<p>Hi everyone,</p>
<p>Thanks for all your input last time, it really helped. I'm still pretty cluelss in my college search but time is running out since I'm planning a trip to the US in July and I need to finalise accomodation and all that. I'm not looking for a final list now, just a list of "possibles". I can only visit the the Northeast and Cali this time (:( )so I'm presently looking at colleges only in those areas but later I will look at all parts of the country.</p>
<p>I actually made another thread with stats some time ago and I don;t want to bore anyone with a repeat so I'm just linking it.</p>
<p><a href="http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/college-search-selection/874261-please-help-me-start-my-college-search.html%5B/url%5D">http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/college-search-selection/874261-please-help-me-start-my-college-search.html</a></p>
<p>I was thinking of the following colleges to look at for a start. Any opinions on whether my reaches are too reachy or whether my "matches" are too reachy? Or any more suggestions of colleges, esp matches/safetys in the NE or Cali? Umm finally I know this is whole load of questions but I was wondering if anyone had suggestions for some good publics I could look into? I would prefer a smaller college but my stats are better than my ECs so I was hoping I get into some good flagships. </p>
<p>Anyway:</p>
<p>Swarthmore
Bowdoin
Pomona
Wellesley + Tufts + Harvard (haha not thinking of applying but I guess you can't go to Boston without visiting HARVARD :P)
Brandeis
Vassar
Smith + Amherst + UMass (all in the same area so I am hoping they'll help me get the flavour of a good LAC, and a women's college and a huge Uni)
Brown
Columbia + Barnard + Sarah Lawrence </p>
<p>Oh and money is not a problem.</p>
<p>Add UPenn and Bryn Mawr to the Swarthmore trip. Maybe Villanova as well since it’s in the same neighborhood as Bryn Mawr and Swarthmore. Ursinus might be worth visiting as a nice safety that’s about 30 minutes from Bryn Mawr.</p>
<p>Thanks! Are these safe cities to visit? How many days do you think we’ll need for one uni?</p>
<p>Are any of the other Claremont colleges of interest? If you’re visiting Pomona, you could add on at least one of the other colleges. Pitzer and Scripps wouldn’t be as reachy as Pomona. Since money is no object you could look at some UCs but I don’t feel they’re worth it for your pocketbook. Berkeley will be too urban, but maybe take a look at UCLA (reach) and UC Irvine (high match).</p>
<p>Given your concerns about urban living, I don’t think Penn will be your cup of tea, but do look at Bryn Mawr (match).</p>
<p>
That also would apply to Columbia, Barnard, and perhaps a couple of other schools on the OP’s list, if s/he truly has concerns about “urban living.” I don’t think that s/he necessarily said that in this thread, however.</p>
<p>Penn is in a really crappy part of Philly. It didn’t bother me in the daytime, but I wouldn’t want to walk around there much after nightfall. Bryn Mawr, Swarthmore, Villanova, and Ursinus are all in beautiful and safe suburbs of Philadelphia. </p>
<p>Unfortunately I don’t know any of the other colleges’ locales so I can’t comment.</p>
<p>^ The area immediately around the Penn campus, called University City, is NOT “crappy.” And 20,000 undergraduate and graduate students from all over the world–plus several thousand faculty members–seem to function quite well there.</p>
<p>Not to mention that Penn is only 10-15 blocks away from the thousands (yes, THOUSANDS) of million-dollar condos, hundreds of restaurants, and numerous theaters, museums, and concert halls–and quite vigorous night life–of Center City Philly.</p>
<p>It looks like a good list to me, Puttarani. I would suggest also looking at Claremont McKenna if you’re going to be in Claremont, and Bates and Colby if you’re going to be in Maine.</p>
<p>@45 Percenter - </p>
<p>Our standards may just be totally different. To be more specific about my experience: I lived around Philly for about 4 years, went to the campus multiple times, had friends who lived in University City, and looked for an apartment in University City when we first moved to the area. </p>
