<p>In trying to narrow down my colleges I am trying to find schools that would be a good fit for me. However, I have such open criterion that I'm having trouble with this, and I was hoping some people on CC could help me out.</p>
<p>What I Want in a College:
Size: Basically, I don't want a school too large or too small. An undergraduate student body anywhere between 2000 and 12000 would be fine for me. Basically not a state school and not a small LAC.</p>
<p>Location: Anywhere out of state (my home state is Texas), and anywhere that isn't rural.</p>
<p>Major: I really don't know what I want to major in at this point, but I'm leaning towards Business, Economics, or Engineering, though that could change. I want a college with good programs across the board (Within reason, obviously. I don't expect to find a college that ranks in the top 10-20 for every field of study) so that I can switch relatively easily from one good program to another.</p>
<p>Student Body: I want an intellectually engaging student body. I also don't want to go to a conservative minded school. The party scene is not very important for me at this point. I'm sure I could find some of it wherever I go.</p>
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<p>I can't think of any other criteria that I haven't already listed right now, but if you can think of any more questions that would help you determine schools for me more accurately, I would be pleased to provide answers. How else can I determine schools that are good fits for me?</p>
<p>Given the above information, what schools do you think would make good fits for me? I'll admit, my (large) list right now is based mainly on prestige, but given my loose criteria, I'm having a tough time eliminating schools. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.</p>
<p>Unfortunately it really depends on your stats. U. Penn is great for business, but it takes high scores. Note that there there are quite a few LACs that have 2400 students, so an LAC is still possible. But many don’t have business and engineering courses, so you could narrow down that way.</p>
<p>Oh sorry, I was just thinking about that. My stats are:</p>
<p>SAT - 2370
GPA - 4.0
SAT IIs: 800, 800, 770 on Math II, US Hist, Chem
5s on most of my APs; course rigor: most rigorous
ECs: i guess average to above average</p>
<p>Cost: I would need some amount of financial aid</p>
<p>I would amend Erin’s Dad’s statement to say you may be competitive for good merit aid. I don’t know about Case Western or Babson, but the merit scholarships at WUStL are very competitive and not just based on stats (stats are just the first hurdle).</p>
<p>CMU and Stanford and Penn fit the criteria perfectly, but cost will be an issue at all three. Villanova or Santa Clara might give you some merit aid.</p>
<p>Do you know what your EFC is? Most of those schools do not meet full need. UCSD would give you only federal FA (~5.5K of Stafford loans as a freshman, some Pell Grant if you have a very low EFC). It sound like you don’t qualify for Pell since you say “some amount of Financial Aid”. At UMich it would be the same (and the school is not midsize).</p>
<p>My EFC is about 30k, so i should receive some need based aid, at least if I get into a school that meets full need. I’ll also apply a few places where I’ll be likely to receive merit aid and then pick the most financially sound option, I suppose.</p>