help me refine and expand my college list

College Search & Selection
1

hi everyone! this won’t be the first thread i have posted of this sort. the last “help me find colleges!” thread was intercepted by a lot of understandably worried CC parents who thought i might not get in anywhere. so before i begin this thread, i’d like to note that yesterday i was accepted to my first college, a super-duper-safety school that i applied to on a whim. they gave me an almost full ride and i am lucky and privileged enough to not be concerned about money from here on out. so that said, i want advice on schools i should apply to.

i applied to yale scea. i do not anticipate to get in, although i have everything that would make me a good potential candidate. my essays have been approved by many, although as a writer, i’m not fully happy with them myself (when is a writer ever happy with writing? or maybe that’s just me.) i have the 34 act, the 4.0 gpa, (although i might be getting my first B ever this semester in physics), and recommendations from teachers who love me almost as much as i love them. i struggle in the college process with narrowing things down, because above all i’m looking for a type of atmosphere in a school. i like the idea of going to a relatively small school, but i’m willing to sacrifice that if there is a potential for true intimacy with professors…that’s important to me. i want to go to a school where learning for the sake of learning is valued, but i’m still unsure if the hyper-intense academic environments of Uchicago and swarthmore are right for me, although friends say they could be. at the top of my list of criteria is finding people that seem like my people, honestly, and i applied to yale because i was attracted to what felt like a genuinely collaborative, intellectual, but also fun student body. but i don’t know who exactly those people are yet. i am interested in writing and social justice, but i’m not sure if i want to go to an extreme activist school like Oberlin. my favorite school other than yale is brown. but what i need to know is…are there any schools that seem drastically wrong based on my interests? is there anywhere i’m overlooking for the environment i want? i want to study humanities and social sciences, specifically History, Polisci, or any of the niche “Peace and Justice Studies” “Ethics Politics Economics” majors that schools have. but i would also love to take good literature and creative writing classes.

i have already started writing supplements for many of the below schools to prepare for RD, but i just want a check-in on if i’m going the right way.

i plan to apply to brown, tufts, wesleyan, wellesley, vassar, swarthmore, williams, possibly uchicago, possibly amherst, kenyon, macalester (a safety school whose supplement i’ve already written), and most likely bryn mawr. i would love suggestions on both reaches, matches, and safeties that fit my interests, or any schools it seems obvious i should remove. thank you!

2

Those are some good choices! Do you want to stay in the NE/Midwest?

Occidental, The Claremont schools, and Whitman could be a few good possibilities out west.

3

Your independent search has converged with quite a few of Kenyon’s overlap schools (scroll to “The Company We Keep”): https://www.kenyon.edu/admissions-aid/admissions-statistics/. As a form of authenticity test, this might serve to reassure you regarding some of your choices.

4

The question with the Claremont schools is which one fits. You don’t need any more reaches. Scripps could be a safety. Pitzer is probably a match these days — strong on social justice. The great thing about the Claremont schools is the ability to take classes easily across all the campuses.

Please don’t post all in lower case. It is harder for us to help when the post is hard to read. Also, are you truly happy with the school you got into? And your comment on finances is a bit vague (why no money concerns “from here on out” - were there concerns before this?).

In general, your list seems to suit what you say you are looking for.

5

Here are three other options to consider:

Penn has a popular PPE (“Philosophy, Politics, & Economics”) major.

Haveford offers an interdisciplinary concentration in “Peace, Justice, and Human Rights.”

Rice offers a strong minor in “Politics, Law, and Social Thought” and another minor in “Poverty, Justice, and Human Capabilities.” Either of these could easily be paired with a more conventional major in the humanities (English, History, Philosophy) or social sciences (Political Science, Policy Studies, Econ). Two fairly recent Rice grads with interests similar to yours went on to great–and early–success at the intersection of writing and politics: Josh Earnest graduated from Rice in 1997 with degrees in Political Science and Policy Studies; he served as Press Secretary for President Obama. Ben Rhodes graduated in 2000 with degrees in English and Political Science; he served as Speechwriter and unofficial foreign policy adviser to President Obama.

Your stats would give you a realistic chance of admission at the above schools–though each, of course, remains a reach for almost every applicant.

6

I strongly recommend you consider an application to Hamilton. The school is a great match for your stated interests, and would offer the academic and social atmosphere you desire.

