<p>I have a bucket list if colleges, and I'm unable to finalise which ones to apply to. I urgently need help, as deadlines are a month away!</p>
<p>I want to major in English Literature, and minor in one of the social sciences, maybe Political Science. ( I'm also considering a double major, too).</p>
<p>Some of my stats - SAT I : 2300, SAT II: 760 English Lit, Math II scores yet to come out, will be borderline 700 I think. TOEFL: 117/120. I have held the first rank in my class throughout high school and I have really good grades. I was first in the city in my 10th grade board exams (it's a nationwide public exam).
My ECs are good. Not OUT OF THE WORLD, but pretty good, decent number of prizes in debate, public speaking etc. Have an journalistic internship and some community service. I'm School Captain, too.</p>
<p>My main criterion in selecting colleges is the strength of the academic programme, and opportunities for lot of literary extracurriculars. I'm applying to a few LACs, but I think I'm more of a 'large-university' person. I don't want to apply to any outright safeties, I'll be applying in my own country if I don't get in. Also, financial aid is not a major issue right now. I can afford the more expensive schools, too.</p>
<p>Here is my current list. Please help me eliminate colleges. Also suggest colleges you think might be good for me. I need to pick 8.</p>
<p>UChicago
Duke
Rice
NYU
UNC Chapel Hill
Johns Hopkins U
Boston College
Boston U
Tufts
University of Michigan - Ann Arbor
UNiversity of Virginia
Pennstate Barnard
Amherst
Williams
Middlebury
Wellesley</p>
<p>Need more information about your preferences (weather, for example) & why you selected these 17 schools. Nevertheless, Barnard, Williams (although in a rural location), Middlebury (also rural), Chicago & Michigan (Honors College or Honors Program recommended based on your interests & abilities). Add Northwestern University in suburban Chicago. NYU.
With SAT scores of 2300/2400 & top of your class, why not apply to Harvard, Yale & Princeton ?</p>
<p>CONSIDER:
Princeton
Harvard
Yale
Chicago
Northwestern
Columbia and/or Barnard
NYU</p>
<p>The truth is, I really don’t have very important preferences when it comes to things like weather, location. I just want to be in or close to a city, though.
I want a large school preferably, as I already said, and with lots of ECs. Good undergrad teaching. Liberal atmosphere.
Frankly, I put together this list just by looking through lots of rankings for English and Social Science programs, and talking to some people.
And yes, I am applying to 4 Ivies - Yale, Princeton, Dartmouth and Columbia, I didn’t add them to this list because I’ve finalised those.
NYU I was considering, but a couple of people I spoke to said the undergrad teaching’s not that good, not worth the money. Is that the case?
What other eliminations/additions would you recommend?</p>
<p>NYU was recently ranked by one source as being among the worst investments in higher education in the US. But, I think that it may depend upon the particular school within NYU as Stern does well regarding job placement.</p>
<p>Duke and UNC Chapel Hill aren’t really in/near big cities. Durham is pretty suburban depending on where you are, but it also has some pretty rural parts nearby. Chapel Hill is a very nice college town, but it’s not big city. So you may want to cross those off if you have your heart set on a big city atmosphere.</p>
<p>If you are more interested in larger Universities than LACs, then remove some of the LACs from your list. They also tend to be in rural locations. Penn State doesn’t seem to fit the rest of your list, as it is rural. You could swap it with U. Pittsburgh, as a safety. </p>
<p>A school to consider adding is WashU in St. Louis. Also GW in Washington, DC. </p>
<p>Based on your criteria, these are the ones I would keep from your current list:
UChicago
Duke
Rice
NYU
Johns Hopkins U
Boston College
Boston U
Tufts</p>
<p>Thank you all!
Yes, I don’t mind a city campus, so BU might stay on my list.
Okay… should I keep Rice and Tufts? I’ve heard that they’re good schools, but not especially good for my areas of interest, i.e. the liberal arts.
And between BC and BU, which would be a better choice?
Also, as I said before, I’m looking for a liberal atmosphere. Does BC’s religious affiliation affect the social atmosphere and education there in any way?</p>
<p>I’d put Barnard at the top of your list – you’ll get all the large University feel you need from the proximity to Columbia, but you’ll have great teaching because of Barnard’s undergraduate focus, you’ll be in NYC, and with the resources of the two schools available to you, you’ll have no problem with those majors. Johns Hopkins is big enough and urban enough for you, and though it has a reputation as being the place for pre-meds, it’s also well-known for its writing programs. (Not quite the same as being known for English Lit, but I’d look further to see if they may indeed have what you want.) Williams and Middlebury are small and in the middle of nowhere. Definitely drop those from your list.</p>
<p>Thank you anouilh Yes, Barnard is among my top choices, but I am not overly eager to go to a women’s college. Still, because of it’s collaboration with Columbia, I would be happy to go there.
Okay, Williams, Middlebury, NYU, Pennstate and UNC CH are definitely off. I’ll add Northwestern.
What would you say about BC, BU and Tufts?</p>
<p>Definitely keep Tufts. It has **everything **you are looking for.
I would actually prefer BC over BU a little, the campus in nicer and not in the heart of the city but still close to everything. It’s on the subway system. The Catholic aspect of BC won’t affect you at all, I’ve had Jewish friends who went there and said it was fine. But BU is bigger and has broader offerings including an engineering school and various grad programs such as a medical school. So you get all kinds of students. BC is more liberal arts focused (though it does have business). BC is more highly ranked and harder to get into.
I agree with dropping the rural LACs.</p>
<p>IdleD, might as well drop Wellesley if you’re not leaning toward the women’s colleges. I think Barnard would be fine for you because it is so close to Columbia. Wellesley is within reach of many co-ed schools for weekend socializing, and it is possible to take classes at MIT (might be worth it if your poli sci interests are very specific and closely aligned with what MIT offers), but it’s most definitely a female environment. You’re looking for schools to eliminate, so I’d cross that one off.</p>
<p>It’s really impossible to answer this question for you – all are excellent schools.</p>
<p>Looking at your list </p>
<p>Michigan jumps out, because it’s much larger than the rest.
BU and NYU jump out because they really don’t have traditional campuses and the rest do.</p>
