help me find some more matches!

College Search & Selection
1

<p>hi
i'm looking for some good safeties/matches for me...
my current list is:
reaches: williams (maybe...total crapshoot) middlebury, grinnell, & macalester
Matches/Safeties: american u and clark</p>

<p>my stats:
2080 SAT (740m, 670cr and w)..will retake to up writing
~3.7UWgpa... taking tough courseload (IB diploma w/ 4 highers)
pretty good ecs (varsity volleyball, speech and debate, MUN, nhs etc etc)
will have decent essay and good recs (ithink)
also, i'm an american white female BUT i live internationally</p>

<p>LOOKING FOR:
small school...location not TOO important but preferably midwest or east. suburban would be nice but i still need a campus environment. i want a diverse, open and active student body. campus appearance is also fairly important to me. dont want a school with much greek life... dont know what else really. just ask if you need more info. </p>

<p>so... what do you guys think? like what other schools would be good for me for matches/safeties? should i add more reach schools?</p>

<p>ANY INPUT in greatly appreciated...</p>

2

<p>Might look at Holy Cross-same city as Clark but better school- and Trinity in Hartford.</p>

3

<p>ok thanks
i hate the name "Holy Cross" and the city of Clark (worcestor) was definitely the worst part of clark...but i'll look into trinity</p>

<p>anybody else?</p>

4

<p>I would say that the University of Michigan-Ann Arbor would be a nice fit for you; it may seem large but, they have a program called the Residential College for kids looking for a LAC feel. (They also have other living communities that make the sudent body appear much smaller)</p>

5

<p>For a reach, maybe Vassar or Wesleyan?... FWIW, I have heard Middlebury is not very diverse.</p>

<p>Safety: look at Lawrence University and Beloit (both Wisconsin.) My D also did not want a fratty environment. Similar stats-- and these were her safeties. Really good schools as well; if they were located near a coast they'd be much more selective. Also Goucher might be a good safety for you.</p>

6

<p>thanks!</p>

<p>i've actually looked into lawrence and beloit!! that's funny... i just didnt include them on my list because i'm not sure if i would actually be happy going therre (i havent visited yet). i will probably apply to one of them (most likely Beloit). i also like kalamazoo. would this be a match or a safety?</p>

<p>thanks</p>

7

<p>I don't know anything about Kalamazoo...</p>

<p>At Lawrence & Beloit she qualified for merit money ($10K/year.) Her third safety was Allegheny in Pennsylvania. All three have EA programs BTW.</p>

<p>We were very impressed by the personal attention she got at Beloit. They were very warm and fuzzy during the application process.</p>

8

<p>that's comforting to hear. i would really like to qualify for merit money at my safeties... because if i dont get into one of my top choice schools then i dont really think it's fair that my parents would have to pay similar tuiton for a school that is clearly not as good (as my reaches..)
i'll look into allegheny too..</p>

<p>what schools did you daughter apply to as matches & reaches?</p>

<p>anybody else have any input???</p>

9

<p>Kalamazoo College looks like it would be a low match/safety. It is a lovely LAC with excellent programs.</p>

10

<p>st mary of maryland is a smal public lac...check out website...may meet your needs.</p>

11

<p>Try looking into Swarthmore. It's hard to get into but worth a try :)</p>

12

<p>As a safety Skidmore might work for you although the merit money situation is not very promising.</p>

13

<p>You might want to also look into Goucher (in Baltimore). I understand they have a good deal of merit money available, and also an honors program.</p>

14

<p>thanks for all the ideas!!</p>

<p>another question -- do you think my list is "balanced" enough? like assuming i add another match/safety... is my list ok?should i add more reaches? how much of a reach are grinnell & macalester?</p>

<p>thanks</p>

15

<p>I think you need to add Vassar as a reach. It sounds perfect, is only a slight reach, and is too good a fit to not apply.</p>

16

<p>just curious, why does you guys think it suits me so well? i'm familiar with vassar, my good friend is going to apply there ED...but it never struck me as a school for me.</p>

<p>anybody else have answers to the questions in my previous post??</p>

17

<p>open curriculum, decent sized town with easy NYC access. Beautiful campus, residential campus environment, greek life not big.</p>

<p>Grinnell and Mac are lower reaches.</p>

<p>balanced list would be 3-4 reaches, 4 matches, 3 safeties.</p>

18

<p>Yeah, open minded school with a beautiful campus and a strong campus environment with no real greek life. Its a good bet for you, I cant see why you wouldnt apply.</p>

19

<p>ok,
it just seems so different from a school like..say middlebury ..esp in terms of the student body. but it is more similar to grinnell and maybe macalester. </p>

<p>what are your impressions on the students at vassar....
because i imagine a bunch of smart hippies... who are artsy and not into sports at all?</p>

<p>i would like to go to a school with a big intramural program...i like sports even though i wont be playing them on a college team</p>

20

<p>There is most def a sports culture although you are right it isnt as big a scene as a place like Middlebury. They arent all a bunch of hippies though, its not nearly as militant PC as a place like Wesleyan and less so than even Grinnell. I have a friend who rowed crew at Vassar and I loved visiting him. I think you would love getting to choose between it and Midd, which I am guessing is what will happen (Williams will be tough).</p>