<p>Being a junior, everyone's telling me I should start thinking about college...so any input? I'm in the top of my class, just took the SAT, did some volunteering, in the typical Honors Societies...so probably the average person. Let's see, I guess I'm aiming to go down the medical field, or leaning towards politics...but nothing seems to really catch my eye and tell me THIS IS WHAT I WANT TO DO. My parents are chewing me out, b/c they want me to "aim high" (ivy). Should I apply to ivys & get rej. just to please my parents? What colleges might suit me?</p>
<p>First of all, what are you stats? Secondly, "I'm in the top of my class" isn't the average person =P haha. If you have the money for the application fees, then sure, apply for the ivys. Who knows, if your stats are good enough, then you might get in. Another question is, what state do you live in?</p>
<p>I guess...obviously not to my family though.... But unfortunately, we are the mid class type of family-- not rich enough to have money pouring out of our faucets, but yet not living in a cardboard box, so that colleges will pay for the full tuition. I haven't gotten my scores for the SAT's yet(took it on saturday) but I'm guessing Writing: 600-- b/c I didn't get to finish my conclusion, but grammer was pretty easy, Reading: 600-- thought long pass. were slightly tricky Math: 700-- prob. missed a few, though in truth I really have NO IDEA...let's see, took SAT II Bio: 750, that's it. Oh and gpa: mid A's i guess. TX</p>
<p>I agree with your parents that you should aim high. Maybe apply to a couple Ivys (Cornell and U Penn??) as reach schools. Deceide whether you would prefer a university or a smaller liberal arts college, Decide how far from home you are willing to go. You will be in a better position to select colleges when you get your SAT scores. Do you have a good public university in your state? There are many many possibilities. For premed you can major in anything. Do you want to major in bio or chem?</p>
<p>IMO... my biggest mistake was not talking money from the VERY start. If you say you don't have a ton of money yet make more than enough to get aid, merit scholarships may become VERY important... like they have for me. There are certain schools which are generous and many schools which are not(regardless of your stats). </p>
<p>Having an ivy league education isn't the only choice... there have been many students who picked a lesser known college/university over a more prestigious one for one of many reasons... do a search on here and I'm sure you'll get tons of ideas.</p>
<p>Start thinking about size, location, atmosphere, city/rural, etc... then pick yourself up a copy of US News, get a chair, and sit yourself down with CC and start your search. This place is, IMO, one of the best resources for college admission. It can be very biased but also very helpful. </p>
<p>Good luck!</p>
<p>anovice is right. The way to pick colleges is top-down, meaning you start by identifying your preferences (location, competiveness, size, study abroad programs, sports, performing arts, and the dozens of other things that matter to you). Then pick colleges that meet those preferences, putting together a basket of safeties, matches, and reaches.</p>
<p>Bottom up, which most people do, is pick schools with attractive names (a Harvard, Williams, etc), add in a few schools for flavor, and then throw in a safety. You end up with a incoherent collection of colleges; a student that will be ecstatic at a rural small college like Dartmouth is unlikely to be similarly pleased at an urban campus like Columbia, yet you'll see lots of people apply to both.</p>
<p>The right process is iterative, not straight-thru. You need to test your choices, and if you find out that a decision isn't right you loop back again. So for example if you think that a LAC in a rural setting might be what you want, go off and visit one! It might turn out that you decide it isn't right after all, in which case you circle back and come up with new choices.</p>
<p>But the most important point is that picking actual colleges is the last step. First you have to figure out what you want (even if that takes some time). You'll see plenty of people that jump at the big brand names (Princeton, Stanford, etc) with little actual reflection on why they are choosing those schools or if they are actually a good fit.</p>
<p>The good news is this is an ideal time to start thinking about colleges. You have time to make some decisions and also some visits without the pressure of filing deadlines a few weeks away.</p>
<p>BTW there are, as you might guess, dozens of books that describe this process in greater detail. And since you have time I'd recommend reading one or two before you go any farther. Two great books are "Looking Beyond the Ivy League" by Pope (although the book has a bias towards LACs), and "Making It into a Top College: 10 Steps to Gaining Admission to Selective Colleges and Universities" by Greene. Both these books lay out the structured approach outlined above. If I was going to read just one I'd go with Greene, although both are highly worth reading.</p>
<p>The last bit of advice is don't be rushed! You have 6 months or so before ED apps are due, and longer for RD. Take the time to discover what you want and identify the colleges that can provide it. Don't be seduced by the big status names, and I warn you about this because it sounds like your parents are already pushing this. They are great schools for some people, but you should only go if you are one of those people.</p>
<p>Here are a few questions to help you start thinking about what you want in a college, beyond just the "name."</p>
<p>How would you describe yourself? How would your best friend describe you? How would you describe your closest friends? What do you and your friends do for fun? Do you want to find similiar friends in college or are you hoping for something new? What type of college can you find that at?</p>
<p>How much of a risk taker are you? Are you self-motivated or do you need the occaisonal nudge? How do you react when you don't get the grades you expect? Do you like being at the top of your class or is being somewhere in the middle OK? In college, do you think this will be different or the same? What type of college can you find that at?</p>
<p>How comfortable are you around people who are different than you? Is the idea of being around people who are radically different from you exciting or scary? In college, would you prefer to be around people who are very different, the same, or a mixture? What type of college can you find that at?</p>
<p>Which classes in high school have you enjoyed the most and why? Were they lecture classes, discussion classes, classes that forced you to work hard, classes that made you think? In what kind of classes are you motivated to learn best? Would you prefer a college where there are lots of large lecture classes, lots of small discussion classes, classes where there is lots of "hands on" interaction with ideas, or a mix of these? What type of college can you find that at?</p>
<p>What extracurriculars are the most important to you and which do you hope to continue in college? What new things would you like to try in college? Why? What type of college can you find that at?</p>
<p>How open are you to being far away from your family and high school friends? Is a certain type of weather your favorite? Your least favorite?
