If you are going or might go to a "safety school," here is some advice!

Applying to College
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<p>Hi all,</p>

<p>I'm a rising college senior, gearing up for the application process to grad school--which is a much more grueling and uncertain process than the undergraduate application process (yes, such a thing exists!). My family's middle class-ish and had an EFC in the "painful but doable" range (about half the cost of most private universities). I was a pretty strong high school student (4.0 UW GPA, 12 APs, top 2%, 32 ACT, strong and consistent EC's [nothing national, though], strong--I'm assuming-- recs, etc), but I choose to apply solely to schools where I would have a strong chance at solid merit aid (it was the year before HYPS implemented their generous FA policies, though I doubt I would have gotten into those schools). I applied to 7 schoos, all out of state, was admitted with merit aid to all, and got good merit offers from 4 schools, with 2 of the 4 being exceptional.</p>

<p>I wondered, especially that summer, if I had made the "right" choice. How would I fit in at this school? Would I be surrounded only by partiers and drunkards? Would I be bored? Isolated? Unhappy? The answers, so far are: no, no, no, and mostly no.</p>

<p>Below is some advice, both things I've done and things I only wish I did:</p>

<p>-Overload. One of the things I love about my school is that we have extremely high credit caps (21 per semester, 25 with permission from your advisor) with no additional tuition charge. I've taken up to 24 credits a semester and have never taken below 19 so far. It's certainly kept me busy, allowed me to switch majors, double major, minor, and complete my school's honors program in what will likely be four years.</p>

<p>-Some classes will be hard. Unless you're a chemistry genius, for example, expect Chem (and other classes, depending on the school) to be hard at any school, even if it's "just a safety." I have a solid GPA (3.78), but it's not a 4.0.</p>

<p>-Take advantage of AP credits! I came in with more than two years worth of AP credits, which fulfilled most of my general education requirements. Without this, I probably couldn't have fit in a double major and a minor.</p>

<p>-Don't stereotype the other students. I've met people, some of whom are far smarter than me, at school--and some of them aren't even in the honors program. Going to your safety school doesn't mean they aren't brilliant, awesome people.</p>

<p>-Get to know grad students. Chances are that you will, if you're involved in research. They can be great resources and even great friends.</p>

<p>-Go Greek. I realize that this is very school-dependent, but honestly, some of the smartest, most ambitious, most hard-working, and most talented people I've ever met have been my sorority sisters. They're also some of my best friends. And I've never felt pressured by my sorority to drink, even though most of my sisters do.</p>

<p>-You don't have to go to parties to meet people, if you don't want to. I meet people through volunteer clubs, classes, my research job, and, of course, the Greek system, just to name a few.</p>

<p>-If you're a top student, let it work for you. You may have slightly more leverage in securing research, teaching, and/or internship positions at your school. Don't slackoff.</p>

<p>-Look for teaching opportunities. Through out my time here, I've both TA'ed for classes and taught my own classes. It's a great way to get on the "other side of desk," so to speak.</p>

<p>-Get involved in research ASAP. If you want to go to grad school, the most importamt you can do is get involved in research! Present posters and get published, if at all possible.</p>

<p>-Look for opportunities outside your school. Last summer, I had a government internship. This summer, I'm the principle investigator on a research project with a professor from another school. Having good experience can sell well, even if you don't come from a top school.</p>

<p>-Connect with professors and administrators--professionally. Make sure they see you as not only a good student but a scholar.</p>

<p>Well, I hope that helps someone! Feel free to ask any questions!</p>

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<p>Thanks for sharing your experiences. Best of luck with grad school.</p>

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<p>Great advice!</p>

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<p>is it ever to early to think about colleges? im not one of those kids who wants to go to a good college to show off and brag about it, i am really passionate about engineering and want to pursue it.</p>

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<p>Appreciate the insight. While there are some thoughts I don’t necessarily agree with, as each student has different circumstances, it’s good to get opinions from someone in the trenches. All in all, a valuable contribution to this board - thanks for sharing!</p>

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<p>What don’t you disagree with? Just curious and open to other people’s experiences and points of view.</p>

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<p>I’ll use DS as an example to show how general rules only fit generally. He is a NMF, 2350 SAT, 3.98 GPA (gotten his first ‘B’ out of the way, so that’s one crisis we won’t have to face :wink: ), and going to what others would consider a safety school for him.</p>

<p>1) Overload may or may not work for a student, and I’d warn against it for the first semester. The transition to college can be difficult for some, and DS is likely one of those. He may be extremely bright, but he is also quite dependent on his parents. Until he demonstrates the ability to adjust to life on his own, he’ll be taking a normal courseload. In time, he may increase the number of credits (though unfortunately, his scholarship only pays for the first 16 per semester :frowning: ). We want him to succeed, and we’re willing to take extra time if necessary to establish a good foundation on the stuff outside of academics before adding the increased stress of a high workload.</p>

<p>2) Greek isn’t for everyone. You can meet some of those same smart, hard-working, talented, and ambitious people outside of the Greek system (as you stated about meeting people in your next point) - they don’t have a monopoly on them. It is very much a personal decision, and for DS, he’d be a terrible fit (think the “undesireable pledges” room in Animal House.</p>

<p>3) DS is going to a school where there are no TAs (one of the attractions for him).</p>

<p>Those are my main quibbles, but again, they’re specific to my son. Other advice was better for him - particularly liked your point about connecting with profs professionally.</p>

<p>Thanks again for sharing your ideas and asking for mine. While we never really got caught up in the prestige part of college selection, it’s always good to hear that a safety school works out well for those who choose to go that route. Good luck with the grad school process!</p>

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<p>Oh, I ITA… If I didn’t include a disclaimer that these are by no means hard and fast rules, mea culpa, because I meant to!</p>

<p>Just a note on the TA thing–one of the classes I’ve TA’ed for is actually a small, 20 person or less seminar taught by full professors, so TAs don’t always equal large clases.</p>

<p>And I’ve never seen Animal House, actually! I agree that Greek life varies by school and isn’t for everyone, but I (and lots of people in our Greek system) break the Greek stereotypes and thought, quite literally, that we would <em>never</em> go Greek.</p>

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<p>Haven’t seen Animal House?! :eek: Now you’re just making me feel old. ;)</p>

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<p>You have GOT to rent Animal House asap! My sisters and I saw it years ago, before any of us were in college, to give us an idea of what NOT to do…</p>

<p>“fat, drunk, and stupid is no way to go through life…”</p>

<p>The guys who wrote it are Dartmouth alums who based it loosely on their own experiences. In fact, one of them is IN the movie…in Delta House, the weird, sorta ■■■■■■■■, skinny one who doesn’t talk much…I think he says something near the end like, “Well what are we supposed to do?” or something like that. When my middle sister went to Dartmouth, we teased her to pieces about AH, but she said the frats aren’t really like that anymore, except for maybe one. ;)</p>

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<p>this is really good advice, thank you! :)</p>