Help with Matches/Safeties?

College Search & Selection
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<p>After going on a week-long college trip that involved way too much driving and too much stressing over the fact that my dad was falling asleep at the wheel (after which I took over, heh), I managed to get a pretty good sense of where I stood with what a bunch of different colleges had to offer. I would have made this thread a while ago, but I got back in the middle of April, and this board was FULL of ??? v ??? posts, and I was pretty sure this would get lost in the middle of more pressing issues. =)</p>

<p>Anyway, knowing how much CC as a whole knows about colleges, I was wondering if people would be willing to help me pick out Safeties and Matches, and maybe even a Reach or some that I may have overlooked. I'm pretty confident my chances are as good as any other (2380/36 for scores, TASP for essays, Drama/Debate for ECs, etc.) so I don't really want to get into major detail on my stats/chances. </p>

<p>At the moment, I think I want to major in something having to do with either Biotech Engineering or International Relations, with the ability to minor/earn a certificate/whatever in Drama/Theatre. More specific things will come out as this post gets longer. =)</p>

<p>Harvard - Harvard ended up pretty low on my list. I constantly hear about the pressure involved in trying to keep up at Harvard, and taking a visit actually confirmed my suspicions more than anything. I actually stopped an undergrad on the street and asked what her least favorite thing about Harvard was, and the first thing she said was the people -- they're either heavy partiers or extremely competitive, and it was hard to find people inbetween. Same from a Law student, although that's much more understandable.</p>

<p>I also didn't like the feel of the campus. Harvard Square didn't seem very homey to me. It's pretty hard to describe, but I guess the idea of walking to the dorms and passing real businesses -- drug stores, restaurants, crosswalks where I could easily be run over -- turned me off.</p>

<p>Amherst/Swarthmore - Lowest on the list, although I liked Swarthmore much more than Amherst. The idea of going to a college that has barely more people than my high school turned me off, and imagining how small the freshman class would be was even worse. Swarthmore seemed to have a much better social life than Amherst did, so I had to eventually choose, it would definitely be Swarhmore, but I'd prefer not to have to.</p>

<p>Georgetown - I'm going into college as an agnostic from a Catholic high school, so the idea of a cross in most classrooms is a turn off. It definitely doesn't rule Georgetown out, though. I think what particularly impressed me was the idea of the student-run Corp and the student-run bank. I'm not so sure the separate schools would be my type of thing, although I admit that getting into the School of Foreign Service would be awesome. The International Business major looked really tempting, too. I think the only downside would be a weaker Engineering scene, and I really do want to be able to make the decision later in college, not when I have to decide on which to go to.</p>

<p>Columbia - I loved the campus, and definitely had not expected to. I actually felt Columbia was less urban than Harvard, probably because the actual campus was pretty distinct from the surrounding area. Thinking back, I'm not so sure I'd enjoy the dorm situation, but it could be something to concede. I liked it being so close to (well... in) New York, with all the opportunities that entails. Not as awesome of an IR program, though. =(. And I still have not made up my mind about the Core at all. I think having a common base would be pretty cool when talking to peers, but I also don't like the idea of having my courses totally mapped out for me. </p>

<p>Yale - I loved Yale as a whole, but it's not as known for its IR or its Engineering majors. I thought the residential colleges were great, and I also liked the fact that they require you to take more credits than at Harvard. The campus was a little more spread out than I would have liked, but it was pretty distinct from New Haven. Second choice, tied with Columbia.</p>

<p>Johns Hopkins - I found the social scene here to be much more convincing than anywhere else, and that was actually a pretty big plus. This would definitely be the school if I were focusing on strength in my majors, 'cause I know that both the IR and Engineering programs are amazing. I also liked the dorm situation, as well as the other options for living that were off campus (but right across the street). </p>

<p>Princeton - My favorite was Princeton, though. The campus was just the right size, and I felt that there were enough people to make it feel much bigger than my HS but enough to keep classes small. Princeton's IR and Engineering is well above the norm for even most Ivies (I think), and Fiske's also names it as a top college for Drama. Princeton was the only campus where I saw students actually interacting with each other (I watched two seniors who had never met each other say hi and start talking), and the Eating Clubs are actually a plus for me (Thursday and Saturday nights sound great to me, heh). They're trying to get a residential college system up, which I appreciate. AND (although this is true for a lot of the colleges) a lot of my AP credits could transfer, which might open my schedule up for, at the very least, the theatre certificate.</p>

