<p>Hi guys! I'm a junior trying to find schools that appeal to me/I have a decent shot at.
Some quick stats: I have a 3.917 cumulative UW GPA (though that may go down to somewhere between a 3.9 and 3.8 this year... darn honors precalc). I'm currently taking 4 AP classes and plan to take 4 or 5 more next year. My ECs are decent but nothing special (leadership positions in a few clubs, an audition-only choir since 5th grade, a bit of volunteering, recreational martial arts, etc). I have not taken the SAT or ACT, but my PSAT was a 227. </p>
<p>I'm particularly interested in LACs and women's colleges, though I'm open to other suggestions. I'm partial to small schools. The only Ivy I would consider going to would be Yale (mom, aunt, and uncle went undergrad, mom went to med school there and is currently a Yale employee, and my high school is a feeder, i think). I'm not applying for any financial aid. My interests include French (which I speak fairly well), Gender Studies, and History, and I want to learn Japanese or Russian in college. In particular, I'm having difficulty finding safeties that I like. My favorite school so far is Barnard.</p>
<p>Even though you said you’d only consider Yale for an ivy, I would think about Brown and Columbia(especially since you like Barnard and it’s in New York as well). I heard Williams and Amherst were good LACs and Wesleyan,Smith and Wellesley College are all LACs and women’s colleges.</p>
<p>One way to quickly narrow your list is to look at LACs that offer both Japanese and Russian. A partial list (in rough order of selectivity – I’m sure I’ll get arguments on this) – Swarthmore; Middlebury; Oberlin; Bucknell; Macalaster; Sarah Lawrence; Connecticut College (Slavic Studies); Lawrence. That’s a short list of very to extremely selective colleges with a broad range of “personalities”… On the face of it, you could be a credible candidate at any of these schools, but this list is short on slam dunks…</p>
<p>You might check out Tufts. Although it’s national university, it is still NECSAC (e.g. the little ivies). Tufts actually has a smaller undergraduate population than Yale. They also have a department of German, Russian, and Asian Languages (You can learn Russian and Japanese):</p>
<p>The best way to assure good coverage of your interests at a LAC is to choose a school where you can cross-register at other institutions. This will be most helpful as you reach upper-level courses in a field like Japanese, where the offerings may be a little thin at some (but not all) LACs.</p>
<p>Barnard is a good choice due to its unique relationship with Columbia. Also check out the Massachusetts 5-college consortium (Amherst, UMass, Smith, MHC, Hampshire) and the Philadelphia-area Quaker colleges (Haverford, Swarthmore, BMC). If you’re willing to travel, the Claremont Colleges comprise another consortium of excellent LACs that share registration privileges.</p>
<p>Larger LACs with good programs in Asian and other languages include Middlebury, Wesleyan, and Oberlin.</p>
<p>These are all very selective schools, although your stats are high enough that some of them (such as MHC and BMC) could be considered likely. For small-school safeties, especially if cost is not a big concern, consider schools listed on the “Colleges That Change Lives” list such as Earlham. If you want a shot at merit aid (which the NESCAC colleges don’t offer) look at the Associated Colleges of the Midwest (other than Carleton, which does not offer much merit aid).</p>