Help Narrowing Down College List

College Search & Selection
1

Hi! I am a senior working on putting together my college list and was wondering if anyone on here had suggestions or insights as to how I could potentially narrow my list down. Currently I am considering around 18 schools and want to apply to maximum 12, ideally 10. I know this is a lot and having some people give comments would really help me!

Demographics
US Citizen
From Minnesota (the Twin Cities)
Large urban public high school
Female and white

GPA and other academic info
Unweighted GPA : 3.89
Weighted GPA : 4.74
Class rank: 17/460
ACT: 34 (30 m, 36s, 35e, 35r)
35 superscore

Coursework
I am a full IB diploma candidate! I’ve taken all accelerated courses in high school. I’m in an AP Calc BC equivalent and Spanish 6. I’ve taken some other AP classes throughout high school.
If anyone had any questions about courses I’d be happy to answer but I’m not totally sure what to include.

Awards
Excellence in Mathematics (Junior year)
Excellence in English (Sophomore year)
National Merit Commended Scholar
NHS Member

Extracurriculars
Danish immersion camp - age 11 to present (High school credit equivalent, fluency)

League of Women Voters school lead - Senior year (registration events, sharing voting info)

International Club WorldQuest coordinator -Senior year (register, lead studying, lead meetings)

Model UN Participant - Freshman to Senior year

Ultimate Frisbee Team - Sophomore to Senior year

Senior photos - senior year (running my own business taking senior photos, 10+ clients)

Women in STEM Club - Junior to Senior year (member)

Church youth group participant - Freshman to Senior year (volunteering, meetings, group pilgrimage)

Work in Retail Store, church nursery

Tutor at neighborhood center

**More details **

I think I’ll have strong LORs
I don’t know an intended major, interested in religion, international relations, and math/comp sci. I’m looking for a chance to explore interests in college, and I don’t really want to go somewhere where everyone else knows what they are doing already.
I am interested in small liberal arts colleges (1,000 to 3,000). I want a supportive community that is challenging but not insanely competitive between students. I want to be somewhere with diversity of opinion but I am progressive and don’t want to feel like the odd one out in that. I would prefer to be cold than hot (so I’m sort of avoiding warmer colleges except maybe the Claremonts?)
I am super privileged in the fact that cost is not really an issue for my family. It would be awesome to get some kind fo merit aid but that isn’t a determining factor in where I’d apply.
I want to be somewhere where I don’t feel isolated. I like the idea of a consortium and being nearing to a metropolitan area, but some colleges I really like don’t check either of those boxes. I am exploring the idea of women’s colleges and have a whole bunch on my list right now.

Schools

I feel kind of uncomfortable with the “safety school” designation so I’m just going to put these into brackets by acceptance rates. I know that for women’s colleges this can look a little different but I think it should still make sense!
Schools marked with * are ones I’m certain I’ll apply to. Others are more unsure.

<25% acceptance rate

Carleton *
Grinnell *
Wesleyan
Middlebury *
Bowdoin
Wellesley
Haverford *
Pomona

25 - 50% acceptance rates
Oberlin *
My. Holyoke
Smith *
Connecticut College
Bryn Mawr
St. Olaf
Scripps

50%
Clark University *
Lawrence University *
Whitman
Lewis & Clark
Bard *

Any questions or tips or help would be insanely appreciated!!

2

The very first filter in narrowing a list is affordability. Have you discussed budget with your family and run the NPCs for the schools on your list?

I too am uncomfortable with classifying Match, Reach, etc. Safety is easy though, guaranteed admit, guaranteed to be affordable. You need one or two.

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3

Since cost is not an issue:

Macalester College may not experience much diversity of opinion, but it is in a metro area and has the weather that you prefer.

Amherst College

Barnard College in NYC, but not sure about the majors that you are considering.

Although not a cold weather school, Occidental College in Los Angeles offers IR.

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4

Smith and Grinnell from your list (along with Amherst and Hamilton among LACs) represent colleges with among the most flexible and accessible curricula in the nation. Based on your desire to explore academically across disciplines, it makes sense that you will definitely apply to them.

You would find Mt. Holyoke to be supportive and academically rewarding. In comparison to Smith, in particular, you likely would experience its social and political atmosphere as moderate.

Wesleyan students typically create a socially liberal atmosphere, and the school itself partly defines itself by this aspect. Even in comparison to socially liberal peers, it can be said to be more liberal. Academically, it is strong in diverse areas (e.g., film, literature, IR, physics).

Connecticut Cillege offers a nice safer admit, although its curriculum is somewhat narrower than some of the other schools on your list (e.g., it lacks a geosciences concentration). However, it does offer a respected botany program.

As an opinion, any college with the campus and resources to allow you to perceive it as a center should not, in principle, feel isolated.