<p>On campus is fine - great, even. And yeah, South Street and Center City and all the great things that entails are about 3 miles away. But the area right around campus IMHO sucks. Penn is most definitely on the wrong side of the Schuykill. Bars and padlocks on windows and four deadbolts on a door type of thing. Insanely expensive to live there, but shady nonetheless. </p>
<p>That’s just what I took away from it, and I acknowledge others may love it there. I take it you had a different experience when you lived in the area?</p>
<p>^ The furthest reaches of Center City are 3 miles away from the Penn campus. Much of Center City is 1-2 miles away. And if you walk or take mass transit (as the crow flies), it’s even closer.</p>
<p>And yes, my experience with University City is different than yours. It’s probably also more recent. I still live in Philly, and visit University City quite often. And the improvement in the area over the last 10 years–thanks in large part to Penn’s massive investment–is stunning. Indeed, as reported in such publications as The Washington Post, The Wall Street Journal, and The Boston Globe, it has become THE national model for investment by an urban university in its surrounding neighborhood:</p>
<p>[Urban</a> Colleges Learn to Be Good Neighbors - washingtonpost.com](<a href=“http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/01/08/AR2006010801164.html?sub=AR]Urban”>http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/01/08/AR2006010801164.html?sub=AR)</p>
<p>[Colleges</a> Teach ‘Urban Development 101’ - WSJ.com](<a href=“Colleges Teach 'Urban Development 101' - WSJ”>Colleges Teach 'Urban Development 101' - WSJ)</p>
<p>[Penn’s</a> $500m project could be Harvard’s model - The Boston Globe](<a href=“http://www.boston.com/news/local/massachusetts/articles/2009/05/03/ivys_growth_transforms_a_city/?page=1]Penn’s”>http://www.boston.com/news/local/massachusetts/articles/2009/05/03/ivys_growth_transforms_a_city/?page=1)</p>
<p>And with the eastern expansion of Penn’s campus that is currently underway, it will be even more connected to Center City:</p>
<p>[Penn</a> Connects : <em></em>Home](<a href=“Penn Connects : A Vision for the Future.”>Penn Connects : A Vision for the Future.)</p>
<p>As a leafy 300-acre campus just blocks from one of the country’s great cultural urban cores, Penn’s location is really without parallel–at least for those who know how to appreciate it. :rolleyes:</p>
<p>Thanks for the suggestions guys. I only have concerns about "shady"urban areas, which I have heard around places like USC and UChicago. I might be very wrong however. Otherwise I’m very much a city girl (that’s why I’m looking at Barnard). So basically I don;t want schools in the "bad"areas of town (I’m afraid that coming from one of the safest cities in the world I may not be able to handle it) and also schools in rural areas which might have a drinking culture.</p>
<p>^ You’d be surprised at what you can “handle.” MANY of the kids who go to the great urban universities of this country (including Chicago, USC, Penn, Columbia, etc.) are from suburban and rural areas–FAR removed from a city the size of Hong Kong!–and they THRIVE in their new urban environments. :)</p>
<p>To add to your complications, some of these colleges do interviews and will give you a slight bit of credit for interviewing, so look into scheduling those at places you care most about. Generally the smaller schools----Bowdoin and Wellesley for sure, maybe Swarthmore, Brandeis. Coordinating the interview with the information session and tour at each school can be a challenge. But some research beforehand may help you to decide which places to allocate less time to. Good luck!</p>
<p>^I know 
I’m supposed to finalise everything today!!</p>
<p>Any more suggestions in those parts of the country? To make it clear, I don;t mind urban but definitely don;t want rural.</p>
<p>Does anyone know how many days it takes to see one uni? ONe day? A couple of hours? For example, is it possible to do Smith and Amherst in the same day?</p>
<p>I’d plan on two a day if they’re close by, three is possible but might make for a long day. Figure an hour for a tour, an hour talking with an admissions officer or a group session, and another hour just wandering around or sitting in the coffee shop or talking to a professor.</p>