<p>That having been said, I don't know much about other schools that are similar. I've heard Tufts for IR, but I don't know how good they are in Engineering. I want to visit UChicago and Northwestern, which I had high up on my list till I visited some of these. I live in SoCal, so I want to try to get away from here, but UCs will definitely be applied to. I haven't thought much of Stanford, as I've been up there and not been totally impressed. I've never taken a tour of UCLA, Cal, or Stanford, though.</p>

<p>Any suggestions? Sorry it got so long, but I appreciate those of you who help. =)</p>

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<p>After realizing how much of a monster this is, I'll definitely understand if I don't get as many responses as I hoped, but any help is greatly appreciated, whether you read the whole thing or not. Thanks a lot!</p>

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<p>Sounds like you stand a fighting chance for admission everywhere.</p>

<p>As to the unseen possibilities you mentioned:</p>

<p>Northwestern for engineering and drama. (I believe that N'western and Yale feature the top two non-conservatory, drama progs.) Also, N'western has a more vibrant social scene than any of the above mentioned colleges. Downside: aesthetically, it features a middle-of-the-road campus, (compared with Princeton, Amherst, etc.) Although, arguably, it features the most inspired natural setting... Not a stand-out IR program.</p>

<p>UChicago has a beautiful campus (a la Yale,) and a great IR program. Good access to Chicago. Downside: not the most fun university; not a notable drama program.</p>

<p>Tufts has an excellent IR program. Like Northwestern and Chicago, it's location is a big draw--easy access to Boston. The students there know how to have fun as well. Downside: drama dept. isn't a stand-out. Engineering? (I don't know much about it.)</p>

<p>For match schools, my advice: check out N'western for sure--maybe Tufts, depending on its engineering. Sounds like you've got a handle on high match/reaches. Safeties? Honestly, you'll almost definitely get into Georgetown and a UC or two.</p>

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<p>The IR program at Tufts is top-notch, definitely top in the country. Its engineering program is small, which means you'll get a lot of interaction with faculty, individualized attention, and more money for undergraduate research than at bigger enigneering programs. Grad school placement is also very strong from the Tufts engineering school.</p>

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<p>it sounds like you were really turned off by harvard, amherst, and swat. so why are they even on your list???</p>

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<p>GW, UMich, Duke all have good IR programs.</p>

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<p>The top programs for IR in the country are Tufts, Gtown, and JHU.</p>

<p>Good programs, though less selective, are at GWU and American. You could pick one for a safety. </p>

<p>My advice is that if you want to study IR and engineering, pick schools that have really good programs in both; or a really great program in one and a decent one in the other. </p>

<p>For example, Harvard's engineering is renowned to be pretty awful—plus you hated it when you visited, so cross it off. Columbia has great engineering and fine political science, so keep it. Georgetown doesn't have engineering, so apply only if you're sure you'd be OK with only studying IR. Tufts would be great because it has top IR and also great engineering. Johns Hopkins would also be a place that has IR and engineering.</p>

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<p>Juju - I definitely want to visit Northwestern and UChicago before my senior year, so I'll keep them in mind. My problem with those two used to be that they were too far out of Chicago, but after visiting Princeton and having no problem at all with its distance from NYC, I don't think it should be an issue. UChicago's social scene is a touchy subject, though. =P</p>

<p>huskem - They're not on my list, I just listed all the colleges that I visited over break. Figured that knowing what I didn't like could help just as much as knowing what I did like. =)</p>

<p>mochamaven - I'm not so set on Duke, 'cause it's a little too much of the party scene. It's also too far down south for my tastes, even if NC is pretty close.</p>

<p>lolabelle - Thanks for the advice. =). I'm pretty sure Harvard is definitely off my list for good, but I keep hearing Tufts, so I'll definitely check it out. GWU and American sound good as well, so I'll start digging a little further there.</p>

<p>Thanks, everyone! If anyone has any more advice on more colleges or what they think of Princeton/Yale for IR and Engineering, it'd be much appreciated.</p>

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<p>Yes, if you're looking at engineeering/IR Princeton is DEFINITELY your best choice, because that's where it's even stronger than elsewhere. </p>

<p>Princeton's engineering program is extremely strong, basically second only to MIT. </p>

<p>And of course it has the Woodrow Wilson IR school, its only professional school, which is one of the top 3 IR schools in the world hands down (when Joshka Fischer, the German Foreign Minister, retired from politics, what did he do? take up a job teaching there!). Once you're at Princeton you have to apply again to the WW school, and it's competitive -- good gig if you can get it. You can basically do everything with that -- i banking, law school, whatever.</p>

<p>As far as where the campus is concerned, if what you're looking for is a campus that is relatively large, secluded and not too urban, then yes, Princeton is also perfect. </p>