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5

Interesting that you are from the Twin Cities but don’t have Macalester on your list (or, did I miss it somewhere?) Assuming I’m correct, and further assuming that it has something to do with not wanting to stay too close to home, Wesleyan would make a good substitute; a robust restaurant scene, steps away from campus, and a public transportation system, help alleviate any sense that Wesleyan students are “in the middle of nowhere.”

Am I the only one who thinks 7 or 8 colleges to apply to is plenty?

6

Re 7-8 colleges to apply to – it depends, right?

My oldest applied to 6. My middle, to 10 (there was more uncertainty due to his profile) and my youngest to one.

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7

I agree with you!

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8

Don’t you already have your list? It’s all the asterisked schools :slight_smile:

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9

I’m certainly in that camp. Students who have massive lists simply have not vetted their options well enough. A perfect list only has one, a safety the student is super enthused to attend. Apply, get in, enjoy a stress free rest of the application cycle.

With the exception of the wealthiest families being driven in their Bentleys and flown in their private planes, an expense of this magnitude should always be considered “an issue.” I’m not advocating for the cheapest option. I’m campaigning for students and parents to understand opportunity cost. A $20K difference per year is over $1M over the length of a full career. So, all things being otherwise equal between two options, price should at least be a consideration.

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10

I also agree, but it depends on how many reaches the OP wants to try and how important merit is (I understand it’s not a must but if it’s nice to have, then I’d prioritize group 2, with some “safeties” in group 3). My daughter with similar stats (same ACT, a little higher GPA) applied to 7 schools: 6 LACs, 1 state flagship. She also looked for a collaborative environment (plus theater, music, and strong history/languages program). We needed merit and looked only at the Midwest, so she only applied to Grinnell from OP’s group 1; four colleges with the acceptance rate of 30-50%, so roughly corresponding to OP’s 2nd group; and one as a safety from the “third” group (not on the OP’s list). She got into all of them with generous merit, so this was a good strategy for us, but everyone’s situation is different. I don’t think there’s any meaningful difference in the level of education between “group 1” and “group 2,” so it comes down to fit and finances really.

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That’s a good point haha! I think that I just have a problem with how many great colleges there are and not use being overwhelmed by choice. I really do think that less than 10 would be amazing but I’m just having a hard time actually cutting down since I can see what would be exciting about a ton of different schools.

12

I think that Mac is a little too close to home for me!

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13

No need to cut your list of target schools to less than 10 if you prefer to apply to more than 10 schools–especially since COA is not an issue. But you should have solid reasons for applying to the schools that you do target.

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14

This is understandable, but if many of your colleges require supplemental essays, you’ll be exhausted after 6-8. And it’s harder to make a convincing case for each school (also during interviews) if you apply to too many. And LACs care a lot about fit/interest. In the end, you can only go to one school, and most likely you’ll be happy there, so don’t focus on what you might “miss out.” From our experience, they’re more similar than different.

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15

For flexible curriculum and access to a consortium, Amherst would be good. Brown is very flexible of course, too.

I was glad to see Clark U. on your list- a great school. I also love Oberlin. Lewis and Clark might be a good choice too.

Did you consider Tufts. a subway ride to Boston and nice campus?

Sorry don’t mean to add. I would think your asterisked choices are a good list.

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16

I concur as well.

17

If you love Carleton, you will love Whitman, too (very similar vibe with higher admit rate). I would keep Whitman and remove Lewis and Clark.

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18

Sensible list. You seem made for Carleton. It is a fantastic school, that always gets high marks for student happiness and excellent teaching. Last I looked, they tried to get a M/F balance of close to 50%, if that is important to you. With your marks and scores you might also want to include Amherst, Brown, and Williams in your reaches.

Grinnell is also great, and more of a match. You might get merit there. Some do get “cabin fever” out there in the middle of nowhere in the 3rd year, but a study abroad semester could cure that.

I would assume that you are aware of Mac, and are not putting it down in your match schools for a reason. If not, I would strongly consider it.
Good luck!

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19

I agree that you seem made for Carleton. I recommended keeping Whitman based on that assessment of a good fit for you.

Looking at your list again, in the interests of shortening it, I think you can drop St. Olaf and Pomona — both excellent schools, but I think they are just slightly less suited to you.

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20

How many colleges and universities have you actually visited? Honors colleges in larger public universities can produce a smaller “tribe” for you to be in; and most larger public universities will have representative groups across the political spectrum.

It may be a little late in the game, but to the extent that you can visit both large universities and small colleges, that might give you some perspectives about what your comfort zone in a school might be. You might also have a better opportunity “to explore interests in college” in a larger school where you have more course offerings.

As far as other schools (in the SLAC category) that might merit a look by you: Kenyon College; College of Wooster; Kalamazoo College.

Nothing for you to apologize for.