GOD, pls help me narrow down this list...

College Search & Selection
1

<p>People, I desperately need help!
I’m going insane now, I’m already a senior and haven’t even made up my mind where I wanna go most. I’ve went through tons of guidebooks,user-unfriendly websites and even visited a few schools this September (NYU, Emory, UF, Vassar, Eckerd) but that only made the situation more complicated, my list grew from 9 to 17 schools! Please suggest which schools should I take out or perhaps add to maximize my chances of a happy ending to all of this!</p>

<p>I’m a US citizen but I study in a competitive(public) school in Bulgaria. So I guess that makes me halfway int’l in admissions. That’s why I wanna study at a diverse school (or schools with improving diversity population), preferably in the NE, Mid Atlantic or maybe West Coast. No ice-age states like Maine or New Hampshire, Bulgaria is as cold as I can take. Size really doesn’t matter, I seem to enjoy larger schools though. I like a social atmosphere, but NO out of the box, hippie schools (like new college of FL, eeew) And here’s the most important bit of information - I’ll probably major in Int’l Business or Marketing, so I need a list of schools strong in the field (almost every larger university seems to match this) . I’m also leaning towards International Relations.</p>

<p>Financial aide is a big issue, my parents have a total income of about 60K and won’t pay more than 4 or 5 grand, the rest should come as need aid. I’d surely enjoy some merit money as well.</p>

<p>My stats: SAT: V680, M690, W710 (2080), SATII: math I&IIC, Spanish w listening in November and December. GPA is 5.96 on a 6point scale, no rankings in Bulgaria:) TOEFL297/300. My ECs are pretty good for what schools here offer. I won’t go into them right now as this post is getting excessively long. My recs will be good, essays are yet to be written. I’m a very sociable and tolerant person, but I’m very picky and slow at making decisions.</p>

<p>My rough list:</p>

<li>Emory (if I write the essays I could apply Nov1 for Emory Scholars, though I’ll never get it) I like the academics and the weather, one of my top choices</li>
<li>UFlorida- I loved the atmosphere and the in state tuition. but it’s still my reasonable safety/match</li>
<li>NYU(Stern) I love NYC, but I’ve heard they are stingy. I still don’t wanna take it out as I took the time to visit it. Stern is top notch</li>
<li>Tufts (for IR) great location and overall feel. a very desirable reach</li>
<li>Duke, Brown or Cornell ( which one do you think is more reasonable??? I don’t like Cornells agricultural approach towards everything, but Duke just sounds impossible, let alone Brown) just for the sake of having a sky high reach I need to pick one</li>
<li>Vassar </li>
<li>Colgate- both are great LACs, </li>
<li>Eckerd - next door to my parent’s condo, not that bad really. but still a safety</li>
<li>Georgetown (what are my chances for admission and FA???)</li>
<li>Wake Forest and</li>
<li>URchmond reasonable matches (with WF) but I feel uncertain about them as I haven’t visited. Are they good for me in yor opinion? </li>
<li>JHU or Carnegie Mellon?</li>
<li>George Washington or American? </li>
</ol>

<p>Please help me narrow it down to a manageable 9 or 10 colleges, those further down the list are less researched/desireable. ANY suggestions or comments are welcome ;)</p>

2

<p>I would take out the sky high reaches and also take out any schools where the need-based aid is not enough. you might want to do the EFC calculator and just see what your parents' EFC is, as well as the typical FA package of grants/loans.... remember, even if your EFC is $5K they may still five you 28K in loans, 7K in grants. That would be many schools definition of "meeting all your need."</p>

3

<p>Out of duke, brown, and cornell, i would suggest Duke for you.</p>

4

<p>Sounds to me like Stern is your sky high reach...it's harder to get into than Duke and Cornell, anyways.</p>

<p>And you should probably drop JHU...that is a science school, not what you are looking for.</p>

