How similar are these schools?

<p>I am pretty set on my college list, but may make some minor changes. I just want to know how similar the schools that are on my list are. Does my list make sense?</p>

<p>University of Pennsylvania - ED
Cornell University
Georgetown University
Villanova University - EA
Lehigh University
Washington University in St. Louis
Boston College
Northwestern University
University of Chicago - EA
Marist College - Safety
The College of New Jersey - Safety
University of Connecticut - Safety (either this or Fordham)
Fordham University - Safety (either this or UConn)</p>

<p>I have visited UPenn, Georgetown, Lehigh, and Villanova and loved them all. I also visited Marist and I liked it, but not as much as the others. I will be visiting UChicago and NU later this month. </p>

<p>So does it make sense? Any comments are welcome, thanks!</p>

<p>I can almost guarantee you that you won't like UChicago. Compared to the other schools on your list, it's super nerdy, super non-party, and super academic. It has a great econ major, but so do many other schools, including the ones you've already listed. You're going to visit, though, so you can see for yourself.</p>

<p>One thing I'll say: 12 is far too many.</p>

<p>12 is not too many. Many of my D friends this year applied to 10+ and were turned down by 50% of them, not all necessarily by reach schools.</p>

<p>All of your schools except one are in urban areas or within easy reach of an urban area. The exception is Cornell. It's out in upstate New York, several hours from a city. It makes up 75% of the town it's in (Ithaca). Physically, its campus is huge, and it's snowy and cold. The terrain is extremely hilly.</p>

<p>If that's OK with you, then go ahead and apply. But because it's so different than the others on your list, you probably should visit first.</p>

<p>Well as for UChicago, I guess I will find out when I visit. Cornell I am not sure that I will be visiting. How far is Ithaca really from any major city?</p>