<p>I'm starting college visits soon, and I'd like to find more matches/safeties to consider. This is hard, as my current "matches" are probably more like "low reaches" than anything. Which is to say, my stats and such are all above average for these colleges, and my ECs are definitely strong, but the general consensus seems to be that "nothing is a safety anymore."</p>
<p>Current matches:</p>
<p>Wellesley
Tufts (would receive free tuition if accepted)
Barnard</p>
<p>Current safeties:</p>
<p>UMass (in state)</p>
<p>Some points of reference:</p>
<ul>
<li>would prefer to stay on East Coast/New England. Hate hot weather.</li>
<li>I'm a run-of-the-mill liberal, and generally pretty apathetic towards politics, but a campus that's socially liberal is a must. Similarly, I'm also very into art and theater, but don't "dress" artsy. I already visited Vassar and hated it. Surprisingly, I fell in love with Williams, which is definitely artsy but not flamboyant about it. </li>
<li>my major will be something concentrated in the humanities or psychology</li>
<li>I'd feel comfortable at both a university and small LAC. However, the huge draw of Wellesley and Barnard comes from the fact that they're both located in cities and you can take courses at MIT/Columbia as well. So, Williams being the obvious exception, I'd prefer to be close to a city. Unless, like Williams, the campus is gorgeous and breathtakingly rural.</li>
</ul>
<p>Oh, and also, while <em>I</em> would be perfectly happy at a no-name college, my father is very, very Asian and would not be happy paying for me to go to a college he does not deem "good" (aka prestigious) enough. I had the hardest time convincing him Barnard wasn't a community college. Which is why he hates the idea of safeties...</p>
<p>How about Smith? Lots of name recognition for Dad but a higher acceptance rate than Wellesley and Barnard (plus SAT-optional now, if that's an advantage for you). Smith isn't in a big city, but I think you'll find the Five-College area sufficiently lively. (Compared to Williamstown, it'll feel like Times Square :) )</p>
<p>thanks! I have considered Smith, I was just deterred by the stereotypes...(people are very aggressive/competitive, excessive PC is commonplace) but since I live really close to the school, I might as well visit it, right?</p>
<p>Yes, I went to Smith, but that was light years ago, when many now-coed New England colleges were still single sex (as were prep schools like Exeter, too).</p>
<p>I worked at Smith, as well and live just around the corner from campus. I won't try too hard to refute the PC claims, but I don't think that you'll find great differences in that department among many of the left-leaning LAC's on your list. Smith definitely doesn't have a corner on uber-PCism.</p>
<p>You should visit for sure, but try to do it when there are students on campus, not in the summer. How would your father feel about Smith?</p>
<p>S_R, TBH, I don't think he really knows what Smith is, but he'd probably be much more receptive to Smith than say, Pomona or Claremont McKenna, simply because Smith is on the East Coast and has a good reputation here.</p>
<p>Why don't you try a college matching site that will give you potential college matches based on your needs. I think myUsearch.com, petersons.com and collegeboard.org are the best. Hope that helps.</p>
<p>Well, I highly doubt any safeties I choose will pass muster with my dad, but I gotta have them anyway! Smith is more matchy than a safety anyway, I would think.</p>
<p>What's Clark like? I know that's a very general question, but how big's the student body, what's the atmosphere, how would you describe the students etc.?</p>
<p>EDIT: I'm not only considering LACs as safeties, but also larger (state) universities as well!</p>
<p>Clark is highly underrated IMO. It's a very good school, with a world-class reputation in psychology. There are also other strong departments and interesting, atypical majors like "Ethics and Public Policy" (nice to think that the two can co-exist :) ) and "Peace Studies." Definitely a left-leaning community. I once met a Clark student who described her school this way: "Most of us had lots of friends in high school. We weren't outcasts or weirdos, but we weren't at the epicenter of the Homecoming Queen competition either."</p>
<p>Since you're from MA, you may know Worcester. Not my favorite location but the Clark campus is attractive.</p>
<p>If you are looking at Smith, why not Bryn Mawr? Fiendishly intellectual. Tons of grads head off to famous-name Ph.D. programs, etc., etc. Since it is near Philly, it is convenient to travel there by train from Massachusetts.</p>
