Help with the College Search

College Search & Selection
1

<p>about me:
Junior in an average public high school
SATs: 690 math, 560 verbal, 520 writing,
All honors throughout hs
2 ap classes (chem and gov) this year
senior year: ap calc, physics and lit
GPA: 4.03 (weighted)
Rank: Top 10% (my school doesn't do rank)</p>

<p>EC (including plans for senior year)
color guard 10-11
volunteering at church and library since 6th grade about 100 hours per year
math league 9-12
french club 9-12
french honor society 10-12
stage crew 11-12
NHS 11-12
Peer Leadership 12 (maybe I'm apply now, really hopin to get in)</p>

<p>Also I'm a People to People Student Ambassador (educational trip abroad for 3 weeks in the summer) I've gone for two summers (one to the UK and anotehr to Austrlia) and this summer I'm going to Spain, France and Italy. I was also a the student leader of the group. I'm planning to write my essay on an experience from one of the trip</p>

<p>What I"m looking for in a college:
Small school 1000-6000 students
Not a party school..I would prefer not a lot of drinking/partying/drugs but I know you'll find that on any campus ....
I would prefer not a big frat/sorority scene
East Coast (between DC and Boston, but doesn't have to be)
a nice campus </p>

<p>I'm also looking to major in math and physics or math and chem. So the school I go to doesn't need a top notch science department, but I don't want it to be crap either.</p>

<p>I'm going to need a school that offers me merit aid as I'll probably be paying for all of my schooling.</p>

<p>So far I've looked at:
Drew: kind of cold
Muhlenberg: too big on theater
Juniata: too isoslated and not really known</p>

<p>Other schools I'm considering:
Wake Forest: though big frat/sor school :(
Tufts: does not offer merit aid
Gettysburg: heard it was a party school
Dickinson: little merit aid
Bowdoin: really big reach</p>

<p>It seems like a complaint list, but maybe someone could clarify some of these sterotypes, or name similar schools w/o those issues. I know no school is prefect. Any other suggestions? </p>

<p>Any advice is much appreciated</p>

2

<p>Tufts and Wake Forest are going to be pretty big reaches for you too...you need to bump up those SAT scores if you are going to be looking for merit aid from schools.</p>

3

<p>Study for a second round of SATs. </p>

<p>Consider moving west a bit . . .College of Wooster.</p>

4

<p>how much would my verbal have to go up? I'm taking the SATs again in June...I hope to bring my verbal up to 600...is that enough? especially when I want to be a math/science major?</p>

5

<p>Useful listing from another thread. . .
<a href="http://www.uni.uiuc.edu/student_services/aid/scholarships/institutional05.htm%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://www.uni.uiuc.edu/student_services/aid/scholarships/institutional05.htm&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p>

6

<p>I was talking to my GC today who isn't much help, but did suggest University of Richmond, which sounds like a reasonable reach though I think frat/sor scene is pretty big is this true? are there other schools similar to it w/o the party scene</p>

7

<p>I second the look to Ohio suggestion. Less competitive for the quality.</p>

8

<p>Ohio/Midwest is too far from home for me...any closer suggestions?</p>

9

<p>Ohio is no farther than Wake or Maine--. It's about 7 hours by car from NJ to Kenyon for example--less than NJ to Wake Forest and about the same as NJ to Bowdoin.</p>

10

<p>sorry I forgot to explain why, I recently have felt I that I want to stay closer to home 4/5 hrs....Ohio is probably like 11hrs depending on the location...NC abou 9hrs....and it doesn't really matter as both Wake and Bowdoin, more so Bowdoin, are rather huge reachs for me.</p>

11

<p>Socks - </p>

<p>If your college application criteria are non-negotiable you will need raise your SAT scores or look into a public college or university in your state. </p>

<p>That said, check out these schools and see if one of them might work. . .St. Lawrence University, Susqehanna University or Ursinus College. These schools do not require SAT Is or an ACT.</p>

12

<p>What about Goucher or Denison?</p>

13

<p>Have you considered St Mary's of Maryland?</p>

14

<p>I doubt you will get significant merit aide from U. Richmond with those SATs. For good merit awards, with your stats, in PA I would suggest Susquehanna, Ursinus, Elizabethtown, Alvernia, Messiah, St. Josephs.</p>

15

<p>Some other suggestions: Muhlenberg, SUNY Binghamton, St. Mary's College of Maryland (public), Wheaton (Mass), College of New Jersey,
Towson State (MD), Clarkson (NY), Rochester Institute of Technology, U of Rochester. If you would consider slightly bigger schools, Syracuse. Goucher would be an excellent choice, and, if you are male, you would have a good shot at some merit money there because they are trying to equal out their male-female ratio. </p>

<p>Right now, it seems you are only willing to look at schools that are reachy. That's unfortunate, especially if you plan to rely on merit money. I recommend you use a bottom-up approach and start with some solid good bets and matches before you start looking at schools like Tufts and Wake. It is also too bad that you will not consider schools in Ohio, as there are some excellent admissions values there such as Case Western, Kenyon, College of Wooster, Denison, and Wittenberg, which would all meet your criteria very closely. Earlham, which is just over the border in Indiana, has an excellent chem program. Additionally, many schools in the midwest are significantly less expensive to begin with.</p>

<p>I would also suggest that you take the ACT in the early fall (although you might still be able to register for the June test). Some people do much better on the ACT, and most schools will consider it for merit money if scores are higher than the SATs. One little known fact: even schools where submitting the SAT is optional often still require it for merit awards. </p>

<p>Good luck.</p>