Would you want to spend the next four years in a climate different or the same from the one you are in now? Would you prefer to live in a city, a suburb near a city, or in the country? At which type of college can you find that at?</p>
<p>Who do you see yourself becomming during your college years? Describe the person you would like to be on your graduation day. How is that person the same and different than the person you are now?
At which type of college is that most likely to happen?</p>
<p>Whew. Sounds like a lot of work --- and it is. But, really the way to start narrowing down possibilities isn't to look at the "names" of the school but rather at the type of school you think would fit you best.
Good luck.</p>
<p>two other suggestions.</p>
<p>first, money. Its heartbreaking to get your heart set one a college only to find out that you're family just can't afford it. I don't know your circumstances, of course, but unless you're family is either wealthy or very poor money may be an issue. It's worth having your parents work thru one of the EFC estimators online now, and then have a discussion of what they can afford.</p>
<p>Second, since your parents are pushing the "aim high -ivy" approach, if you are interested in finding colleges that are right for you instead of just prestigious-sounding you need to get them on board from the start. When you get those books about college admissions, have your parents read thru them too. Involve them in your decision making along the way, bounce your thoughts and ideas off them, so that they understand how you made your selections. This is much preferable to simply coming to them in Sept. and saying "here's where I'm applying".</p>
<p>wow! thanks for everyone's input!-- It's rather relaxing to have people say that going to a non-ivy is ok...my parents make it seem like it's the end of the world...
collegehelp: Since I'm a city-girl, I think I'd die in a rural enviro (hearing the birds singing does NOT make me feel "peaceful"), I think a college in a suburban enviro would be best 4 me. As far away as possible from home (& the south in general) BTW, what's the diff bt/ a "major" and a "career"? Say I want to be a doc, would there be a doc major?? That really confuses me.
anovice: what schools give really good financial aid-- merit based? I'm going to the bookstore today to start doing some serious research (very unlike me)
mikemac: so I went to pr and got a list of what colleges seemed to "fit" me-- but the match was about 50% max, so I'm doubting if there's a college out there that I'll really really like.
In summary-- the things imp. to me ::
1. financial
2. suburban/city enviro
--but safe (low crime rate, etc)
3. academics: probably need to have an array of majors
-- I'm one of those people that is decent at most things, but not amazing at anything:: all my subjects aren't difficult to me, which makes it hard to narrow down to what I really like--- I make the same range of grades for Eng, Math, Science, and History, and Spanish:: mid A's
4. I don't really care about the types of people that go there b/c I get along w/ anyone
-- prefer people not to be studying every single second of every day
-- but don't want a too laid back school either
-- so I guess, a competitive school, but not to the extreme pt. of everyone worrying about their grades 24/7</p>
<p>mikemac: I did go on the EFC and they pay for a bare minimum-- so I'm dead...and I'm not too fond of having a huge debt after I grad. either...I try but my parents have "My child is the bestest out there" syndrome...and I tell them that I'm far from that. And their reply is: OH JUST TRY HARDER DEAR- but it just doesn't work that way! I'm not a computer that can be upgraded in chunks: and suddenly my intelligence leaps... Anyways, I'm going to get that book by Greene today! Yea!</p>
<p>If there are attributes you can eliminate, that will help quite a bit in getting to your initial list of 25-30 colleges (the ones that you will research thoroughly from now until the fall). For instance, you said you wanted to get away from the south - that eliminates a whole heap of schools right there. "Don't want X" is just as useful as "Must have Y."</p>
<p>List your academic interests, and make sure that the 25-30 on the long list have reasonable size and/or notably strong departments in those areas. Want to study abroad? Check out the programs, they vary quite a bit. Are you patient with general studies? Colleges vary quite a bit in what they require for breadth - it may affect your choice. Are you comfortable being right at the top of an applicant pool (some young women are not) or would you rather have your stats be in the top 25-50% of the students? </p>
<p>Also, place a great deal of importance on a college's support of your favorite EC interests. Presumably, you love the activities you engage in, so if you have to go cold turkey (finally saw "Ray," hence the kick the habit analogy) you might be very unhappy. And for a student body, a generally agreed classification of "friendly" is probably preferable to the opposite.</p>
