I can't find a college that's perfect for me.

College Search & Selection
1

<p>I have a pretty uncommon major choice--Public Health. Because of this, I am unable to find a college that really fits me. All the one's I like with my major are way too selective while the rest are very...open. I feel as though there is no middle ground. I am okay with going to college in the U.K, but don't know which would have Public Health. (I plan on going to grad school to study international public health so it would be okay for me to go to a different country.)
I have a 3.6 unweighted GPA, 4.8 weighted.
I haven't taken the SAT yet, but on the PSAT I got a 168.
Haven't taken SAT II's yet either.
Extracurriculars:
NHS, Amnesty International, School Spirit Club, French Club, Interact(charity club), environmental club, future healthcare professionals, dance, volunteer work (70+hours so far), People to People, NSLC on Health & Medicine and an ACIS trip.
Study abroad is a must. Temperate weather would be best. Co-ed. Traditional college. Where most students graduate on time. Help in setting up jobs or internships. I don't want to go to school in a rural area.</p>

<p>Suggestions are greatly appreciated.</p>

2

<p>Since you’re planning on grad school, is there a compelling reason to major in public health as an undergrad? [What</a> is Public Health? - Information for Prospective Students](<a href=“http://www.whatispublichealth.org/careers/student_info.html]What”>http://www.whatispublichealth.org/careers/student_info.html) suggests a variety of useful undergrad majors, none of which are public health per se.</p>

<p>“Major that few schools offer” often translates as “a lot of people who work in that field majored in something else.”</p>

3

<p>Try using the college search tool here on CC with all of your data, including major, GPA, and projected SAT etc.</p>

<p>[College</a> Search - College Confidential](<a href=“http://www.collegeconfidential.com/college_search/]College”>http://www.collegeconfidential.com/college_search/)</p>

<p>Be sure to expand the number of results at the top (20 by default) and be sure to select “must have” for any important criteria, otherwise it may come up with some odd matches.
What’s good about this site is that it compares your GPA and test scores against the reported ones for the schools and tries to guess the “fit”. It represents the fit as percentage and when you click on the “why?” underneath the fit number it shows you how you compare.</p>

4

<p>Do a google search for top undergraduate public health programs or majors and lots of lists come up. It’s a good starting point for your research.</p>

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<p>As Allyphoe said, public health is one of those funny areas where most people come to it via a winding path. I know people with MPH degrees who have studied in areas anywhere from chemical engineering to anthropology. I currently have a friend working towards her MPH who was a music major in college. Many undergraduate programs are part of the biology department or are called “community health” majors - look for those as well.</p>

6

<p>Bouve at Northeastern University has a good public health program, which includes getting a masters degree in a shortened period of time:</p>

<p>[Public</a> Health Advocacy Institute | Northeastern University School of Law](<a href=“http://www.northeastern.edu/law/academics/institutes/phai.html]Public”>http://www.northeastern.edu/law/academics/institutes/phai.html)
[url=&lt;a href=“http://www.northeastern.edu/bouve/]Bouv”&gt;Home - Bouvé College of Health Sciences]Bouv</a></p>

7

<p>Just here to tell you that I love your username x)</p>

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<p>A few suggestions:</p>

<p>Tulane. It’s in a large city, coed, more subtropical than temperate, and has a very large public health school for undergrads and grads. [Tulane</a> University - Global Health Program | International Health Research | Tropical Medicine](<a href=“http://www.sph.tulane.edu/]Tulane”>http://www.sph.tulane.edu/)</p>

<p>Rochester. Decent sized city, coed, gets a little cold in the winter but it’s public health school looks pretty good. [Public</a> Health-related Course Schedules : Multidisciplinary Studies Center : University of Rochester](<a href=“http://www.rochester.edu/College/msc/publichealth/schedules/epidemiology.html]Public”>http://www.rochester.edu/College/msc/publichealth/schedules/epidemiology.html)</p>

<p>You should also check out Boston University and George Washington</p>

9

<p>allyphoe-Thanks I totally know what you mean, but a major in public health would help me land an internship or job during college and grad school.
informative-Thanks, that actually looks really great.
jph093-thanks for the suggestions too :)</p>