Help with initial college list

College Search & Selection
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D21 has a finished her applications so now I’m turning attention to S23 and D23. D23 has her act together and already has a long list and decided where to visit. S23 not so much. Can you please help us build a long list, which we can cull down later through visits, soul searching, etc.?

He’s (so far) got straight As in all honors and 2 APs-- will have mostly AP next two years. Too early to say but his practice tests indicate he’ll end up around 32-33 ACT or 1400-1500 SAT. ECs are average (NHS, Varsity XC and Track, volunteering). He is a normal guy who wants to be around other normal people-- but smart normal people. His words not mine. He thinks he wants a mid-large school with traditional campus life, sports, etc. He doesn’t want to be in a totally rural area. He’s interested in Chemistry, maybe Economics or Finance, Biochem, etc. but doesn’t want to go to a STEM-only school. Duke is his dream school. We live in CA and though cost isn’t a consideration for us, it does seem silly to pay out of state for a public school when he could likely get into several UCs. But maybe, if there’s scholarships. Out of state privates are definitely an option. I can’t really pin him down on location but he’s not particularly interested in the NE or midwest. (But he’s never been to either place, so a visit might change his mind.) Thanks for any input!

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People who like Duke, usually wind up applying to Rice, too. Not counting OOS publics, I can’t think of too many other normal schools. I’m being serious.

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We’re not ruling out all OOS publics-- just want to focus on near peers to the UCs or OOS safeties with merit aid.

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If it wasn’t for cost, I think a lot of the Big Ten schools would be great fits for him. Places like Michigan, Wisconsin, and Ohio State. As of right now, the only one of the three that gives much OOS merit is Ohio State. They all have that dominating force in their areas that a lot of people like that are looking for larger schools.

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WI and MI are options (and maybe VA, WA, GA, TX)-- schools that offer academics on par with UCs but also offer the opportunity to live elsewhere. I’ve visited WA, WI, TX. But not the rest.

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People who like Duke often like Tulane, Vanderbilt, Emory, Wake Forest, Rice, Northwestern, Michigan, Wisconsin. Not sure how they fit the rest of your criteria though.

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