Hello there... Fix my LIST?

College Search & Selection
1

<p>First thing first, I'm a junior at a moderately competitive public school in Ohio.
- GPA: 4.0 uw
- Rank: tied for 1/260
- Scores: 2290 SAT (1490 CR+M) and 34 ACT (taking SAT II's in May)
- Decent extra-curriculars, mostly a heavy focus on debate.</p>

<p>What I'd like in a college... well, I want a medium sized school -- around 7,000 students is ideal, but a bit more or less is no problem either. LACs are too small for me.</p>

<p>I'd prefer an urban or suburban setting, preferably nothing in the middle of nowhere, but I'm also not a fan of colleges whose campuses are integrated into the city, e.g. NYU... so somewhere between those extremes.</p>

<p>I'd enjoy a moderate party scene, but nothing too insane.</p>

<p>I'd prefer a moderate-liberal school, and if it's religiously affiliated, that's fine as long as the affiliation isn't super-prevalent -- I like the Jesuit schools fine.</p>

<p>Also, I'm interested in the social sciences or possibly English.. no science-oriented schools please. I'm leaning toward political science or communications/journalism, something of that nature...</p>

<p>Oh, and I'm okay with public schools, but I don't really want to go anywhere where the vast majority of students are in-state. I hope college can be like a new chapter in my life, and I don't want to be the oddball in a group of kids who already know each other, you know? :p</p>

<p>So, with that out of the way, here's my list of colleges... which really needs your help. Tell me which schools I should remove and which ones I should add, please!? Right now it's too heavy on reaches, I know!! </p>

<p>Stanford
UPenn
Northwestern
UChicago
WUStL
Brown
Georgetown (EA?)
Tufts
BC (EA?) (legacy - my dad went here..)
Fordham (safety?) (EA?)
Miami of OH (safety) (EA?)</p>

<p>I could really use some better safeties... Fordham's okay and Miami is only on the list because it's near home and I can apply EA. I couldn't really see myself at either, so that's a problem... Help?</p>

<p>Thanks a lot!</p>

2

<p>Uchicago is right in the middle of the city, so i'd say replace that with a reach like yale or princeton.</p>

3

<p>UChicago is not right in the middle of the city. It is in Chicago, but is several miles south of downtown in more of a residential neighborhood. The OP is fine with urban schools, just not those that are essentially campus-less.</p>

4

<p>Cornell
Columbia
Johns Hopkins
Boston U
Syracuse
Maryland College Park
U Rochester
Pitt
Penn</p>

5

<p>If you are not willing to attend Fordham or Miami then they are not safeties, they are wastes of your application fees. Your school size makes it tough to find a good match - larger than LACs but smaller than all the Ohio state schools. You have very similar stats to DD2 who applied to smaller schools such as Kenyon (excellent English dept) and Oberlin (also good in English).</p>

6

<p>I am willing to attend them, but I probably would not be particularly happy doing so. I really want to get out of OH, actually, but I can't seem to find any other safeties that suit me!</p>

<p>I have considered many other reaches/matches and narrowed down from quite a large list, but I haven't yet encountered a solid safety.</p>

7

<p>bump? 10char</p>

8

<p>Congrats on the rank and the scores. You will be admitted and likely get a substantial scholarship from Fordham. DONT dismiss it. My D goes there and there are PLENTY of kids walking around with stats like yours at Fordham. Its a myth that kids with uber stats only go to Ivy League Schools or the super elites. Sometimes safety schools are a better fit for your personality anyway and you will thrive there.</p>

<p>Not saying to turn down an Ivy out of hand. Of course not. But dont dismiss the schools that love you either. You may be very happy there. Trust me.</p>

<p>Fordham Rose Hill is 5,000 undergrads. Its GORGEOUS. Gothic buildings. Its urban, but also a classic college campus, Div 1-A sports, Jesuit, Catholic, and VERY moderate politically...a really nice mix if you ask me...not hard left or hard right. Kids are TIGHT at Fordham. Lots of school pride. Its NYC!!!! Its challenging and academic, but they have a good time. There is some partying..but its not a major party school.....plenty of papers to write so kids are careful with that. And they dont schedule classes for the most part on Wednesdays so you have a mid week break to sleep in, get caught up, do laundry, go into the city, or whatever. The Metro North train stops right at Fordham's gates. Its 4.00 and 15 minutes to Grand Central Station! Really, really good kids there. Upper middle class but not snotty and "attitude" types. A nice socio-economic mix. The Bronx is often beat up but its undeserved. Superb restaurants within walking distance from Fordham on Arthur Ave-Little Italy. Amazing! And there is the Bronx Zoo and New York Botanical Gardens across the street from Main Gate which are awesome (and free to students on Wednesdays) and who share programs with Fordham. Also, Fordham has recently signed a working relationship with Albert Einstein Medical College of Yeshiva University. That is awesome! Joint programs with Columbia Univ. You can take courses at Lincoln Center if you want. Outstanding job opportunities (Fordham kids are respected for ethics and work ethic), great grad school placement etc. </p>

<p>Fordham has amazing programs and faculty (a huge percentage of which are Ivy League credentials). They have an amazing IPE program, which is rigorous. And AMAZING internships in Manhattan, for just about anything you want, in television, movies, the UN, WallStreet, even social work. I am telling you....you have to see it to believe it. They do have a rigorous core requirement but your AP classes will knock some of those off. </p>

<p>They are filming a movie on campus this week with Michael Douglas and Susan Sarandon. THey have filmed over 10 films there over the years. Famous faculty: Vince Lombardi, Bill Casey (deceased) , G. Gordon Liddy, Denzel Washington, Alan Alda, Geraldine Ferraro, Francis Cardinal Spellman (deceased), Theodore Cardinal McCarrick, to name a few.</p>

<p>Its a fabulous place. Visit and you will find out! Trust me.</p>

9

<p>A couple of pieces of info that might help with your choices:
UChicago has a core curriculum, whereas Brown has the opposite, an open curriculum. Some people are happy with either. Chicago's core does emphasize the subjects you prefer. They don't have a journalism program, though, as far as I know. Brown would probably be described as very liberal, not moderately. Northwestern and Penn are said to have a more pre-professional flavor than Chicago or Brown.
Safeties .. hard to recommend anything if you don't like publics. With your excellent stats, I'd expect you to get accepted at several schools on your list.</p>