7

@lightsgoout. Would you be happy at the safety school that has accepted you? Does it have the qualities that you seek regarding intellectually engaged peers and close relationships with professors?

Right now I don’t see any safeties on your list. Macalester might be a match/low reach. BTW, it is quite similar to Oberlin in its outlook, student vibe, and admissions competitiveness so if Mac appeals, you might want to give Oberlin a second look. Somebody who is interested in Creative Writing and Peace and Justice Studies would find much to enjoy at Oberlin.

Mount Holyoke is somewhat less competitive for admissions than Wellesley. Agree with @intparent that Scripps and Pitzer might be more safeties/matches for you.

Other safeties/matches would be Lewis & Clark, Willamette and U of Puget Sound in the Pacific Northwest, and in the Midwest and PA: Lawrence, Beloit, College of Wooster, Earlham, Muhlenberg, Dickinson, and St. Olaf. I can’t speak to the writing programs and other areas of academic interest you have. By no means should you apply to all of them. But one or two would round out your list and you might be eligible for merit scholarships at this tier.

Best of luck to you.

8

Agree with the Haverford suggestion above as a match. Carleton is another, probably a low reach.

9

@intparent apologies for the vagueness. I am lucky enough to say that there were never concerns with finances. I felt lucky to get an additional merit scholarship option but no I do not at all think I would be happy to attend that school. But, If all else Fails. I did not love the vibe at haverford and cannot put my finger on why. I guess it felt a little summer campy and homogeneous to me? Too similar to where I grew up.

10

Haverford can feel like a country manor that has been absorbed by the suburbs. For a collegiate experience, this environment could seem . . . unimaginative.

11

Great list. I’d add Kalamazoo, Denison, and St. Lawrence to these suggestions.

12

If you are open to the south, I agree with @MrSamford2014 that Rice would be a good addition to your list. There is a lot of overlap in students that apply to Yale, Rice and Brown. The Rice student body is collaborative not competitive. It ranks at the top for race class diversity. Rice has residential colleges like Yale. President Obama spoke at Rice this week at the Baker Institute. Although Rice is known as a STEM school, it has some great social sciences/humanities programs as well. Rice is in the museum district of Houston with lots of great things to do right off campus–not a summer camp atmosphere.

13

Colleges from your list and a few others that would seem desirable based on your profile and interests might include . . .

Yale: Your top pick, and a school with which by now you must be thoroughly familiar. Ethics, Politics, and Economics appeals to you. Your statistical profile, including your ACT score, skims above its average.

Brown: Your second favorite.

Wesleyan: Similar to Brown, so a natural fit.

Vassar: Fine arts veneer overlays an essentially traditional college. Intellectual atmosphere.

Williams: Intellectual atmosphere associated with top academic programs. Extensive athletic programs add to traditionally collegiate feel.

Hamilton: Enhanced by its history of having been two colleges, which imparts a legacy of curricular, architectural and social breadth and variety. A writers’ college.

Kenyon: You’d be well suited to its excellent humanities and social sciences programs, particularly those in English, history and government.

Mt. Holyoke: An appealing alternative to Wellesley, but not because of its somewhat less stringent admission practices. Supportive environment. Presence of international students adds diversity.

14

Though a somewhat dubious distinction, it should be noted that this is also true of Brown.

15

A key difference between Brown and Hamilton with respect to the above is that Brown’s former coordinate colleges manifested similarly traditional educational approaches, while Hamilton’s colleges contrasted traditional with progressive aspects. Even architecturally and spatially, this should be quite evident to those who have visited these campuses. Differences aside, these respective histories would seem to make both Brown and Hamilton interesting.

16

^No, the key difference is that Kirkland College was less than ten years old (which would explain why its architecture was uniformly 1960s era modern) and was created solely for the purpose of greasing the wheels for what would eventually be Hamilton’s acceptance of co-education. Many LACs expanded enrollment in the 1970s in order to accommodate the admission of women. By contrast, Brown’s Pembroke College was in existence for nearly seventy years before it was subsumed by the university (much like Radcliffe was by Harvard) and was often referred to over the years as “The Eighth Sister”. a reference to the women’s college equivalent to the Ivy League, The Seven Sisters.

17

Have you considered Brandeis? Several of the attributes you seek seem to match Brandeis well.

18

Though founded under Hamilton’s auspices, Kirkland maintained its own identity and goals. A plan such as that suggested would have been unbeknownst to its administration, faculty and students.