How to trim down my list?

College Search & Selection
1

<p>My current list of schools to apply to is way too long—20 (eek). I plan to apply to around 10, definitely no more than 15. I've decided on 5 "top choices" (WashU, U Va., William&Mary, Kenyon, and Colorado College) and 2 in-state "backups" (Ohio State and Wittenberg). The other ones I'm still considering are: </p>

<p>Amherst
Williams
Carleton
Colgate
Illinois Wesleyan
Dartmouth
Brown
Bates
Beloit
Grinnell
Colby
Middlebury
Bowdoin </p>

<p>Obviously I can't visit all of these in time to apply. Here are some factors I care about:</p>

<p>-Strong academics in a variety of areas (and lots of majors to choose from)
-Students are not competitive about grades
-Lots to do on and off campus (students do more than just party and study)
-It doesn’t matter if you’re in greek life
-different housing options (students don't live in dorms all 4 years)
-down-to-earth people (student body isn't overly preppy, hippy, snobby)
-nice campus
-not heavily divided into cliques (students are friends with people of other interests and don't stay with just their own "type")
-place available to keep in shape (I run a lot)
-nearby outdoor activities (skiing, hiking, biking, something)
-weather has 4 seasons
-political climate is not overwhelming (I’m conservative but I like to be around a mix of viewpoints)</p>

<p>If anyone is familiar with any of these schools, could you tell me which ones do or don’t belong on my list? Any help is greatly appreciated!</p>

2

<p>Many of your schools are EXTREMELY similar. Try to narrow it down based on area. For example:</p>

<p>Pick one: Williams OR Amherst.</p>

<p>And continue doing it based on that so you can narrow it down while still meeting your wants and needs.</p>

3

<p>Dartmouth is everything you describe.</p>

<p>I would cut the list down by seriously assessing your chances since this will be a brutally competitive year. There's a huge difference in what's needed between Colorado College and Brown. Take a hard look at the stats for the class of 2012 at each of the schools.</p>

4

<p>Start thinking about things like location and urban/suburban/rural.</p>

<p>Also, could you give us your stats? Maybe we'll be able to say "Oh, you don't need another safe school" or "Okay, knock Brown off right now".</p>

<p>:edit:</p>

<p>1200th post!</p>

5

<p>Here's an idea that you can take or leave. Choose one college for every line:</p>

<p>8 Schools Total:
Amherst//Williams
Carleton//Colgate
Illinois Wesleyan
Dartmouth//Brown
Beloit
Grinnell//Colby
Bates
Middlebury//Bowdoin </p>

<p>7 for sure schools: WashU, U Va., William&Mary, Kenyon, Colorado College, Ohio State and Wittenberg</p>

<p>This is a total of 15. From there on, you can cut out some reach schools.</p>

<p>Hope that helps!</p>

6

<p>forgottenmuch: I've got to ask about your reasons for placing specific schools together; other than Amherst/Williams and maybe Midd/Bowdoin, I think the schools you put together are quite different! If anything, I'd say it should be Colby/Colgate and Carleton/Grinnell, for one.</p>

7

<p>Thank you for all the ideas!</p>

<p>I didn't give stats because I didn't want to start yet another "chance me" thread. But here are some of them:</p>

<p>SAT: 780 (v), 770 (m), 720 (w)
ACT w/ writing: 34
SAT IIs: 780 (math 2), 720 (physics)</p>

<p>AP courses: Junior year- physics (5), government (4)
senior year- english , calculus, and latin</p>

<p>rank: 9/238
gpa (AP courses weighted): 4.08/4</p>

<p>activities:
National Honor Society
National Art Honor Society
theater set construction
Cross-country
Track
Key Club
Science Olympiad
Class Council
Roots and Shoots
Ohio Math League
TEAMS test</p>

8

<p>teenage_cliche, I put the schools together based on selectivity. As for the differences between the schools, I think the OP should have an idea of what kind of school she wants. This will make the college selection process much easier :)</p>

9

<p>I would think you're a shoo in at Bowdoin, Bates, Colby, Grinnell, Beloit, Colgate. Ill. W and Carleton so you could eliminate some of them. And unless the state schools are there for financial reasons, you have plenty of safe schools without them.</p>

10

<p>Bowdoin and Carleton are at best low reaches for anyone. Bates, Colby, and Grinnell would be matches; Beloit and IW safeties.</p>

11

<p>"Bowdoin and Carleton are at best low reaches for anyone. Bates, Colby, and Grinnell would be matches; Beloit and IW safeties."</p>

<p>^Is this based on academics only? As in, how much the students are challenged?</p>

12

<p>Based on selectivity.</p>

13

<p>If you look at the common data sets for the schools I listed, they reject almost no one with a 1550 and high class rank. The ivies certainly do, but not Bowdoin and Carleton, they are very predictable for high stats kids as I've seen at my kids' schools.</p>

14

<p>okay good to know... where can I find this type of info? I've just been looking at the admissions rating in 366 Best Colleges, where all of these schools are ranked pretty similiarly.</p>

<p>I'm trying to keep in mind that I'm not looking solely at academics. I think (or hope, at least) that I'll learn a lot at any of the schools I listed. I'm really concerned about atmosphere and the type of students who attend. These are subtle things that you can really only get from a visit, or talking to people who've visited.</p>

15

<p>Illinois Wesleyan and Beloit are safeties for you, Since it's unlikely that you would attend them over your other safeties, I think you could drop them.</p>

<p>You may want to keep the others on hold while you formulate an EA strategy. Once you have an acceptance, it becomes an easier question of what schools you would attend in lieu of your EA acceptance. </p>

<p>Some of the schools are just plain difficult to get to and from. You might want to price a few plane tickets from your hometown, and look at the travel time involved. Although this seems like a picky basis for a decision, we've seen plane tickets to my now-senior son's school go from the high $200's to over $700 for the busiest times. Travel time and dollars definitely will limit how often you can go home.</p>

16

<p>UVirginia is much larger and focused on grad school than your other choices. Just curious why its on your list?</p>