<p>When you have a pretty good list of attractive colleges, check out the financial aid and merit aid possibilities. Look for special programs in the area of your interests. Read the CC boards and see what students have to say, check out studentsreview.com for comments and scores, ask questions on CC about aspects of colleges you can't determine from their web sites.</p>
<p>Making It into a Top College: 10 Steps to Gaining Admission to Selective Colleges and Universities" by Greene</p>
<p>Sweet im getting that $%^&#</p>
<p>Tell us more about the student body you'd prefer --- while you may get along with everyone, would you really be happy at a school where many people are conservative politically? Religious? Where many people are to the left of liberal? Where many people drink excessively? Do drugs? Join fraternities or sororities? </p>
<p>That will help you start narrowing things down --- what would you NOT want to be around?</p>
<p>Do a search on Princeton Review...it'll come up w/safeties, good matches, and reaches. Though I don't agree with their categorizing, it will be a good place to get an initial list of as many as 50 schools. Talk to everyone you can about each of those schools. Do a little research, based on location, availability of majors, extracurriculars, size, male/female ratio, and anything else that matters to you in deciding a school, to gradually eliminate the least appealing of those 50 or so schools. You can stop eliminating whenever you feel comfortable, though I guess that many would suggest you eliminate until you get about 8 schools (2 safeties, 2 reaches, and 4 good matches).</p>
<p>I second the bit about keeping finances in mind. I disregarded my parents claims that they couldn't afford the private schools i applied to, because i was sure it would work out in the end or whatever- but i just got into this school i REALLY want to go to, and i probably cannot go because it's too expensive. just smoethign to keep in mind, it is quite bleh.</p>
<p>Here's the logical path in my mind:</p>
<p>TYPE OF SCHOOL: Liberal Arts (Small) or Research (Large) ?</p>
<p>That will help narrow it down considerably. Then consider</p>
<p>INTENDED MAJOR</p>
<p>then</p>
<p>URBAN OR RURAL SETTING?
TYPE OF STUDENT BODY?
(other smaller factors)</p>
<p>that was my prrocess, at least :) Most top schools are need-blind and meet 100% of demonstrated need, so don't worry about finances for now.</p>
<p>can you elaborate on "they pay for a bare minimum". Does that mean that you have only a small/none amount of need by the EFC formula, or that your parents can contribute little compared to what the EFC says they should?</p>
<p>"what's the diff bt/ a "major" and a "career"? Say I want to be a doc, would there be a doc major?? " Some majors are vocationally oriented (nursing, accounting, engineering, etc). When you get a bachelors in one of these majors you have the training that lets you start on a specific job. </p>
<p>With a liberal arts major (history, poli sci, actually most college majors) you are not trained for a specific job but have general skills to sell employers. A key thing for a liberal-arts major to do to be competitive is to do internships, but the whole "how do I find a job with a liberal-arts degree" has been discussed in other posts you can find by searching, and is a whole thread in itself. </p>
<p>For some jobs, such as a doctor, you need a professional degree. So you go to 4 years undergrad, then 4 more years of med school. You can have any undergrad degree, there are just some classes (bio, chem, etc) that you have to take. After that, BTW, there are 3+ years of residency at a hospital depending on your specialty. For law, 4 years undergrad then 3 years law school. </p>
<p>So the upshot is that for most people, except in the vocational majors, there undergrad degree can bear a passing or even no relation to what job they get after college. And a succession of jobs in some area is termed a "career", such as working in human resources or marketing or something. But since many people change "careers" several times in their working lives I'd go lite on the career business.</p>
<p>BTW "Looking Beyond the Ivy League" by Pope might be the best book to give your parents, since a big focus of the book is explaining why reflexively choosing an Ivy-league college might not be the best choice. He goes more into the differences among colleges in things like attention to students, etc.</p>
<p>I have the same problems as well. How do u guys differentiate the "safe" schools, "reach" school..etc. I only know some top LACs and universities..
(Sigh...)</p>
<p>Go to the chances forum, tell people a little about yourself, and then tell them what kind of school you are looking for. More often than not, its helpful. Also, buy some college guidebooks, I recommend Princeton Review and Fiske. They will give you a good idea on what schools you should target.</p>