<p>I have one set school that I really want to go to and I already applied early, but it's quite selective so I still have to start applying for other colleges.</p>
<p>Only problem is-- I'm having a really hard time narrowing down my college list. All the colleges start to blend together and start saying the same thing (We have a low teacher to student ratio, we offer great undergraduate research, blablabla). The thing is, mostly all the schools have my major (I want to be in a good biochemistry or biology program) but I just can't narrow it down!</p>
<p>The only way to truly figure out if I like a college is to visit it: true. But we're not going to be traveling until Spring Break, which is way after the deadlines for applying.</p>
<p>Any advice on how to narrow down my list?</p>
<p>I'm looking for a good college either highly selective or selective for biochemistry (preferred) or if there isn't biochemistry offered, then biology. I'm looking for a school with good undergraduate research opportunities, good music opportunities, and a nice intellectual yet still laid-back atmosphere.</p>
<p>And these are the colleges I'm still thinking about applying to:
- Pomona or Harvey Mudd
- Caltech
- Berkely?</p>
<p>And I would prefer west coast, but anywhere in the country is fine.</p>
<p>my advice would be to get a book on college admissions, pronto. There are many aspect s to the college experience and while you've done a good job identifying some that are relevant to you, a good book will explain other areas you should consider and help you make your choices.</p>
<p>The three schools you listed, for example, CMC, Caltech, Berkeley, couldn't be more different in student experience. I would be surprised if a student happy at one would find the others equally enjoyable. Berkeley is a large public school thats going to have large classes and focus on grad students, set in an urban area. Caltech is a small college that also has a top-notch grad program but focuses on undergrads way more than Berkeley; however the undergrad population is primarily male and tends towards the "geeky" stereotype. CMC is a small liberal-arts college consortium focused on the undergrads and set in suburbia. </p>
<p>If these are the only 3 others you are considering (my guess is Stanford is your ED school) then why not apply to them all? But I think you need to consider the whole college experience and that's why a book outlining the alternatives in more detail would be helpful.</p>
<p>As to finding out more about the colleges, why not contact the admission office and ask them if they could put you in contact with current students in your area? They will be home on Xmas break soon and you could learn a lot by chatting with them over coffee. Its not the same as an actual visit, but if you are prepared with questions about the school and their experiences you can learn a lot.</p>
<p>Thank you mikemac for all of your advice. Yes I agree, my lists of college are very dissimilar. Do you have any specific recommendations for books that I should read? Once again, thank you for advice.</p>
<p>I would highly recommend The Insider's Guide to Colleges (light blue, smaller book)...although it may be more biased than something like Fiske, I found that it gave me a lot more insight into the personalities of different schools. If you're just looking for general info, though, Fiske is a good choice. Good luck!</p>
<p>the books by Pope are excellent. If you just have time to read one, I'd recommend
"Looking Beyond the Ivy League: Finding the College That's Right for You" because he really breaks down the process. However since the book was published 8 years ago the remarks he makes about selectivity of specific schools and so on may be a bit dated in places (but the overall approach to choosing a college remains as valid as ever).</p>
<p>I also like annie205's suggestion of the Insider guide, but perhaps for a different reason than hers. I don't know if I'd trust it to be accurate about different schools, but the way I'd recommend using it is to discover what students like/dislike about their colleges, as well as options that you may not have known about. If you don't have siblings or good friends in college, as a HS student you may not be fully informed about whats out there.</p>
<p>yeah, i agree with the above, they are very different, however, sometimes each may have specific things your looking for. But pomona/harvey mudd are going to be wayyy smaller than a place like berkeley. Berkeley is very liberal and politically active and very big-also it's public.
the only one i've visited is caltech--i'm not really interested in tech schools, but it seems kind of depressing. The students there were telling people that if you really like it you should apply, but they were basically warning people about it and seemed like they weren't very happy. plus, i saw one girl screaming on someone else's phone and she was freaking out and looked very stressed. so yeah, i guess this is off topic and i don't know too much about caltech-this was just one experience, but i figured i throw in my two cents. I have heard of people who really liked it too, so who knows?</p>