<p>I probably would get into a;; three, but can only apply to one (I already have a very ;lengthy list). If I post info about me and what I am looking for can you give me your opinion on which is best for me? Thanks so much.</p>
<p>guy from nj, very liberal, atheist, into indie punk music, volunteering, slam/spoken word poetry, existentialism, etc.
I don't want a school that is centered around sports, but not "anti-athletics" (I enjoy running).
My top preference would be somewhere very scenic in terms of woods, mountains, and scenery along those lines. I like people who are weird/a little psychotic but are socially intelligent, if that makes sense.
I don
t want partying to dominate the social scene, but there are parties happening and don't want somewhere"boring."
I city-ish downtown would be nice, but if the surrounding area is very scenic then I don't mind since I know I will be occupied on campus.
I'm not sure what I'm majoring in, possibly communications, public speaking, political science, english or history (to teach). I want somewhere, though, that will mean something to employers when I graduate.
I plan to study abroad, probably in Norway, Finland, Sweden, or Poland if it is offered.
I really like Swarthmore, Reed, and Oberlin. Thank you all!</p>
<p>I forgot to mention that I will be taking campus food, professors, dorms, and friendliness of students into consideration.</p>
<p>As a parent who lives in the midwest now, but has lived on the east coast – I would suggest taking travel into account. Bard and Skidmore are so easy for you to get to, why go to Iowa? Grinnell is also tougher admissions than Bard or Skidmore – without knowing anything about your record, it could be a reach, and do you need another reach? As small schools, interest (and interviews) would likely be part of the process. Have you visited and interviewed at all of them? </p>
<p>We visited Grinnell twice with my son, and I loved it. I loved the brochures from Bard, but living in the midwest, he wasn’t interested in going east. </p>
<p>Grinnell is a pretty campus, but I am pretty sure there is not much more than farmland once you get a few miles out. Bard seems far more “scenic” than Grinnell. Grinnell has incredible athletic facilities for such a small school. My son’s impression – take it with a grain of salt – was that Grinnell had more mainstream students than Oberlin. Oberlin seemed to him all “crunchy”, Grinnell not so much. Grinnell has great dining hall, beautiful, with what seemed like great food, very conscious of buying local, and attentive to dietary choices and constraints. Dorms are very nice, professors accessible (the prof of class he visited spent 30 minutes after class talking to him about his college choices/process). </p>
<p>Grinnell is well-respected for grad school admissions but not that well known generally. People back east are not going to say "wow, Grinnell,’ though with increasing application numbers over the past few years, it is getting onto more people’s lists as a somewhat undiscovered gem.</p>
<p>As a parent, I would be cautious about the notion that a student could get into all 3. Bard and Skidmore have easier stats for admitted students than Grinnell. Unless someone is high stat, with all the great essays and recs, and has visited and shown interest in Grinnell, I wouldn’t classify it as a sure thing. </p>
<p>Good luck with your applications.</p>