<p>I am having the absolute most difficult time finding a college for many reasons. Among them, I have a specific list of things I am looking for in a college, and my GPA and ACT score (3.5313 unweighted, 33 composite) are incongruent.</p>
<p>What I'm looking for in a college:
- Excellent writing program (creative writing, rhetorical, screenwriting, everything)
- Has literary publication
- Great film/music scene
- Preferably small/medium size (~1000 - 10,000 enrolled)
- Liberal (or at least an open atmosphere socially, sexually, etc.)
- MUST have a beautiful library (along the lines of the Peabody, Harper, something elaborate)
- Diverse
- Preferably has honor code, self-government, and lax strictness
- Preferably has a campus garden or at least a very natural campus with lakes, trees
- Co-ed
- Has a ton of things to do (concerts, festivals, picnics)
- Close community
- Gothic architecture! I am not a fan of the steel, modern thing. Georgian would be a second choice. I prefer classrooms, dorms, and dining halls especially to be characterized by dark wood, maybe even stained glass, stone, Freudian office-ish...
- Preferably an hour or less away from a metropolis or some sort of city.
- Proximity to a natural playground (mountains, hot springs, trails, etc.)</p>
<p>If you know of a school that comes close to this criteria and would perhaps even admit me (is that possible?! xD ), please let me know. Thank you!</p>
<p>You may have to think which of these are most important to you. Tufts fits most of it but I can’t remember the architecture or the library----your ACT above their median ACT may offset the grades being lower. Middlebury has fabulous architecture and an amazing library but it’s not gothic. I don’t know if the film scene is that great. Wesleyan? It’s more than an hour from NY but I think you’ll find that even an hour from the city you may not go in that much because you’ll be busy on the campus, so maybe you can bend on that one?</p>
<ul>
<li>One of the concentrations in English is writing. There’s a writing center, and writing intensive courses are a part of the core curriculum.<br></li>
<li>The literary publication is called the Southwestern Review.</li>
<li>Being in the middle of Memphis means there’s a great art scene including film and music. Lots of live music, and we’ve got a great documentarian on campus who can plug you into the film scene. There’s a theater that shows indie films on a regular basis that’s 2 minutes from campus.</li>
<li>1800 students</li>
<li>the political atmosphere is pretty balanced between liberal and conservative, with just a slight liberal edge.</li>
<li>I’ll put the Paul Barret, Jr. Library at Rhodes up against any other library in the country in terms of beauty. There are a bunch of photos from different people on flickr. [Rhodes</a> College Library - Flickr: Search](<a href=“Search: Rhodes College Library]Rhodes | Flickr”>Search: Rhodes College Library | Flickr)</li>
<li>About 75% of the students are white, 5% are international, the rest students of color. Decent economic diversity, good geographic diversity.</li>
<li>There is a well-regarded and effective honor code, a good student government (including Rhodes Student Government, Honor Council, Social Regulations Council, Panhellenic Council, and Interfraternity Council). I have no idea what “lax strictness” means.</li>
<li>The campus is a certified arboreum, there is a formal garden (where commencement is held), a labyrinth, and literally across the street is a 350 acre park with a lake, golf course, the Memphis Zoo, the Brooks Museum of Art, and an old-growth forrest.</li>
<li>It is coed with a 60/40 women/men mix</li>
<li>Like I said, it’s in the middle of Memphis, so there’s always tons to do, though there’s a ton of stuff that happens on campus as well.</li>
<li>It is a close-knit community (there’s a day during orientation called community day where you get formally inducted into the community and we talk about what it means to be a community).</li>
<li>No one does Collegiate Gothic more consistently than Rhodes. Look up pics on flickr.</li>
<li>It’s 5 minutes from downtown.</li>
<li>It’s 5 minutes from the greenline which goes all the way out to Shelby Farms, the largest urban park in the country. There’s biking, hiking, running, canoeing on the Wolf River, horseback riding in Shelby Forrest, etc.</li>
<li>On stats you’re a match.</li>
</ul>
<p>Sounds like Vassar would be a good match for most of your criteria. Beautiful campus with stunning buildings. Gorgeous library. A little over an hour train ride to NYC. Fantastic liberal arts programs and they have a literary magazine. Co-ed & diverse etc… the list goes on. Vassar - very much worth a look for you!</p>
<p>another one would be University of the south Sewanee… very rural but meets your other criteria…very outdoorsy too.
[Sewanee:</a> The University of the South](<a href=“Sewanee”>http://www.sewanee.edu/)</p>
<p>Not sure about Kenyon. A great school. I just have never had the opportunity to visit.</p>
<p>Wesleyan & Oberlin would be great choices for you to consider. Both are great schools.</p>
<p>Oberlin has a lovely campus - a mix of architecture. I found the campus to be very well laid out and just the right size (not too big & not too small). It does feel like it is in the middle of nowhere but it is only about 30 minutes or so from Cleveland. With the conservatory and the art museum the school has a wonderful artsy vibe. Nice sized student body as well (about 2800) which is larger than most LACs but still not too large. </p>
<p>You also may want to check out Bowdoin (Maine) and Macalaster(Minnesota).</p>
<p>U. Richmond’s campus meets a lot of your criteria, but isn’t particularly liberal. Beautiful campus, collegiate gothic, lake right on campus. Less selective than Vassar.</p>
<p>Skidmore also ranks high on the “Dorms like Palaces” lists by PR.</p>
<p>I think it’s down to Kenyon and Wesleyan mostly due to Kenyon’s writing program and Wesleyan’s film studies. However, I have seen some pictures and videos of Wesleyan and it isn’t particularly striking or inspiring… What are your opinions?</p>
<p>Look into the scholarship program at the Park School of Communication at Ithaca College. 15 FULL SCHOLSRSHIPS awarded to each incoming freshman class, includes tuition, room, board, computer stipend, etc. There are some stipulations of where you live, community service, etc., but not many FULL Scholarships out there like these.</p>
<p>I looked into all colleges that were mentioned on the board, and after days of grueling research and elimination, I’ve come up with an ED possibilities list:</p>
<p>Bowdoin, Hamilton, Kenyon, Middlebury, and Oberlin</p>