Okay, so I live on the east coast. I love the USC campus, its like its own little city, i love the red brick buildings and streets and the style of everything. It is basically going to be impossible for me to attend USC though, bc I live so far, tuition is high, and I dont think I would be able to get in. Does anyone know any schools on the East Coast or Mid West that have a similar campus to USC, or UCLA even? Preferably closer to NJ (where I live) but give me any suggestions! Thank you so much! 
What do you want to study? How much can your folks afford to pay each year for your 4 years of college? How big/small a campus did you want? All of these can affect your choices and which schools might work for you & your family.
I want to do a double major in political science and business (possibly finance or management). i want a huge campus, with a ton of spirit and things going on, and a school with a big recognized name. For me, Im applying to many schools regardless of the price and hoping for financial aid, because many of the cheaper options around me do not suit what i want to do and honestly the majority of good schools in the north are 45-50k+ lol. does this help?
Heres my stats if this helps! Im going to be a Junior this year and I graduate in 2017
GPA: 4.51 (Weighted)
SAT (2400): did not take yet
SAT (1600): did not take yet
PSAT (240): FIRST TIME: 160, no studying at all (had no idea what to expect lol)
Freshman year classes:
Bio A ®
History A+ ®
Algebra II B+ ®
Spanish A ®
Microsoft Office A+ ®
English I B+ (Honors)
Gifted and Talented A+ (Honors)
My high school freshman year did not offer any honors level courses in anything besides english. This was extremely frustrating, and I transferred to a new school sophomore year. The R is an academic level class, and its the highest available option in everything English (my school literally discouraged students from taking honors – so happy I transferred, terrible staff and teaching tactics). I was in a “Gifted and Talented” program class at my school that you had to take a test to get into, it was an enrichment program for “well rounded” students (there was one for arts, music, etc)
Sophomore Year Classes:
Honors Geometry (A-)
Honors US I (A)
Honors English II (A-),
Chemistry (A-),
Spanish II (A),
Digital Media and Photo Design (A)
Took all honors offered sophomore year except chemistry-- just not interested in science honestly
Junior Year Schedule:
AP English,
AP US II,
Honors Precalc,
Physics,
Business Management,
Applied Art
***All AP and Honors offered except physics, still not interested in science lol
Senior Year Schedule: (What I believe I will take, not sure)
AP Gov and Politics,
AP English IIII,
Calculus AB,
AP Biology or Psychology,
Financial Literacy,
Another Art (Required to graduate)
Sports: Freshman Soccer, Winter Track (2 years JV), Cross Country (2 year JV, might make varsity this season)
Extracurriculars:
Interact Club
Student Council (3 years) (Homeroom Representative Freshman year, leader of homeroom class) (Senator all three other years)
Newspaper Writer (3 years),
Ski and Snowboard Club,
Photography Club,
Pre-Medicine Club
Internship with Local Hospital, 4 hours a week for the entire summer: helped assist patients with daily needs, learned tactics from nurses and doctors, helped schedule nurses with patients, etc.
Internship with Local Library, 2 hours a week for 5 weeks: Organized Children’s summer reading program, Input and Managed Data for Library Summer Reading Computer System, assisted children with books and registering for library events
Jobs
Works on the Jersey Shore as Beach Staff at a Private Club, 12 hours a week all summer
Partnered with a Youtube Network, only a few bucks a month but its something
Over 30 hours of community service completed as of Sophomore Year
EXTRA: First Generation College Student, also a Twin which might affect financial aid
So overall, Im well rounded when it comes to activities because I like trying new things and I really wanted to find something Im passionate about. My old school did not have many hard courses to offer, so I feel like that brings me down a bit. Please respond I would love to hear from you!
I know it is a bit far,but Washington Univeristy in St.Louis has a great campus feel similar to USC. Also in the Midwest are Rice, and Northwestern. On the east coast, Emory also has a similar feel in my opinion. Hope this helped!
And all the schools you are getting here are $60k+. Please take time to learn about not just what schools are cool, but what you will get or not get in aid, and what is realistic to pay, so you are not disappointed. Cast a wide net.
@MizAZN None of those schools are within the OP’s reach.
You should take the SAT/ACT before asking…
@xmastersx this isnt a final list im gonna be a junior so i might as well start thinking… plus im a twin so my parents want to start touring now since its 2 at once its hard
@CaliCash what schools would you say are in my reach? penn state? boston university, northeastern, villanova, syracuse? these are all ones im interested in (mostly bu)
Those schools are within reach. Northeastern has no supplement, so they are very numbers driven. So NU will be a high reach. But when you take the real exam, I’m sure that you will increase your scores. If you prep and reach even 1800, your admissions prospects will look a lot better
@calicash thanks for the advice! i visited neu and it seemed to be a very “nerdy” school, so its not really my first choice, but its worth a shot! im taking the act in a few months and hopefully everything works out after i study