I Need Some Serious Help on this Final College List ! ! ! !

<p>Which schools do you think I can eliminate or even add to my college list?
I have good EC's (various leadership activities, 2 varsity sports, captain)
My essays should be great...
I've Taken the Hardest Courseload
I have a 3.75 GPA and am ranked 10 out of 240.
My SATS (retake in October) are 650 650 550
SATII's I have 700 700 and those are in USH and Lit (more in Nov.)</p>

<p>That's just a quick summary. Now i just need to narrow down my list to around 10 or so. I like small schools, I'm going in for economics or finance so a strong program in those subjects is a must. Good recruiting is a definite plus. I dont mind the rich prep stereotype (hate the snooty type though) and of all the schools I've visited, the atmosphere at Lehigh was my favorite. I hated Boston College.</p>

<p>Here's my progress so far.</p>

<p>Long Shots:
Wesleyan, Bowdoin</p>

<p>Reach:
Bates, Colby, Hamilton, Colgate, Bucknell</p>

<p>Semi-Reach/Match:
URich, Villanova, Lehigh, Bentley, Holy Cross </p>

<p>Low Match/Likely:
UConn (instate), Fordham, Providence</p>

<p>If anyone could help me narrow down my list or offer substitutions, suggestions- it would be very much appreciated.</p>

<p>If you really disliked BC, I'm not sure there's much sunlight between it and HC. You might want to eliminate one or two safeties simply because IMHO UConn is hard to beat in terms of best value.</p>

<p>maybe look at trinity and conn college? both excellent for econ and recruiting</p>

<p>That's a lot of colleges! I really don't think you need that many. Your GPA and class rank are good and your test scores and extracurriculars are good, too. </p>

<p>To narrow it down, I'd eliminate one of those safeties (you only need two, really) and maybe a couple of the semi-reaches that you're not too enthusiastic about. I think since you have so many reaches, you're bound to get in at one of them. Try to narrow it down to 10 or 11!</p>

<p>wesleyan, as a very artsy very liberal school, seems sort of an odd choice compared to the rest of the colleges on your list, which are preppier and jockier, if that makes any sense?</p>

<p>Holy Cross has a very good economics program and also offers an accounting degree. Another plus at HC is the strong alumni network. Great school spirit in a small atmosphere.</p>

<p>Do you need merit money, will you qualify for financial aid, or can you pay for all these outright?</p>

<p>I'm just asking because your list seems heavy on very expensive, rather tight-wad schools.</p>

<p>I would focus on the schools that don't look at SATs. Search this site for a list. With your other stats you'll get into a better school that way. Isn't Bowdoin one? If so, it's a match or low reach for you.</p>

<p>Although you have a broad list of possible schools, you may want to add Syracuse University to your list. SU has a good economics program. Given your stats, SU would be a match for you and they tend to offer good financial aid (if you need it). I agree with suze regarding also looking at schools that do not necessarily look at SATs - Middlebury comes to mind.</p>

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<p>Wesleyan's economics dept might outweigh its arts and political scene in terms of importance to the OP. Besides, I don't think its much more liberal than Bates.</p>

<p>You gotta REALLY love the whole urban thing to like Fordham. Wesleyan has an econ department? How many profs does it take to tell the students to take all the money from the evil greedy rich and give it to the downtrodden poor? Isn't Lafayette a sort of mini-Lehigh? Why isn't it on the list? I'd add Lafayette and Bucknell and dump Fordham, Providence, Bentley, Richmond, and Wesleyan.</p>

<p>Safety: UC Berkeley, University of Chicago
Match: UPenn, Columbia, Brown
Slightly Reach: Princeton, Yale
Reach: Harvard, Stanford, MIT</p>

<p>Regarding Wesleyan's econ dept, I would agree with the following quote in today's (Sunday, 9/10/06) Book Review, "...some of America's leading conservatives would never think of sending their own kids to right-leaning schools like Pepperdine or Hillsdale if they can get into Wesleyan or Harvard instead" :
<a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2006/09/10/books/review/Wolfe.html?_r=1&oref=slogin%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://www.nytimes.com/2006/09/10/books/review/Wolfe.html?_r=1&oref=slogin&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p>

<p>Everybody knows Wesleyan is highly respected. I just couldn't resist the opportunity to rattle John Wesley's cage. Sorry if I offended. But it doesn't seem to fit in with the others on the list. For some students Wesleyan must be the perfect school. But the OP doesn't seem like that sort of person...if he loved Lehigh, Wesleyan wouldn't seem to be a good fit.</p>

<p>Alright, thanks to everyone who's offered some input so far. I'll try to respond to some of the things stated. </p>

<p>For Wesleyan- I figured I would hate the school too but for some reason I just like it deep-down, and then with its awesome econ program, and with film studies being something i am still considering moving into - wesleyan can support that interest. </p>

<p>For Financial Aid- I probably will not receive any aid so this plays a big part, especially for my parents. The thing is I have no problem taking out loans to finance my education if it's going to get me in a better employment situation after college. </p>

<p>Lafayette isn't on the list because thier econ/business department doesn't seem to be as strong as the other schools. </p>

<p>Syracuse University has great business and econ programs but it's definitley too big for my liking.</p>

<p>I really liked Fordham because its location makes up for its rankings and prestige. In NYC, i'd have a better chance to work for some reputable financial companies where if I were in prestigous school in a rural area, I may not get the same opportunity. </p>

<p>So most likely I will eliminate - Colgate, either Bates or Colby, Richmond, and Bentley.</p>

<p>Good choices, Classprezcj.
Now, the other thing, which no one has mentioned, is that you listed two varsity teams, both of which you captained. If either of them are helmet sports now is the time to contact the coaches (in DIII, you have to make the first move, the coaches can't contact you.)</p>