Go, Go, College Search Help!

College Search & Selection
1

<p>Alright, so I've been looking for possible college choices for quite some time--a year I think-- and still have a very narrow list, of mainly huge-reaches. So I figured I might as well get some input from the place I've gotten lots of information from.</p>

<p>With that boring intro aside, here's what you're working with.</p>

<hr>

<p>White Male
Public School in Michigan</p>

<p>Rank: 3/256
GPA: 4.085/4.00
ACT: 28 (eh.)</p>

<p>COURSES:
I've tried my best to take a rigorous course load, but frankly, our school isn't that great...to give an example, I was supposed to have 4 AP classes this year, but two of them were dropped due to not enough people joining (I tried Independent Study, but the option wasn't there) and AP Calc wasn't available due to me getting hosed on scheduling.</p>

<p>I'm not sure what else to mention here, because I don't think posting my schedule will be of much help.</p>

<p>EXTRACURRICULARS:
Football, 4 years Team Captain Senior Year, First Team All-Conference Two Years, Lineman of the Year. I was going to play in college, but I decided against it (concussions are kinda lame).
Quiz Bowl, 3 years (So-Sr) Part-Captain. Picked to go to State with team, but couldn't attend.
Yearbook Editor, 2 years (Jr-Sr)
Business Manager for the School Paper 1 year (Sr)
TrackAll-Conference Shotput. Throwing Captain. I might pursue this in college, but I'm not all that great.
Community Service Nothing outstanding, but I'm just rattling off my CommonApp crap.</p>

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<p>Okay, that boring stuff is out of the way, and you have my thanks if you got through it. Now comes the somewhat-more-interesting stuff: The kinds of colleges I'm looking for.</p>

<p>As a reference, **here's my list so far<a href="I%20know%203/4%20are%20reaches,%20but%20it's%20worth%20a%20shot">/b</a>:
U of C
Kalamazoo College
Washington University - St. Louis
Northwestern University</p>

<p>-I think myself very outgoing and social, so that sort of thing is a must (someone might say something about U of C, but my visit was really nice).
-I like learning and discussing it. However, I don't want to kill myself over work all the time (once again, U of C may be brought up as well as something else, but I've visited all these places for football stuff, so I guess these are exceptions).
-Not being in the heart of a city is preferred, but it's acceptable. Not a deal-breaker, really.
-I actually love colder weather, but once again, weather won't break a deal. Just like how I'm from Michigan, and being in the Midwest, while nice, isn't critical.
-More to add?!?!</p>

<p>I'm probably forgetting stuff, but this is the jist, I believe. </p>

<p>Any and all help will be appreciated and given grand praise and a special place in my heart.</p>

2

<p>Why not try Division III football, if it will help get you in the door? Nine great liberal arts colleges and one great university in the New England Small College Athletic Conference (NESCAC.com) have football. You would also bring geographic diversity to these New England schools, as opposed to staying in the Mid-West. Yes, you can bring a winter coat.</p>

3

<p>Hey man, </p>

<p>Since you have your reaches, what about applying to your in state publics (Michigan, Michigan State) and maybe some other Big 10 schools?...some could be safeties for you.</p>

4

<p>Might look at Holy Cross and Colgate both have good academics and athletics. Holy Cross has nice location in a mid-size city, which is 1 hour from Boston. HC is also SAT optional and easier to get into than Northwestern and WashU.</p>

5

<p>Take a look at Trinity too. Our Division III football team holds the records for the longest winning steak of any collegiate football team. If you ever decided to play again, you'd be on a great team.</p>

<p>Trinity is in the "heart" of Hartford, however, the campus is "enclosed," so urbanity doesn't hinder any aspect of life. In fact, our location in a city is popularly taken advantage of and used to gain real-world/work experience in the various companies that inhabit the Downtown area.</p>

<p>Furthermore, our current President is the ex-provost of Kalamazoo. So, our schools are related, albeit in a rather.. loose way. Just an interesting fact, really.</p>

6

<p>I have decided not to play football in college because of my concussion I got this year (plus losing weight is nice), sorry if I didn't make that clear (otherwise I'd be applying to Harvard and Columbia...). </p>

<p>Also, I LARGELY prefer smaller schools, I can't stand really big classes, at all.</p>

<p>Thanks a lot so far, I'll look into the schools you've reccommended, keep them coming (I feel greedy saying that, but oh well)!</p>

<p>Also, I've been looking at Bowdoin (might be able to get into track there, who knows), just as another indicator of what kind of schhols I like.</p>

7

<p>You didn't state your intended major, so you'll need to investigate the department strengths on your own, but do look at: Oberlin and Denison in Ohio, Illinois Wesleyan and Beloit (Wisconsin, on the Illinois border.) Oberlin is probably a low reach, the others are safe matches.</p>

8

<p>Bowdoin and Holy Cross are both SAT optional.</p>

9

<p>Two favorites: Lawrence University (WI) another good LAC with an excellent music conservatory like Oberlin, and Union College (NY) a former NESCAC member with Division I hockey. Both have trimester calendars so you focus on three courses per trimester and yes there will be snowball fights.</p>

10

<p>Bumping after a semi-long leave.</p>

<p>To answer a previous question, I plan on majoring in something along the lines of Political Science, though I'm not 100% sure. However, I have no desire at all to major in anything math or science related.</p>

<p>And I left out something that's really big for what I'm looking for: really close-knit, quirky, and happy schools. I like feeling like I'm part of a community (always thought it'd be cool to become a resident hall person or whatever, I forgot the specific name..).</p>

11

<p>If you're looking for a close-knit, quirky and happy school, then you should really look into Rice. That's a perfect description for Rice, mostly because of the residential college set-up. Also, Rice looks at applicants holistically, so while your ACT is somewhat low, you still have a shot.</p>

12

<p>
[quote]
always thought it'd be cool to become a resident hall person or whatever, I forgot the specific name..)

[/quote]
</p>

<p>Resident Assistant (RA)</p>

<p>I also second Rice, since you like smaller schools. A coworker's son currently attends Rice and has gotten involved in a lot of extracirricular activities, like rugby. I think you'd like it as an outgoing person. The only thing it's lacking is the cold weather you're used to.</p>

13

<p>MD, If you think you would like Bowdoin (and it does sound like a good fit) then I would suggest you also look at Colby, Hamilton, Kenyon, Bucknell, Conn College, Furman. </p>

<p>Williams and Amherst also fit in with that group personality-wise, but they may be too reach-y. Hard to tell: your grades and rank are excellent; your score and EC (aside from sports) may work against you. Your essays and recommendations will be decisive.</p>

<p>You will need some SATIIs for some of these so be sure to check the requirements of each school.</p>

14

<p>Looks like you've got your reaches covered, so how about Albion College, Hope College or DePauw?</p>

15

<p>Take a look at the institutes at Albion College. The Honors, Ford and Gerstacker Institutes might all fit your requirements. Also, consider retaking the ACT in order to be eligible for top merit aid.</p>