gah, i need so much help. I have no direction :(, need some guidance for OUT of CA

College Search & Selection
1

<p>Wellll I have no idea where I want to school, barely have an idea what I want to major in, and am so confused :(</p>

<p>I live in california, am 2/750 ish, 2240 and a 33, 730US, 690math2 (shoudl go higher tho?), 660 on physics. 4.5 weighted... Higher without PE but I don't know how that goes? Taken hardest courses with 1 (world) soph, then 4 APs Jr (physB,Chem,US,Eng)... taking 6(econ, gov, eng, stat, BC, span) as a Sr.
Normal ECs. nothing fancy but I feel I have done enough (barely compared to yall), President of clubs, organize service. No major awards or anything</p>

<p>So far I've only seriously considered USC, UCLA, and Stanford (visited all plus berkeley, hated berkeley)... but simply because they are the CA schools that you just... think of ya know?
I really like USC, moreso than Stanford (just doesn't seem like the place I guess)
The only things really kind of important to me are
Decent size student body, at LEAST 10,000 I would assume
somewhat urban, I Couldnt handle Podunk ruraltown
Sports seem pretty big, i LOVE college football. Having a football team would be great, if not almost necessary.
Party scene has to be existant, I would potentially want to be in a frat, and I do like to party.
Conservative more than liberal would be nice (berkeley scared the bajeebis out of me, the whole half asian half hippy thing... idk I'm not for the whole cutthroat competition as well)
My intended major would be Business, but I'm not bent on that, that just seems to be what I'm sposd to do. Bro did business, dad's in business. But part of me would LOVE to have my own Dentistry practice, maybe be an orthodontist.
But Medicine scares me. (basically certain aspects of chem and bio i guess?)</p>

<p>I don't really know
USC DOES seem like a great fit for me, but I feel like I am just doing the easy SoCal thing and not really looking beyond CA?</p>

<p>THank you So much</p>

<p>But don't take it like I want to leave California. I love it.</p>

2

<p>Michigan looks like a good fit.</p>

3

<p>If you want a school outside of CA, University of Texas is hard to get into out of state but it fits your requirements...it's huge, football is a big deal, there's a good party scene, and it's located in austin, which is a fun city (good music scene, very political).</p>

4

<p>uw-madison?</p>

<p>great football team, one of the best party schools, and its a pretty good school</p>

5

<p>the good news is that with your stats, and a decent essay, USC is nearing safety territory. Plus, assuming NMSF, USC offers an automatic tuition discount, which makes it much more affordable. Other private schools to consider are Northwestern, Boston College, Vandy & Duke.</p>

6

<p>What about Boston University?</p>

7

<p>Thanks. I had considered Texas, especially because i uesd to live in Dallas and really like Austin and UT. I am planning to apply to the Business Honors Program there.</p>

<p>Michigan, gah I don't know it seems so cold! But I will for sure look more into it.
And Boston, although probably kind of cold, seems like a fun place to live, although I have never even visited. I hadn't even thought of that school.
Thanks!</p>

<p>What about like, Notre Dame? I am Catholic by force, and not a real big fan of Catholicism (at all), but I could go with it.</p>

<p>I am doing an east coast college swing, and am looking for schools to visit?</p>

<p>Maybe Duke?</p>

8

<p>Ohio State. </p>

<p>Some of the crazy CCers will tell you Michigan, but they're wrong. US News Rankings don't go by parties or sports.</p>

9

<p>I may have been misunderstood
I'm not going to college FOR party and sports
Academics and Location are more important, but thats one of those things that just... needs to also be there</p>

<p>I'm not about to go to UCSD, or a Claremont college (right down the street kinda) because they basically are pretty lacking in that field</p>

<p>HOWEVER, I could go to a school like Princeton and settle for D-1aa football and whatnot.</p>

10

<p>Some suggestions follow.... all offer football, have over 7000 students grad-undergrad combined (my guess is that you'll find that a school with that many or more will be "decent sized" unless your high school is absolutely massive), are located in a suburban or urban setting, offer fraternities, and aren't located in California. I didn't include your prospective major in my search because it sounds as if you're not positive on what exactly you want to major in.</p>

<p>REACH: Yale University (CT), Columbia University (NY), Duke University (NC), University of Pennsylvania-Wharton (PA)</p>

<p>SEMI-REACH: Washington University of Pennsylvania-CAS (PA), Washington University in St. Louis (MO), Northwestern University (IL)</p>

<p>GOOD FIT: Tufts University (MA), College of William & Mary (VA), Carnegie Mellon University (PA), University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill (NC), Vanderbilt University (TN), University of Virginia (VA), University of Michigan (MI)</p>

<p>LIKELY: George Washington University (DC), Tulane University (LA), University of Miami (FL), Baylor University (TX), Villanova University (PA), University of Maryland-College Park (MD), Northeastern University (MA), University of Delaware (DE)</p>

11

<p>thanks a LOT.
I think I will look more into Columbia/Duke/Penn/Yale... But most likely probably Duke, never had thought about Columbia buy NY would be fun (I absolutely loved it when I last visited). I had never really thought about Northwestern so I'll add that too. Eek and with Tufts, UNC, Vandy, and Mich...
My list grows to about 50 ;)</p>