<p>And of course, Princeton also has the best financial aid system in the world, totally need blind, and the only school that gives NO LOANS, only grants.</p>

<p>Two inconvenients: 1- it's in NJ, so there's basically nothing to do outside campus (no offence to those who live in NJ, but -- you know it's true), it can get pretty hot and humid, and not all dorms have AC, 2- the student body is famously second to none in preppiness and elitism, and second only to Harvard in cutthroat competitiveness.</p>

<p>Obviously, with all those advantages, it's also one of the hardest schools to get into. (duh) But that's not what you were asking about.</p>

<p>But yes, if you don't care about what goes on off campus and think you can handle the social scene, given your interests and everything else it has going for it, Princeton is definitely your best choice.</p>

<p>(Also, I agree with you about Harvard!)</p>

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<p>ledzep:</p>

<p>the WW school at Princeton is great, but I think most people would say Georgetown's SFS, Tufts' Fletcher, JHU's SAIS, and even Harvard's Kennedy all beat it.</p>

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<p>Depends what you're looking at. </p>

<p>For instance Georgetown's SFS has got a fantastic undergrad curriculum, but is not so great when it comes to research impact. SAIS is the other way around. Etc.</p>

<p>But yeah, you could say WW is not top 3.</p>

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<p>Yeah, I would say the top 3 are SAIS, Fletcher, and KSG, with SFS after, and WW somewhere there after as well.</p>

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<p>So, in terms of the IR major alone, if I wanted to keep the possibility of engineering open, the ideal choices would be JHU, Tufts, and then Princeton?</p>

<p>I guess the next step would be to look at the relative merits of the engineering programs at each of these, and see how they turn out.</p>

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<p>I think the best schools on your list for both IR and biomedical engineering are JHU and Princeton.</p>

<p>You should add University of Pennsylvania to your list. It is also strong in both BME and IR.</p>

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<p>Tufts also has a top-notch biomedical engineering program, including an entire school dedicated to it (Sackler School). Yes, that's a grad school, but it factors in heavily for undergraduate biomedical engineering majors, especially as qualified upperclassmen can take classes there; furthermore, Sackler profs teach undergrad classes as well. Also, there's an early-admit program whereby you earn a BS, ME, and PhD in biomedical engineering in eight/nine years—not for the faint of heart.</p>

<p>As a result, I would agree that Tufts, JHU, and Princeton are your ideal choices. My brother is an IR major at Penn and complains about it (says the only program in international studies worth anything at Penn is the Huntsman program), but it could just be him, so definitely take a look at it.</p>

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<p>I would definitely recommend Princeton given your interests. I would also like to respond to ledzep. I do not think Princeton is at all known for its "cutthroat competitiveness" and I think that your characterization of Princeton as second to none in preppiness and elitism is outdated and off-base. My daughter, who currently attends the school, says that the kids are generally incredibly nice, helpful, intelligent, active, fun-loving and friendly. She studies with her friends in groups and she has told me many times that she doesn't know the grades of any of her friends because no one ever mentions them. She is far from a preppy and she thinks that the kids are pretty standard in that respect--some are preppy, some are not, very similar to many other schools. I guess the main thing that she mentions is how incredibly happy everyone is at Princeton. Arthurbulla, she would agree with you about the interaction on campus. When she calls me as she's walking along campus, she is constantly interrupted by kids shouting out hellos, asking her to join them, etc.</p>

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<p>I actually enjoyed reading your post, and you seem like an extremely smart individual.</p>

<p>As far as other schools go, Id recommend
Tufts
Georgetown
Notre Dame ( just because its the best school in the nation...)</p>

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<p>As a Princeton student, I agree with midatlmom, even though I'm not interested in anything remotely similar to what you described.</p>

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<p>We have a couple students up at Princeton right now, so I'll definitely be heading up next year to talk to them and see what they think of the college and the system. Although I'll have to disagree slightly-- the Princeton kids were dressed more "preppily" than the kids at other colleges I saw. Then again, I know that's not really indicative of any kind of social situation.</p>

<p>Notre Dame (even assuming it's got great IR/biotech) seems way too Catholic for my taste, although I've never visited. Is it as or more Catholic than Georgetown?</p>

<p>Also, though I know Yale's not even close to being as good in IR and biotech as the others, I can't see it being bad. Maybe in comparison to the Top 10 of IR/Biotech, but wouldn't that still leave it pretty high up?</p>

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<p>That's also what I heard. Still, Penn is a very good school and IR would be a strong major there.</p>

<p>midatlmom: everyone has different perspectives.</p>