<p>Every time I look over my college list I panic a little bit. Maybe a lot. Maybe I told my mom to renovate the basement because I'll probably be living in it for the next 4 years.</p>
<p>I keep having visions of myself getting rejection after rejection. Any help finding more schools that are safer/more like matches?</p>
<p>basic stuff: varsity rower with 4 years on the crew team, spring and fall seasons with winter and summer training, raced in the Head of the Charles, etc. Not looking to be recruited, however.
NHS member. Latin Club with leadership position for 3 years. Just finished a selective summer program with a focus on lit/writing.
2300 SAT (800 CR, 720 M, 780 W), 8/500 class rank. </p>
<p>In my school-hunt I guess I'm trying to find the same vibe as the summer program I just went to: a group of bright kids who have fun being challenged and learning together. I'm more of a humanities girl. Aversion to mathy/techy schools. I love schools with lots of weird/fun traditions, they feel like families.</p>
<p>current list: Amherst, Pomona, Reed, Wesleyan, Vassar, Yale, Stanford, Princeton, Macalester, and my state U.</p>
<p>I would say that Brown probably matches with your numbers and the schools that you have already selected. My top four at Brown, Stanford, Wesleyan, and Vassar, so I think it fits with yours pretty well. They are definately not a technical school, and have the sort of intellectually quirky student body that you are looking for. </p>
<p>I can't say, though, that this makes your list any less difficult. Similarly, though, I think there is very little chance of you not getting several acceptances from that list.</p>
<p>Do you actually like your State U or did you just throw it on as the classic safety? If it's the latter, PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE pick a safety which is more like the others that you mentioned- maybe a lower tier LAC?</p>
<p>I looked at Brown and actually met with a representative, but their financial aid isn't as strong as the other Ivies and I absolutely need that. I hope you're right about getting some of those schools...I feel like I'm kind of playing a risky game by hoping that at least one of them lets me in?</p>
<p>and brillar...I LOATHE my state U. It's absolutely the 'classic safety'. I think a lower tier LAC is a good idea, but I can't seem to find any that I'm interested in!</p>
<p>I was the same way, I hated my state U (the classic safety) as well. I found a few lower-tier LACs that work as well, but I left the state U on just as a financial safety. You may want to do the same.</p>
<p>The other thing to keep in mind is that your safeties won't appeal to you as much as Amherst, Yale, and Princeton. Don't go around looking for 'that perfect safety' because you won't find it--there isn't one, that's why it's a safety. Just find a place you wouldn't mind going if you absolutely had to instead of a place you loathe. As much as people talk about 'fall in love with your safety', the fact is, most people don't end up at their safety.</p>
<p>I haven't looked into Beloit, no. I'll check that out. Thanks!
Is Macalester on the safer side? What are some other safer LACs I could look into?</p>
<p>Yes, hoping that one will let you in is definitely a risky game. Many people haven't done so well with it, but you're trying to do something about your list, which is a good thing.</p>
<p>And it's true, you won't really really love your safeties but pick a few characteristics that drew you to your reaches and then try to get your matches and safeties from there. What do you love about the schools that you listed? If you say why you like some of them, it'll be easier for us to suggest other schools that you may like.</p>
<p>Look into Knox College in Galesburg, Illinois. It's one of my safety LAC schools that I wouldn't mind attending-- even over a "higher ranked" LAC.</p>
<p>I visited campus in dead of winter and even then it was just gorgeous. For a school with less than 2,000 students, the campus was bustling with activity. All the students seemed to know one another, and everyone I talked to had nothing but good things to say.</p>
<p>In the world of academia (not the real world!) the name holds a lot of weight. Many of their graduates go straight into top graduate programs or fellowships.</p>
<p>Alright..I like Pomona because it seems close-knit and intense, with a lot of discussion based classes. I love discussing ideas openly with teachers and other people in the class, even getting into debates. On my Amherst tour the tour guide said something about how none of the classes have rows, they're 'more about circles' and that put Amherst on the top of my list. </p>
