<p>I live in CA and I am looking for some non-UC schools to add to my application list, but I'm having trouble finding schools that hold my interest and fit what I'm looking for. I have a 4.3/2200 SAT (retaking) and average ECs (nothing national or anything). </p>
<p>Things I'm looking for:</p>
<p>-Strong humanities/social sciences</p>
<p>-A diverse school that has at least a 5% AA population. I realize that self-segregation exists (and that most applicants are cut from the same cloth), but I would also like a school that at least appears to have good racial interaction.</p>
<p>-Flexible cirriculum</p>
<p>-An intellectual student body. Not a campus that has an elitist or pseudo-intellectual vibe, but a campus in which I can find conversation and activity that is "stimulating"</p>
<p>-A school in an area that has more entertainment opportunities than just partying.</p>
<p>-Less than 10,000 undergrads</p>
<p>-Mid-Big City location</p>
<p>-Liberal-minded student body (Yet still opened minded to other beliefs...maybe "accepting" is a better word...)</p>
<p>-Laid-back feel</p>
<p>-SUBTLE school spirit</p>
<p>-I'd prefer a school with prestige. I'm not obsessed with rankings, but I would like a school that is recognized and well regarded within academic circles.</p>
<p>If you’re looking outside of CA- Brown (open curriculum). Amherst also has an open curriculum but is more rural. Yale, Duke, Wash U St… Louis, Vanderbilt, Rice. How flexible do you want the curriculum to be? Few schools have a truly open curriculum like Brown, but many are more flexible than, say, Columbia which has a core curriculum. Your stats seem to make you competitive for many schools. Are you looking for safeties, matches, reaches, or all. What about Stanford since you’re in CA?</p>
<p>“A diverse school that has at least a 5% AA population.”</p>
<p>Do ANY schools publicize how many students are enrolled because of AA? Percentages of enrolled URMs are certainly available. I would think that the percent of students that are enrolled due to a school’s AA policy would be of interest to otherwise non-competitive applicants that need the help.</p>
<p>I was looking mostly for matches/reaches…I was thinking about applying to Stanford, since it is in California, but I’m kind of scared to apply. I heard that you basically have to be a genius, nationally ranked in something, or have some amazing EC (being a published author, inventing something, ect.) I’m reasonably intelligent, and I’m well read, but I’m not a genius. I’m the type who didn’t really care much about high school to be honest.</p>