<p>On the subject of safeties, sit your dad down and tell him that LOTS of extremely talented kids (Asians included) do not get into the "top" schools because there are just waaaaaaay too many applicants. Tell him LOTS of extremely talented kids (Asians included) get into really good schools and then find out how much they will have to pay for their education. Your safety school (or schools if you prefer) is your most important one. This is a school that is guaranteed to admit you based on your stats, and that you can pay for without financial aid other than federally determined financial aid. Chances are your safety is your in-state public university, or your local community college. Don't waste your time thinking of private schools as "safeties". Think of them as "low match" instead.</p>
<p>One exercise you could have your dad do is to write down all the colleges and universities he has heard of, and to ask him which are "good enough" and why he puts them in that category. He may be surprised to find out how much (or how little) he knows about higher education in the US. You may be surprised to learn that you have more "good enough" options than you thought you had.</p>
<p>Is Bryn Mawr still a women's only college？ </p>
<p>Thanks for the and well thought out reply！So, besides UMass, is there definitely
no other sure-fire safety （besides CC)? I'd like to have 2， if at all possible。</p>
<p>Yes, Bryn Mawr is still a single-sex school, one of the former prestigious "Seven Sisters," now known as the "Sister Schools" since a couple of the former siblings went coed.</p>
<p>How about your school counselor ... didn't he or she suggest some safe options for you? We don't have access to your SATs, GPA, nor to other aspects of your overall profile that your counselor should know, so it's not responsible to suggest truly "safe" schools without being privy to this information. </p>
<p>Other than the Ivies, which colleges does your father find acceptable? Some parents (though he may not be one of them) who poo-poo the fine smaller colleges they've never heard of (e.g., Bryn Mawr) are okay with places that get a lot of media play via their sports programs (e.g., Syracuse, Ohio State).</p>
<p>Smith is part of a 5-college consortium (with Amherst, Hampshire, Mt. Holyoke and Univ of Mass). You can take classes at any. There is a free shuttle bus to get to classes at the other campuses, and the buses run nights and weekends as well. </p>
<p>Also, Smith is part of the 12 college exchange--students can attend a semester or year at: Dartmouth, Amherst, Vassar, Bowdoin, and others, should they want to.</p>
<p>Maybe the above information will pass muster with your Dad. </p>
<p>Smith College is a wonderful supportive community of bright, impressive womena place where you make friends for life. Its known for academic excellence and small classes, and is no more PC than a number of LACs. Students tend to support one another rather than compete, and to be open-minded and respectful of each others beliefs. </p>
<p>I know this isn't exactly a LAC, but on the last page you mentioned larger universities being okay. I also know that this isn't exactly a safety, but looking at where you are applying, it could definately be considered a low match and higher safety (certainly harder to get into than UMass). But it seems quite obvious that BU could be a decent fit. You like urban environments, and BU is quite known for psychology (I think.) It also has quite a reputation, largely because of its size, and your dad will probably be fine with it (I sympathize, my parents won't let me apply to Colgate!) For the Boston area, you could also check out Northeastern, which could prove to be more of a "safety" as well. While you might not think of these as in the same category as the schools you are looking at, they are both alrge enough (and in the city of Boston) that you are sure to find likeminded individuals.</p>
<p>^ thanks for the Northeastern suggestion! I'll have to check it out. I don't think I'll apply to BU because they're known to be extremely stingy with their financial aid (ie, my friend chose a UMass honors college over BU because the monetary difference was something like 30k a year) but I like the college well enough.</p>
<p>Yikes that's a huge difference! I just know that my friend is going to BU over NYU because of a nice finaid package... </p>
<p>While you're at it though, check out Fordham.. probably another "safety" but in NYC. I was born across the street from the campus so I'm pretty partial.</p>