<p>I guess I like all of them because they'd be full of bright kids, opportunities...probably a prestige issue I have when it comes to finding safeties I like?</p>
<p>Many LACs will fit that close-knit description. It all comes down to your personal preferences-- geographical location, weather, tuition costs, etc.</p>
<p>I strongly suggest Beloit for the "getting into a debate" type atmosphere. When I visited campus many of the students flaunted their "uniqueness"</p>
<p>Hmm..flaunting uniqueness sounds kind of like a student body that's trying too hard to show how different they are? I worry about that with Vassar; it's what scared me away from Bard. Knox actually seems really nice though! I'm definitely looking into that as an option.</p>
<p>As for location and weather, etc., I'm pretty okay with being thrown into a cornfield somewhere...though of course I'd rather be closer to a city. I'm fine with cold, I'm from the north. I do need a lot of financial aid, unfortunately.</p>
<p>Your list is somewhat similar to mine; look at Beloit, Knox, and Earlham for safeties. Grinnell as a mid-to-low match. The Midwest has a lot of hidden gems. Others that I didn't like as much, but might appeal to you: College of Wooster, Kalamazoo.</p>
<p>Beloit and Grinnell both meet full need and grant merit aid as well. Knox has good merit, I think Wooster does too.</p>
<p>By the way, it IS possible to fall in love with your safety, at least to an extent. My two--URochester and Beloit--both have certain unique features that I really like, and I prefer them both WAYYYYY over my state U (also tossed on as a financial safety).</p>
<p>Maybe check out a couple of women's colleges? Even if you are a little put off by the all-women thing they are really great schools that are somewhat easier to get into due to only women applying and a somewhat self-selecting applicant pool (Bryn Mawr and Wellesley are my personal favorites and I hear about Smith a lot on here).
I think you might look into Earlham, St. Olaf, Fordham, Skidmore, Elon, etc. as safety/matches.
ETA: Oh! I forgot! This is more of a high match/reach but Rice is a really good school with merit money. Very LAC like university, it seems very community based with residential colleges and a lot of the people who go there are really crazy about it.</p>
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I looked at Brown and actually met with a representative, but their financial aid isn't as strong as the other Ivies and I absolutely need that.
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<p>I agree with you here, what I've experienced through 2 rounds of admissions/FA is that once you get past HYPS, FA can drop precipitously. For instance, Brown and Amherst gave us the same FA, zero, compared to from 15-25k for HYP. I would think that the endowments and to a great degree the FA for the LACs you listed would be the same or lower than Amherst.</p>
<p>Ours is just one data point, and others have had different experiences, but the point is that even slightly below the top schools, FA can be highly variable, so it seems extremely risky to apply only to need based FA schools. </p>
<p>How about adding some schools with merit aid? Rice, Emory, Grinnell, Brandeis and Whitman come to mind as schools that might appeal to you, particularly since you don't like your in-state safety (which actually isn't a safety since you don't want to attend).</p>
<p>for more of a match/less of a reach (actually more like a safety for you), have you looked at bryn mawr? i say that because i know they have TONS of "weird/fun traditions" and are humanities-oriented.</p>
<p>Just a word on flaunting uniqueness - I could see why one would worry about this at Vassar, but it's really not a problem. Everyone is very chill and nobody's out to be more different than you are. Actually, weirdness for weirdness' sake is pretty much why I didn't go to Wesleyan, but this perception was just from a campus visit and may not be very accurate.</p>
<p>^ However, lower-level privates and OOS state schools are difficult to predict aid for. If FA is an issue, the state U is basically required as a financial safety.</p>
<p>I agree that I need to apply to my state U as a financial backup, just in case.</p>
<p>I've added Beloit to my list, so thanks for that! I'm still worried about having schools that are matches for me. Are there any bigger/more urban colleges I should look into? I know my reaches aren't very urban, but if I didn't get into those wouldn't I have more opportunities at a larger (though less selective) school?</p>