<p>thanks a bunch though. I wouldn't have even thought about Northwestern, and Penn used to be high up there for me, but I don't really like how IF I were to get into (say Wharton), but decided Business isn't for me, the difficulty in switching I have heard is rough. But would going to CAS from Wharton be easier than Into Wharton. Plus, just what I've heard about the school it just doesn't seem... RIght?</p>

<p>That's what I currently love about USC, they are really open in switching majors, double majors, minors... or at least that's what I heard...</p>

<p>THanks a bunch!
As of now, I think my list is leaning towards
USC
UCLA (only b/c instate nearby UC, other than that I don't think its my kind of place)
Duke
Stanford
NW
Penn... kinda
Columbia
Princeton... I really know nothing about this school, and I'm afraid as of yet I'm one of those, "Apply-for-kicks" kinda people
Dartmouth--- although the whole... middle of nowhere thing probably makes it a no-go
Tufts (need to look more into)
UNC
UT-austin
and safeties whereever... lol i need to cut some!</p>

<p>thanks!</p>

12

<p>Yeah look at Tufts but it's in about the same lower reach category as Northwestern.</p>

13

<p>I'd suggest UPenn and Cornell. Both large ivies, and you seem to have excellent academic credentials so you'd probably have a good shot at them. UPenn I've heard has a very large party scene, someone at Johns Hopkins told my brother that even the Hopkins kids sometimes go up to UPenn to party. And I know Cornell's got frats. And Ithaca(where Cornell is) is gorgeous(or gorges, depending on who you ask), but it gets REALLY cold in the winter, so if you're from California you may want to shy away from it.
For dentistry, I know someone who's going to Pitt for their dentistry program. If that's something you'd want to do, I'd say go for it!</p>

14

<p>I live near it, and it seems like UVA or VA-tech could be good fits. Never actually been to UVA, but i went to a summer residential governor's school at Tech, and it just blew me away. My stats are similar to yours, and I realize Tech isn't the highest ranking school out there, but I personally think it's only because it's an undiscovered gem!</p>

15

<p>USC - Keep
UCLA (only b/c instate nearby UC, other than that I don't think its my kind of place) - keep
Duke - keep
Stanford - drop; no point to keep if you like USC better; you are not going to get into to Stanford while getting rejected by USC.
NW - keep
Penn - keep; you may be lucky to get into Wharton
Columbia - drop; core currculum--intellectual instead of preprofessional, mediocre party scene, no major-conference football
Princeton -- drop; no major-conference football, small, not in/next to a big city
Dartmouth--drop; no major-conference football, rural, small
Tufts -- drop; small and no major-conference football
UNC -- keep
UT-austin -- keep</p>

16

<p>Don't go to Michigan. It's a great school, but it doesn’t have a great party scene.</p>

<p>The top schools that fit your criteria:
Wisconsin-Madison- if you want to get out of California, this should be your #1 school. On the negative side, Madison is a pretty liberal city.
UCLA
USC
Washington-Seattle-downtown isn’t too far away (you are in a big city, but not right in the middle of it). Big time sports school.
Texas-Austin- moderate politically, solid business program, excellent sports teams, Austin is a great town
Maryland-College Park- big frat scene, sports are huge on campus, close to DC, girls are hot
Georgia Tech- right in Atlanta, great academics, great sports teams. Rigorous academically. Not too big either, plus it’s not a liberal school.
Vanderbilt- great academics, somewhat conservative politically, huge greek scene, great sports, extremely hot girls, in Nashville.</p>

<p>Vanderbilt might actually be the best fit for you (besides USC).</p>

17

<p>thanks a bunch Sam and worried
I think i was just sorta of keeping these on my list for almost entertainment, but when it comes down to it I don't think I would even want to go there.</p>

<p>geez yall make it sound like partying is all i care about. I just wanted to make it that I'm not against partying like a lot of threads, but its not going to be what i mainly look for in a school. no worries tho!
I think as of now
USC
Duke
Stanford
Penn or UT if I decide 100 percent on the business thing. But good possibility not so those are both tentative still
Notre Dame
Northwestern
UNC
UCLA</p>

<p>So thats about 7/9
What about like... safeties and whatnot.</p>

<p>(if it means anything my GPA was wrong and i have a 4.63W and 4.0UW)</p>

<p>thanks a BUNCh</p>

18

<p>Definitely add Vanderbilt. I think you'd love the school. I'd get rid of Notre Dame. I have a friend who goes there and from what he tells me, that school is very dry and many people who go there are deeply religious. I know you aren't looking to go to ASU or Florida State, but the options at Notre Dame are limited. South Bend is an extremely boring city and it gets very cold there.</p>

19

<p>I agree. I feel Notre Dame would require a visit. And while yes I grew up in Texas, too rural (after being spoiled by 4 years of SoCal) might be rough. And the cold... GOSH I hate the cold.</p>

<p>And I checked out the Vanderbilt website. Seems like a very viable candidate.</p>

<p>thanks for the headsup on that. I had only heard of it, didn't know what state it was in or anything</p>

<p>And after my Confirmation.... I pretty much cant stand catholicism</p>

<p>Nothing against the people. It's just that my church made me (and a lot of my friends) feel we were involved in a cult. We called it our Cult Meetings and initiation. lol</p>

<p>Minus ND, Plus Vanderbilt</p>

20

<p><a href="http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/showthread.php?t=364659%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/showthread.php?t=364659&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p>

<p>thanks to this thread, vanderbilt just shot up pretty high.</p>

<p>I Think your right with the USC/Vanderbilt for me thing
thanks!</p>