Help recommend colleges for me?

College Search & Selection
1

Hi everyone! I’m a rising high school senior from Colorado and I’m trying to think of colleges that would be good matches for me. The colleges that I currently plan to apply to are Rice, Emory, and Duke. I really liked the feeling I got when I visited these three campuses. I realize these are all reaches for me, though. I was wondering if anyone could recommend other colleges to me that are somewhat similar to these that are more of matches or low reaches for me.

A little about personal preferences for colleges: I don’t really want to go to a school that is very “preppy,” or to a school where Greek life dominates. Also it would be nice to go to a school with people who put academics first, and partying/social events afterwards.

SAT CR: 660 M: 780 W: 710
ACT (without writing):35
I recently took the ACT with writing and two subject tests. Still waiting on those results to come back to me.

Grades (out of 4.0)
Weighted so far: 4.139
Unweighted: 4.0
Class Rank: 4/331

Also, FA is not a major deciding factor in choosing colleges for me.

Can anyone recommend colleges that would be a good fit for me? Thank you!

2

Reed, Oberlin, Kenyon, University of Chicago, Swarthmore, Vassar . . .

3

Rice, Emory and Duke are “mid sized” research institutions. So is U. Chicago but the rest of the suggested schools are small LACs. Do you have a preference? I think U. Chicago is also a reach though it definitely meets the “academics first, partying afterwards” standard. People have mentioned Case Western, U. Rochester as somewhat less selective mid-sized research institutions.

4

You are a 4.0 student with a 35 ACT - those stats make you a competitive applicant at every school in those two categories. If your ECs, recs and essays are also strong, that makes you a competitive applicant all-around.

Most of the top schools are reaches for everyone: the Ivies, Stanford, Caltech, UChicago, maybe Duke and Northwestern, and the very top LACs. I think Emory is a low reach/high match for you, though. Rice would be a low reach probably.

woogzmama’s list is good. To it I would add:

Grinnell
Haverford
Brown

I realize none of these are matches, but they are all intellectually rigorous, very non-preppy, and have very little (if any) Greek life.

I’m afraid that all schools - even those listed above - have a grand mixture of kids, and that includes preppy students and/or those just wanting the piece of paper to frame and hang on a wall. Most schools also have Greek life.

The good news is, you will almost certainly be able to find and engage people who are more like you, because they are part of that mix also.

I would suggest some of the good state schools for matches. You will find incredibly vigorous work if you seek it, plenty of people like you to hang out with; and unlike on a really small campus, you can “hide from”/avoid things you wish to avoid: Greek clubs, preppy kids, etc.

Granted, your 100-level lectures will be large at the state schools; but if they are like UW-Madison, those survey courses will be accompanied almost invariably by a weekly discussion with about 10-20 students, as well as a weekly lab in the science courses. I imagine other state schools also do this to help make teaching more personal in the larger 100-level classes. As you get into your major-related courses, class sizes become quite a bit smaller.

So what are some good state schools that would be matches (low, med, or high…) for you as an OOS applicant?

  • UVA
  • U Michigan
  • UC system (Berkeley and UCLA are tops)
  • UNC-Chapel Hill
  • UW-Madison
  • U Washington
  • U Illinois
  • Georgia Tech
  • UT-Austin
  • U Minnesota
  • Penn State
  • U Maryland

…are some of the best. All are strong in many programs, both in the STEM fields and in the soft sciences/humanities.

Some additional private universities that would be matches for you include schools like BU, Northeastern, Tulane, Wake Forest, Case Western, and U Rochester. BU, Case and Northeastern are quite large schools that probably behave quite a bit like the state schools I mentioned.

5

Duke is a wonderful school, but Greek life is huge there; something like 40% of the women participate.

6

Carleton and Macalester

7

Concerns about Duke’s Greek life are overblown in my opinion.

8

I think you will get into Emory. From what I have read (the above post excepted), Duke does not meet your criteria, though you personally liked it and should weigh that heavily. URochester and CWRU could be excellent options for you and have selectivity ranks slightly lower than – but interestingly similar to – that of Emory’s (USNWR):

Emory: 29
URochester: 30
CWRU: 32

9

I may be biased…but you should seriously consider Colorado College…it fits a lot of your criteria (predominating culture is not preppy nor centered around Greek life whatsoever)…

Great education - I’m not sure, but being in state you might qualify for some special scholarships, since you are an incredible student based on your stats.

Unless you are dying to get out of state - definitely reserve a spot on your list for CC. Feel free to message me with any questions about the school (I graduated this year).

10

a hidden gem with no greek life and a school not on many peoples radar but people who go seem to really love it and also learn a lot.
https://www.hendrix.edu/

11

How about this list of colleges?

WUSTL
Rice
Duke
Emory
University of Washington
Colorado State University

I’m thinking WUSTL, Rice, and Duke are reaches, Emory is a high match, University of Washington as a match (both of my parents are alums), and CSU as a safety.
Maybe I might add Brown or another reach school just for fun. Also, I got my multiple choice part of my ACT results, and I got a 36!

12

I would add another match if I were you. Many good schools were already suggested.

13

Duke will be a reach but applying ED will help a little.

Rice, Emory etc. are matches.

14

Tufts and Holy Cross

15

Purdue
Boston University
Boston College
Brandeis University

By the way, even if you go to a school with Greek life and partying, it’s not the only thing to do there. College is what you make of it (at big schools, because I’ve never been to a small school.) Although I will say I’m at Harvard this summer where everybody’s supposed to be snooty and pretentious, but the undergrads (and grad students and faculty) I’ve met have been down-to-earth and wonderful. Sometimes it takes going to the place to really know.

16

Congrats on the great ACT score. Here’s how your list looks now:

WUSTL - Reach
Duke - Reach
Rice - Match
Emory - Match
University of Washington - Safety
Colorado State University - Safety

You have great stats but don’t make your list too reach heavy. You can either keep the list as it is now or add one more in each of the categories to bring yourself up to nine schools.

Possible Reaches: Wesleyan, Williams, Amherst, Notre Dame,Vanderbilt
Possible Matches: Brandeis, Carleton, Haverford
Possible Safeties: Oberlin, St. Olaf

17

I agree with TheDidactic’s recommendation of Vanderbilt. My classmates generally consider it a reach, but it is a good school if you get in.

Many colleges have summer visit days, tours, or open houses, and I’d suggest going to those. In my case, I’d rather not miss school days to visit colleges. Plus, the summer is a good time to focus on the school itself and not be distracted by other stuff that goes on during the year.