, and EL in particularly is known for bad financial aid.</p>
<p>Macalester, Bennington, Kenyon (Ohio, I think), Pitzer (one of the Claremont Colleges, but less competitive than Pomona and CMC), Colby, Bates (both in Maine), Union College (it’s in Schenectady), Marist College (Poughkeepsie)</p>
<p>High match:
Whitman
Colorado College
Occidental</p>
<p>Low match, or possibly safeties if money is not an issue:<br>
Juniata
Ursinus
Earlham
Guilford
St. Mary’s College of MD</p>
<p>Definitely Grinnell and Macalester. Colby and Bates are a bit preppy, especially the former, but that’s a personal fit issue. Carleton and Pomona would be additional reaches, so probably not what you are looking for right now. Hampshire and Reed perhaps?</p>
<p>Money won’t be a big issue, but I am pressing for 2k to 3k students, since anything sub 2k would be a little too small for my taste. But otherwise, thanks for all the suggestions.</p>
<p>Ok, so maybe I should give a little more information on my criteria so it’s easier for all of you to help.</p>
<p>1) Diversity is a must (in race, sexual orientation, and interests in general)
2) Strong economics program is preferred (My intended major)
3) Suburban campus with Gothic architecture
4) The liberal/hippy/artsy feel should be pretty easy to tell on campus
5) Preferably a low student to faculty ratio
6) Students should be relatively politically active and globally aware</p>
<p>Check out Bard College. They are a little bit smaller than you are looking for but otherwise fit the criteria. Based upon the info you’ve given it would probably be a match. Also, Goucher in Maryland and Ithaca College could work as safeties.</p>
<p>For safety ideas: American University (a little bigger than your target, and not ‘gothic’ but–liberal/politically active/globally aware). Fairly diverse.</p>
<p>Goucher (slightly under your target in size) but-- liberal/artsy from what I have heard.</p>
<p>Both of the above in suburban/nice urban locations. Don’t know how the econ programs are (don’t know much about those in general).</p>
<p>This might sound weird, but I like your list of criteria. I’ve seen some really ridiculous criteria on CC, some even contradictory, but yours is simple enough and focuses on important things instead of stupid things.</p>
<p>That said - I don’t know anything about the architecture there, but how about Babson College? You said your intended major is economics; Babson is a specialized school that’s geared towards business education and they have an economics program there. It seems to be relatively diverse, with 16% of its students Asian or Pacific Islander, 5% black, and 8% Hispanic, with over a quarter being international students. They’re a little on the smaller side of your requirements - just shy of 2,000 undergrads but there are also 1,500 graduate students. Babson Park is a suburb of Boston; it’s close to Wellesley and only a 30-minute drive to Boston (or about 1 hour on the Framingham/Worcester bus line). They admit 40% of their applicants and the mid 50% range of SAT scores is in the mid 500s to mid 600s, with their math scores being in the low 600s to 700s.</p>
<p>Claremont McKenna also has a good economics program, and it’s definitely in the suburbs, is said to have a kind of preppy flair, and their students are known for their activism.</p>
<p>The University of Rochester also is reputed to have a very good economics department (near the top of the Gourman list), as is Colby’s, Macalester’s, Haverford, Grinnell, and Hamilton College. Grinnell in particular seems to be sort of a “hidden gem” school that’s becoming more prominant; it was less so in the past because of it’s Midwestern location, but I think it’s overcoming that.</p>
<p>Take a good look at Whitman College. Visited with d a few weeks ago and was very impressed. Walla Walla seems like a very comfortable location; obviously not a suburb of a major city but it’s not completely isolated. We met a number of happy east coasters.</p>
<p>Babson is out if you’re looking for an artsy feel. I think University of Chicago would interest you, except for the whole suburban thing–nobody’s safety,however. University of Dayton might be one for you though.</p>
<p>Macalester has a strong econ department, a campus in a residential part of St. Paul, about 2000 students (10% international), a very political student body (see Princeton Review), and is definitely hippie-tastic.</p>
<p>I came across Babson a couple months ago in my research and although it does have an amazing business program, it’s not the kind of school I’m looking for. The rest of the schools seem good though.</p>
<p>UChicago and CMC(a bit too pre-professional, I prefer Pomona over CMC) are not safeties, though I do like them.</p>
<p>Macalester - Can this truly be my safety? I’ve noticed a relatively high acceptance rate in the 40s, but median SAT scores are high and my CR score is closer to the 50th percentile than the 75th. My writing score isn’t above the 75th percentile either.</p>
<p>Whitman - A possible safety, though I’ve checked with my counselor and she’s not very familiar with it. Only 1 person from my high school has ever applied there, and he/she got accepted, with a 3.9X GPA and 2300 SAT. Most of the time, people with ~3.5 GPA go to NYU/CMU/schools of that level, so I’m kind of worried Whitman won’t know how to judge me based on the school I attend. I also especially enjoy the vibrant “oudoor” feel to this school.</p>
<p>URochester - A little too big and not quite diverse enough. It does have a good econ program, but I can’t really see myself there. It’s a bit too “science-y”.</p>
<p>Bard - I’ve heard great things about this school as well, and that it’s often grouped with my top choice schools. I was looking into it before, but stopped when I noticed its small number of students (I was really picky back then). Bard won’t be a safety though, probably a match/low match.</p>
<p>Goucher - Yes, definitely. Based on stats alone, this can be one of my safeties. I know somebody from my school who ended up here and she wasn’t exactly the highest achiever. I should probably learn more about it first though, since I might not like it.</p>
<p>American - Unfortunately, 6k+ is way over my ideal range. Small, urban campus is also quite a big turn off. However, I do like how politically active the school is.</p>
<p>Grinnell - A little too small, both in campus size and number of students. Also might be more of a low match than safety. Some buildings look quite banal and ugly. The campus seems to be a little too isolated, though this isn’t a big concern. I feel like I’m listing all the negative things about Grinnell, but I actually quite like it. Everything else seems to be great.</p>
<p>Does anyone know University of Puget Sound? If you do, please comment on it.</p>