<p>I have a:
4.00 UW
4.40 W
SAT/ACT pending but expecting 2100+ and 32+ (based on practice tests).
And fairly decent clubs.</p>
<p>So I feel like that gives me a decent chance at a fairly good chunk of schools.</p>
<p>I always assumed I'd go to my UW-Madison (I'm from WI) and haven't ruled it out but I don't know where I fit.</p>
<p>My parents said they'd let me tour anywhere but I don't know where to tour.</p>
<p>I'm an undecided on what I want to study but I'm thinking about Economics, I also really like Political Science but my parents want me to have a more "practical" major.</p>
<p>How do you start looking? Its hard to find undergraduate rankings.</p>
<p>The supermatch tool on the site might be a good place to start. As for college rankings services, you can find a bunch at the “college rankings” section of the site. If you want some comprehensive information about a specific school, services such as cappex, the princeton review, college data, etc could also be of use.</p>
<p>You should post over on the college search forum – you will probably get better answers over there. Basic advice, though: get a copy of the Fiske Guide to Colleges and start looking through it. Think about size, geography, strength of majors. Your test scores should help you narrow down to some reaches, matches, and a safety or two. Have your parents run the Net Price Calculator at the website of some of the schools you are interested in (this is very important – a lot parents THINK they can afford any college until they see the real numbers).</p>
<p>If you really don’t know what type of school you want, visit a few near you. Maybe a couple of LACs like Carleton or St. Olaf over in MN? Go on the tour/to an info session at Madison. Macalester in St. Paul is more urban, but still an LAC, and easy to visit (and they offer some decent merit aid if you need it). Once you have a sense of what type of school you want, maybe take a swing to the east or west coast to see a few school. If you are female, you might consider schools like Scripps or Mount Holyoke (both are good if you are serious about academics, and offer some good merit aid as well). Both are also in consortiums of larger schools, which expand the social and academic options. If you like LACs, Dickinson in Pennsylvania offers merit aid and also is good in Econ and Political Science.</p>
<p>If you are looking for a bigger school, maybe someplace like Vanderbilt.</p>
<p>One of the biggest factors many students overlook is budget. With some school now $60,000+, it’s good to know what type of aid you’ll receive (net price calculators are available) and what you parents are willing to pay/cosign. </p>
<p>To be perfectly honest, this should be the top priority. Then narrow it down by determining region/location/rank. But it works just like rank, you have financial reaches which you may be able to attend if you receive merit scholarships. Always remember to have those on your list.</p>
<p>We have a forum here on CC dedicated to the college search. Check it out and post your stats there as well as what your thinking about, people will be able to suggest schools then.</p>
<p>Wow, I am interested in majoring in the exact same things! Weird, right?</p>
<p>Lots of student consider school ranking, prestige, location, size, atmosphere, available majors, costs, etc. Really depends on you.</p>
<p>With your GPA and stats, you should really consider colleges like the Ivy’s and schools of equivalent status. Make UW-Madison your safety- you will definitely get in, and if you would really like to go there you can, but it doesn’t hurt to aim higher.</p>
<p>You should also pick up a book called Students’ Guide to College on Amazon. That book has reviews/information about all the top 100 schools by students that attend them, and it is really helpful and gives you a good insight about a college.</p>
<p>Michele Hernandez, who runs a very successful college consulting company, said this book is really good at showing someone if they would fit in will at a certain college.</p>
<p>Also, visit if possible. It’s great to use all the online tools available to you to determine the practicality of a school and whether or not it would be good based on your scores, etc., but I think visiting is also a great way to see if you like the atmosphere and community of a school!</p>