<p>Hi Guys! I was wondering if you could help me choose which colleges to apply to. I have pretty specific criteria for my schools, and although I had ideas as to which I would apply to, I wanted to run give you all my criteria and see if you had any ideas for what schools I might have missed.</p>
<p>My stats: 2340 SAT, perfect GPA, hard classes, great but not absolutely amazing ECs, white, public school, NJ</p>
<p>My criteria: I'm looking for a very intellectual student body, a small-to-medium (1500-6500) size, a suburban or urban setting, a great Economics department, a classic, pretty campus, a high level of residentialism and little emphasis on athletics. I'm open to whatever- state schools, liberal arts colleges, universities. I'm really just trying to see if there are any schools I haven't thought of. Thank you so much for the help!</p>
<p>I second the University of Chicago. They have the best economics program for sure, and the campus itself is very gothic. The College has about 4,000 students, approximately 1,000 per class, and it's all about "the life of the mind."</p>
<p>I'd look into both and see which fits best. Although their stats are similar in terms of academics, Chicago and Brown have a very different feel. I doubt someone who is really happy at Brown would be really happy at Chicago, and vice versa.</p>
<p>Other reaches for you that would match well...Brown, Tufts (economics in relation to internationalism), and Stanford. I also support the choice of UChicago (even though, personally, i'm not a fan of the school), as it is very well known fro its econ programme.</p>
<p>Well, to me the largest difference between Brown and Chicago is the educational philosophy, e.g., Chicago's Common Core. A lot of people love it (me, for one) and a lot of people hate it.</p>
<p>Unless you're looking for something very specific in your undergraduate education (e.g., a specific program) you'll probably get just as good an education at Chicago as you would at Brown, or any other top tier school. At this level it's all about the personality of the school and what fits best for you as a student.</p>
<p>I also object to the idea that Chicago is filled with Type A personalities, but this isn't the place to argue about that.</p>
<p>swarthmore? i dont know about their econ department, but they're intellectual, and they're in a consortium with bryn mawr, haverford, and penn so you could take classes at those schools too.</p>
<p>I actually visited Brown and really disliked it... it seemed like a great school, but not really for me. I'm into Chicago though... what would you say about Harvard? I visited it and loved it, same with Amherst. Would you consider those intellectual at all? Thanks so much by the way.</p>
<p>Chicago doesn't apply numerical cutoffs when considering applicants, so a great SAT score is neither sufficient nor necessary for admission. See this</a> article from an old Newsweek if you're interested in the kind of back-and-forth that the admissions folk go through.</p>
<p>I can't quite put my finger on it... I think the campus just felt really diffuse to me somehow, and I really didn't like Providence. I couldn't get in to the feeling of the place, I'm not really sure. </p>
<p>Almost all of the schools you guys have recommended look really interesting, thanks so much. One concern I have with Chicago and Swarthmore, though, is the social scene. I am definitely an intellectual, and I do like learning, and class, and everything, but I also like to party on occasion. Does that happen at Chicago and Swarthmore? I mean, I'm sure part of the "where fun goes to die" reputation is a stereotype, but it is pry based at least partly in truth. Any thoughts?</p>
<p>And about Stanford: I'm definitely interested, and they have an amazing econ program, but I've heard that it's very laid back and quite athletic, not so much intellectual. Is that innacurate?</p>