5

<ol>
<li>Emory- One of your top choices and a good match. </li>
<li>Florida- Again, a good match. Possible merit $. </li>
<li>NYU (Stern)- Good reach, but dubious $. </li>
<li>Tufts- Good for business, top-notch for IR, good location. </li>
<li>Duke, Brown or Cornell- None of them really have want you want. Of the three, Duke is the best fit (good econ/business).<br></li>
<li>Vassar- Doesn't fit all your criteria. Small school, can get fairly cold. </li>
<li>Colgate- Same as Vassar. </li>
<li>Eckerd- Good, nearby safety. Merit $ possible.<br></li>
<li>Georgetown- IR is very good, not sure about business.</li>
<li>Wake Forest- Strong in business, but lack of diversity. FA likely, merit $ less so. </li>
<li>U Richmond- Same as WFU. </li>
<li>JHU or Carnegie Mellon- JHU lacks an ug business program, and its econ program isn't that good. </li>
<li>George Washington or American- Good for IR, not sure about business. </li>
</ol>

<p>Therefore, I'd suggest:
Florida- safety/match
Eckerd- safety
Emory- match
Tufts- match/reach
Vassar or Colgate- match/reach
NYU- reach</p>

<p>I'd also add two or three more matches that are likely to give you merit $.</p>

6

<p>"And you should probably drop JHU...that is a science school, not what you are looking for."</p>

<p>Not true. IR is one of JHU's strongest programs (which is a common theme for his list of schools such as georgetown, tufts, etc. UVA has a strong IR program too I believe). Schools are not always as they seem. People would always say "you wouldn't go to MIT for an english degree" - it's shocking to find out that the MIT humanities department is exceptional.</p>

7

<p>Well they don't even HAVE an undergraduate business program though, and I'm pretty sure this person wants that in a school.</p>

8

<p>Florida is top notch for the instate price ...I would suggest UVA, UNC Chapel Hill, BU</p>

9

<p>Florida- safety/match
Eckerd- safety
Emory- reach, but feasible
Tufts- reach, but less so than Emory
Vassar or Colgate- match/reach
NYU- match/reach, but less than Emory or Tufts</p>

10

<p>WOW, thank you all for your comments, I never expected that many people getting involved :p</p>

<p>@warblersrule, do you think I should add Wakeforest and U richmond as those reasonable matches? I know they are more conservative, but Fiske guide sais they are both seeking some minority enrollment now (though I'm not really a minority)</p>

<p>btw, is it true that colleges have ways of knowing the other schools you are applying to or they can't unless you tell them? My mom thinks there's no such thing as confidentiality in admissions so she insisted that we add schools like Duke or Cornell, though it's perfectly clear they're not for me (I have never even wanted to go there...) just to show tufts, emory nyu and my other reaches that they are not on top of the list. Besides, "it wouldn't hurt" just to give it a shot. Does this strategy have any grounds?</p>

11

<p>also try carnegie mellon- great business prgm and it should be a match for u</p>

12

<p>Yes, Wake Forest would be a good match. They have a very strong business program, but I'm not sure about international relations. The student body is fairly conservative/preppy, but students are happy and friendly nonetheless. They are trying to increase their #'s of internationals and minorities, both of which are fairly low. I don't know very much about Richmond, so I can't say.</p>

<p>I've heard colleges share ED lists (this may be just a rumor). Other than that, they won't know where you've applied unless you tell them. That strategy could backfire with some schools (especially Tufts) because it's trying to get rid of its safety school or "Ivy backup" status.</p>

13

<p>Another safety that you should look at is the Univ of South Carolina, it has a specialty niche in international business, and is in the I-85 corridor you are leaning toward.</p>

<p>I would say drop Cornell, Vassar and Colgate, based mostly on weather.
Tufts as a reach, don't know about JHU, but if it is as billed, it might be another good choice, particularly since non-science majors there may get some preferential admissions treatment.</p>

<p>Richmond has an interesting business program, and does give some merit money - it is quite expensive.</p>

14

<p>Vassar has no different weather than any other New England school, its 45 minutes from NYC!</p>