How do you know where to apply if you're undecided?

College Search & Selection
1

<p>I'm a solid, average (by CC standards) student who is very unsure about what schools I should consider. One of my parents did not attend school in the US, and the other parent knew exactly where to go (the college where her mom taught). My parents, therefore, don't really have much of a clue as to the whole application process :/</p>

<p>As a VA resident, I'm looking at UVA and William and Mary. At this point, I prefer UVA. I, however, have absolutely NO idea what I want to do, so I can't really look at other colleges based on their specific programs. I am planning to apply to a few of Ivies (why not try), but I do not plan on being accepted.</p>

<p>What I'm really getting at is that I have no clue where else to apply (out of state)!!! I also have no clue as to how to rule out certain colleges. I don't care about the setting, student body, or anything along those lines...I just want a place that has a great academic atmosphere, a place where I can have tons of fun learning about various topics (gosh, I sound like a dork). My only requirement is that the college is on the east coast. So, how do you guys pick or rule out colleges?</p>

<p>Oh, here are some quick stats (if you want to suggest any colleges) [ul]
[<em>]GPA: 4.0 UW (no W)
[</em>]SAT: 2230 (800 CR, 690 M), will retake to bring up math
[<em>]SAT Subject Tests: USH 750, just took two others.
[</em>]Rank: N/A (probably top of class)
[<em>]Course Load: Heaviest possible (3 APs this year, 3 next year)
[</em>]EC: XC-4 years (Captain, several regional awards), Track-3 years (several regional awards), Key Club-4 years (President), NHS-3 years
[<em>]Volunteer/Community Service: Local Organization (4 years, once a week), VBS (3 years)
[</em>]Hooks: None :(
[li]Awards: No major awards, just school or regional.</p>[/li]
<p>[/ul]I'm very passionate about learning, along with what I do in my spare time. I plan to make this very clear in my essays :) I also know that this will be evident in my recommendations (I go to a small school, and the teachers know me very well). Oh, and thanks for reading ;)</p>

2

<p>The best advice I have for anyone that is undecided is to apply to a true university with LOTS of majors. That way, you can explore everything and not have to have that panic moment where you realize you love engineering (for instance) but your LAC doesn’t offer it. </p>

<p>You say you don’t care about location/student body, but every school has a different personality of sorts. Take a look at yourself - what environment do you thrive in? What do you like to do besides schoolwork? </p>

<p>With a 4.0 and a 2230, you have very few limitations. Ivies are (probably) in reach - Ivy admissions are very unpredictable, as you know. I think your best bet is to look into each one and decide what you’re comfortable with, and then look for schools that are similar to that. Good luck!!</p>

3

<p>You don’t have no idea what to do. You probably have little idea of what you want to do. SOMETHING must interest you. In addition to liking certain subjects in school, maybe you like arguing, maybe you like reading, maybe you like talking to people, maybe you like creating things, etc…
Enlighten us.</p>

<p>

If you don’t know specifically what to do, then look at colleges that are strong over several fields, which applies to most top colleges. For example, a school like Penn has strong programs across the board (not necessarily “top” programs, but no matter what major you get, you know that you’ll be getting at least a good education).</p>

<p>

Eh… I doubt this. Once you’re in college, you’ll realize just how much the quality of life matters to you. Heck, you’ll be living in the college you choose for 9 months out of every year for four years. That’s a long, long, long time. If you hate the food, the dorms, the people, etc… you’ll be very, very unhappy.
Conversely, even if the academic program at a college is “OK”, but you really “click” with the people and the campus, you’ll LOVE your time there, even if you didn’t get as good of an academic education as you could have had elsewhere.</p>

<p>So you really need to evaluate just what you like in college.
These are just a few of MANY factors:
Do you want a large vs. small campus?
Lots of other people vs. smaller population?
Rural/suburban location vs. urban location (this influences what you can do offcampus!)?
Close/far to home?
Personally, for example, I could care less about the size of a college’s population, but I would prefer an urban campus that is far from home.
Etc…</p>

4

<p>@oceanicole Thanks for the great advice :slight_smile:
@terenc Haha, I will enlighten you :smiley: When I say “no idea,” I mean career-wise. I can easily say what I don’t want to do (law, education, politics, or climbing the corporate ladder). Subject-wise, however, I love pure sciences and learning about how the world/life works. For example, I love reading about genetics and astrophysics (Neil deGrasse Tyson is awesome). I spend my free time reading anything I can find just to broaden my knowledge. But when I research majors or careers, I really get freaked out b/c it seems like you have to be a genius to do a lot of science-related things.</p>

<p>I like that you mentioned UPenn, because I visited it…and it was AMAZING. The setting was perfect, and the campus was great.</p>

<p>Yeah, I see what you’re saying about the setting. I visited Columbia and Cornell. I knew I did not want to be in NYC b/c it was too big, while Ithaca was too small. I’m kinda like you in the sense that I don’t care about how big the college is…I just want to be able to do things in the town/city. Thanks for the rundown on what I should be asking myself! It’s really helpful.</p>

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<p>Hm… you definitely want a university with strong research in the sciences, with many opportunities for undergrads.</p>

6

<p>I’ll be sure to look at that. Thanks!</p>

7

<p>GPA: 4.0 UW (no W)
SAT: 2230 (800 CR, 690 M), will retake to bring up math</p>

<p>Uh…you’re not “average” even by CC standards.</p>

<p>First, find out from your parents how much they’ll pay each year. If they’ll pay $55k+ per year, then you’ll have lots of choices. If your parents can only pay a certain amount, then you’ll have to focus on schools that will work.</p>

<p>Then, when you know your financial situations, you can proceed. Since you don’t know what your major will be, then a large school that offers a huge variety of majors may be best.</p>

<p>What do you like outside of academics?</p>

<p>Do you like rural? city? quiet? rah rah spirited campus? Greek life?</p>

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<p>@mom2collegekids Oh, really? I didn’t realize that…it seems like everyone on CC has stellar ECs and grades/SATs! My ECs pale in comparison.</p>

<p>My parents have already told me that if I get into a really good college (read: Ivy League or better than UVA), they’re willing to pay full tuition. I won’t qualify for financial aid at all, but I plan to apply for several scholarships. At this point, UVA is looking like a great buy (academics + in-state tuition).</p>

<p>Outside of academics, I’d just want a place where I can run (intramural), be involved in a cultural organization, volunteer, and possibly dance. But, most colleges have these things.</p>

<p>I’m leaning towards city. I loved UPenn (Philly), but Columbia (NYC) overwhelmed me. UVA, a small college town, was also quite nice. Cornell (Ithaca), which had a great campus, was waaaay too rural for me. School spirit isn’t too important, and neither is greek life.</p>

<p>Thanks for your reply. I’m really starting to see what questions I should be asking myself. I’ve had a lot of trouble going through this process since my parents don’t know too much about it, but CC is really helping :)</p>

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<p>Assuming decent ECs, you have a decent shot at Penn/Cornell. Columbia might be a higher reach.</p>

10

<p>Thanks for your input terenc! I’m not planning to apply to Columbia or Cornell (decided this after I visited them). Definitely applying to UPenn and one or two absolute reaches (H and/or P) as my reaches.</p>