I am reaching too high and need more matches, help me out dudes!

College Search & Selection
1

<p>hi college confidential, i'm getting ready to start filling out apps and i know which high-profile schools i want to apply to, but i need some more realistic choices in the middle. i'm looking to possibly major in English or something in the humanities, keep in mind I am not a math/science person at all. Here is my way-too-thin list so far:</p>

<p>Brown (First choice, will probably apply Early Decision)
Dartmouth
Yale
Wesleyan
Georgetown
Rice (just visited and i'm a little skeptical now)
and University of Georgia because i live here and the tuition is free (safety)</p>

<p>here is a quick rundown of my stats:</p>

<p>97.4 GPA (my school doesn't use the 4.0 system, i believe that this would be somewhere around a 4.0 unweighted)</p>

<p>2300 SAT (770 CR, 740 M, 790 W)
10 AP classes by graduation, have gotten all 5's so far (just got scores today!)
Student Council president
School Newspaper 3 years
Varisty Lacrosse 3 years
JV Football 2 years
Boys State Delegate
Lots of volunteer work in community
President of Young Democrats Club</p>

<p>So i think i have good stats but not anything that would give me a better-than-average chance at an ivy league school</p>

<p>I am looking for small to mid-size schools with a nice college environment but not horribly isolated, with a non-competitive academic atmosphere, preferrably not in the southeast (i wanna get outta here!). i've been looking into a lot of smaller liberal arts schools but i need to broaden my horizons</p>

<p>thanks so much for helping!</p>

2

<p>Do you care about the loction of the school (other than out of the SE)? You might look into Kenyon, or some of the schools out west.
Just curious, where in GA are you?</p>

3

<p>i don't care too much geographically, but i don't want anything too rural. mainly something with an interesting and vibrant community around it, and access to a large city within reasonable distance would be nice</p>

<p>what schools out west are you talking about? i'm open to any suggestions</p>

<p>i am in a suburb about 20 min north of atlanta which i would rather not reveal on the internet :P</p>

4

<p>Tufts fits your description.</p>

5

<p>You're a reach candidate for places like Williams, Amherst, Swat, etc.. If you applied to all of those, I think you'd get into one of them. As for safeties, you might try lower LACs like Vassar, Centre (S.E. tho), etc..</p>

6

<p>Vassar is neither a lower LAC nor a saftey! For the OP, who has a fabulous GPA and SAT, it might match-ish, though. </p>

<p>Ok, so here are some suggestions based on your list/criteria. There's a range of selectivity here (from low reach/high match to real safeties). I doubt all of these will appeal to you, and some might still seem too reachy (though with your stats you do have a shot anywhere), but hopefully you'll get some ideas (once you find a few that look interesting, you kind find information on where other people who liked those schools applied too, etc):</p>

<p>LACS: Carleton, Pomona, Vassar, Claremont McKenna, Pitzer, Oberlin (might seem too rural), Macalester, Dickinson, Skidmore, Occidental, Goucher, Lewis+Clark</p>

<p>UNIS: Tufts, Emory, U of Rochester, Washington U in Saint Lewis, American, GW</p>

<p>Brown and Wesleyan were my two faviorte schools, and my other top choices were Vassar, Pomona, Carleton and Oberlin. However, since you also like Yale, Georgetown, Dartmouth, etc. you might find some of the less "hippy/counter cultural" schools I've listed more appealing, I don't know.</p>

7

<p>you might like occidental for a safety, it's right outside of LA and seems to fit what you want</p>

8

<p>actually, i am looking more toward the brown/wesleyan side of the "hippieness" spectrum. i visited georgetown and got the impression that it would be too conservative and preppy for me. </p>

<p>i'd like the consider somewhat larger universities, not just small liberal arts. does anyone have good recommendations of a mid-size university that would match my stats?</p>

9

<p>Tufts really does fit your description in every way.</p>

10

<p>There aren’t many Universities that quite have the Brown/Wesleyan feel (while there are many LACs that do), but a few more suggestions with that in mind: </p>

<p>I agree the Tufts sounds really good for you. </p>

<p>Northwestern: Not quite as "hippish" as Brown/Wesleyan, but the general report I've gotten from people who visited is that it's not as preppy as, say Georgetown, so you might like it.</p>

<p>U Chicago: It takes a very specific type of student to like U Chicago, but you might want to check it out</p>

<p>UC Berkley: Probably bigger than you're aiming for, and definitely a reach, but it might appeal.</p>

<p>Brandeis University, Tulane, Fordham: I don't really know much about thse schools, but they might be worth looking into (that's based mainly on the kinds of people I know who liked these schools, but since that is a small sample in all cases, it might turn out you hate them, I'm not sure).</p>

11

<p>The Claremont Colleges have a bunch of different schools that might appeal to you. They each have a slightly different environment and all are next to each other. You have access to the beach, the snow, and Los Angeles</p>

12

<p>You have a great shot at these schools. I would just hedge the bet by adding a couple more reaches (Amherst and Duke?), another slight reach (Northwestern), and a match (Tufts or Emory).</p>

13

<p>Tufts is a slight reach like Northwestern, not a match. Emory is a high match.</p>

14

<p>Tufts is more of a match than Northwestern.</p>

15

<p>Is it though? Accepted student profiles at either school are nearly identical.</p>

16

<p>For medium sized universities, I'm going to second Tulane. It's pretty liberal, strong academically, and gives out TONS of merit scholarships. </p>

<p>I'll also second the Claremont schools.</p>

17

<p>Oh! And you may also like Skidmore. From what I hear, the surrounding area is pretty eclectic/hippie.</p>

18

<p>my mother attended both northwestern and tulane, and she didn't reccomend either</p>

<p>which of the claremont schools are better than others? what are the differences between them?</p>

19

<p>Pomona and CMC are the most prestigious academically. Pitzer is uber-liberal and good for the natural sciences. Scripps is good too, but it's all girls.</p>

20

<p>I think Tufts is certainly a match.</p>