Help! Starting My College Search and Need Some School Suggestions

<p>Claremont Colleges, specifically Pomona & Claremont McKenna</p>

<p>I second Claremont McKenna</p>

<p>Senior Slacker, I don't think any of the Claremont Colleges would be matches due to their selectivity and emphasis on fit</p>

<p>I totally agree. It just kind of popped into my head, and I put it under the wrong heading.</p>

<p>The Claremont Colleges. Excellent to be sure, but definitely not matches.</p>

<p>I'll look into the Claremont colleges. Thanks</p>

<p>Take SAT II's. It is unfortunate that you are a valedictorian and no one told you that SAT II's are required by the top schools! You might be kind and mention this to the top students in the grade below you.</p>

<p>Course load does not look that heavy. Don't know the quality of the cc courses. The AP results are not terrific. THose are the issues when going highly selective. Do you need financial/merit aid? Would schools like Boston U, George Washington, NYU interest you? Do you want a campus? Are Catholic schools out? Vanderbilt is a great school but they do eyeball curriculum carefully.</p>

<p>Vanderbilt is good. </p>

<p>These are also great weather colleges:
U Virginia
William & Mary
U North Carolina
Duke
Wake Forest</p>

<p>I think Emory weather is only too hot in the summer, and you need not stay for summer.</p>

<p>I think UCSD has great weather if you want to head west!</p>

<p>DUKE is definitely the best school for you</p>

<p>its better than all the rest thats been listed</p>

<p>Sticking up for the poor, much-maligned Ivies, I would say the following Ivies fit your description (in alphabetical order):</p>

<p>Brown
Pros: no curriculum gives you plenty of freedom to craft a balanced education
Cons: Providence population is 175,000</p>

<p>Columbia
Pros: the Core curriculum in Western classics is an education in the truest sense of the word and will definitely leave you well-balanced. Oh, and it's in NYC, maybe you've heard of it.
Cons: The allure of NYC makes for an awesome experience, but by no means an awesome college experience.</p>

<p>Harvard
Pros: it's Harvard
Cons: it's Harvard--what that means for overall experience and the balance of academic and social life is up for debate.</p>

<p>Penn
Pros: One University policy lets you take courses in Penn's top-10 law school, along with Penn's top-1 business school and several other schools for a very broad education. Known for a balanced ethos of both working hard and playing hard
Cons: Getting confused for Penn State. The occasional crime wave in University City District.</p>

<p>Yale
Pros: it's Yale
Cons: Like Providence, New Haven is small. Unlike Providence, however, it is legendary for sucking.</p>

<p>Other Ivies are small and/or rural.</p>

<p>MidwestMoms - Yes, it is unfortunate. My town only concentrates on producing run-of-the-mill drones that will pursue a life of mediocrity. I hate to cast us in such bad terms, but it is sadly the truth.</p>

<p>Also, I think I should add that I am the ONLY person in my class taking either the SAT I or SAT IIs. (and I am fairly certain that none have taken them for about 3 classes above me, and there is no one I can foresee taking them at least 2-5 classes under me). Our school has sent NO ONE out of state since AT LEAST the class of '04. (I don't know anyone from the class before them)</p>

<p>cptofthehouse - The course work I have taken is verifiably the hardest anyone in the history of my school has taken. 90% of the rigor my schedule has would not have been possible before my parents and I pushed to make it possible. My teacher & consular (sp?) will be able to verify this in their letters of recommendation.</p>

<p>Thanks for all of the input.</p>

<p>i like some of the choices that other people have put up, namely georgetown -- you might want to look at someplace like boston college though, even though its in a smaller area, its close to boston -- also, someplace like columbia would be a great choice in terms of what you're looking for</p>

<p>As someone has said, realize that the HYPS level are reaches for everyone, and if your high school curriculum is perceived as weak by the colleges, your test scores will assume more importance. Depending on where you apply, however, you may not have to take the SAT II's--check the websites at schools of interest because my children applied to some fairly highly regarded schools (not HYPS level, though) and with ACT's did not have to submit SAT II's.</p>

<p>Now the good news: geography will work in your favor if you are looking outside the midwest. We live in a midwestern state in which not a lot of kids apply OOS, and both my children did better in college acceptances from other regions than their raw statistics would have suggested. S with better test scores but lower grades shot higher than D and got in several highly regarded schools but only was offered significant merit aid at Tulane; D shot lower but received merit aid offers from most OOS schools to which she applied, both public and private. If you checked the box that allowed schools to send you mail when you took the ACT or PSAT, the schools that send you lots of material are often trying to increase their geographic diversity and might be good bets to examine further (although don't confuse marketing with meaning you'd necessarily be admitted--S received some CalTech mailings when in high school but was far from being a legitimate prospect for them.)</p>

<p>You might want to consider public U's honor programs, too, depending on your interests. For example, I don't know if University of Pittsburgh is too midwestern for your taste, but they are very generous with merit aid. UMd College Park also has a number of scholarships and Honors programs for which you'd qualify with an ACT of 31--my D was offered both with even a lower composite score than that.</p>

<p>Good luck. After they both searched far and wide, S did choose a university in a sunbelt city (not Tulane) but D decided that the cost/college credit equation favored our state flagship and will be going there. She enjoyed the search, though.</p>