Hello, I am a rising senior and am trying to figure out a college application list. So far I have mostly reaches and in state school (which are all great, I live in CA). However, I wanted to find a couple more less reachy schools that are outside of CA. What I’m looking for:
LAC or similar vibe
1800+ undergraduates
Research oppurtunities: genetics and/or enviromental science
merit aid
coed
near a body of water (ocean or very large lake)
Stats:
ACT: 33 (retaking, will be higher since I’m studying)
SAT II: Bio (760)
GPA: uw (3.8) w (4.2)
Current List:
UC San Diego
UC Santa Barbara
UC Berkeley
UC Davis
Wellesley (loved this so much when I visited. I love the area.)
U of Chicago (Half my family went there so applying is required)
Yale
McGill
Western Washington would be a safety for you. WUE is competitive but you’d likely get it for those stats. Strong in environmental science, not sure about genetics.
The only LAC you have on your list so far is Wellesley, which isn’t coed. But here are some schools you might like:
At Macalester College, you’re above the middle 50% ACT, though it might be more of a reach for the merit aid. It’s in St. Paul, MN, near the Mississippi River and a few hours from a Great Lake.
University of Richmond is small and under the LAC category in US News. It also has merit aid and you’re above the middle 50% ACT. They have a large lake near campus, a river in Richmond, and an ocean not too far away.
Furman University in SC has a large lake on campus. This might be more of a safety admissions-wise, but that’s a good thing for merit aid.
Occidental College IS in California, but you’d be competitive for merit aid and it’s not very far from the ocean.
And for CA schools, I’m surprised Pepperdine isn’t on your list. You couldn’t ask for a more picturesque campus on the water. You would be competitive for merit aid.
Since you have McGill on your list, I will guess that you might be willing to consider schools in Canada. My youngest wanted a LAC or a university that is similar to a LAC, and we toured many LACs and universities in the US and Canada, but all in the northeast (we live in New England). McGill is not similar to a LAC at all – big, bureaucratic, and academically excellent (the latter being the one thing that it has in common with many LACs). For international students it is also one of the more expensive universities in Canada.
Some very strong small (LAC-like) universities in Canada: Mount Allison, Acadia, University of Northern British Columbia, University of Lethbridge, St Francis Xavier, Bishop’s, Mount St Vincent.
Of these, UNBC and Lethbridge are the one’s that are in the west and therefore closer to California, but they are pretty far north, not near any large water, and would require at least two flights to get to from California. Acadia and Mount Allison are both academically excellent small universities which are on the two ends of the Bay of Fundy. Mount Allison is a bit smaller than your criteria (1400 students), while Acadia fits your criteria very well and has very strong biology and environmental sciences programs (the latter is not the same thing as their very strong environmental studies program – the first time that I googled one of these I found the other by mistake). It is about an hour’s drive from the Halifax airport. Merit based aid is possible particularly with your excellent stats, but given the base price (for internationals a bit less than 1/2 the price of a LAC in the US) you might not need it. I mentioned Mount St Vincent largely because it is the closest to a major airport (about 1/2 hour from the Halifax airport). With your stats I expect that you would be pretty safe to get into any of these (admissions in Canada is very heavily based on GPA).
The body of water makes it harder. Agree that Macalester seems to fit your bill – why the water requirement? Reed isn’t too far from from the Columbia River. Regarding Pepperdine, not everyone is down with the religious aspect of it.
@intparent I just don’t like the idea of being landlocked, I’ve always lived in LA where the ocean is easily accesible. Also coming from SoCal my experiences with areas away from water is that they are very dry and ugly and not some where I want to live for 4 years. @DadTwoGirls Thank you for the suggestions! I don’t know much about canadian schools. The reason McGill is on y list is due to it being in Montreal. I have been a part of a circus troupe since middle school and have performed there. I love the city and the fact that circus is a part of the culture. @glittervine Pepperdine is much to close to home.
There are lots of parts of the country that are not near big bodies of water, and are still pretty green and lush with trees. Minnesota and Pennsylvania come to mind as states that have a lot of colleges, aren’t near the ocean, but have a lot of natural beauty.
Update: My current list is UCSD, UCB, UCD, UCSD, Wellesley, UChicago (EA), Tulane (EA), University of Richmond (EA), Yale, McGill and William and Mary. I’d still like to add maybe one or two more schools that have a higher acceptance rate but I’m pretty set on this list.
I gave the Tulane recommendation above, and I’ll second UVM (Vermont) as a safety you should look into - if you don’t mind the very cold weather. Burlington VT is a great college town, the OOS tuition is reasonable, its a pretty campus, I’m pretty sure they’ll throw in a $10-15K discount for merit aid given your stats, and the honors dorm is nice (or, was 6 years ago when my daughter was looking). It’s also a pretty environmentally focused school.
Tulane has Lake Pontchartrain closer than Gulf but I echo that you’ll find most of the East lush and green regardless of the body of water. I’ve lived in AZ and CA and have an idea what you are thinking of but rain makes a bigger difference than a body of water as much I love living near water.
You might get half tuition at Tulane but the rain would be a huge adjustment for you. Univ. of Miami fits your criteria and probably a match. Not sure about research but I expect answer is yes.