<p>I need some help thinking safeties so can you help me out because my list is basically all reaches and high matches. and so far my only safeties are my state school (rutgers which i don't even think i'm applying to anymore) and connecticut college which I don't even think is a safety anymore. thanks in advance.</p>
<p>My current list:
Amherst College
Swarthmore College
Wesleyan University
Tufts University
Wellesley
Yale
The University of Chicago*
University of Notre Dame*
*- Early Action but only applying because parents are making me.</p>
<p>quick info about me:
black female from new jersey, private school
decent sats 2100+, good ecs and will have good recs and essays (hopefully)</p>
<p>I'm looking for small schools <5,000, very intellectual yet very laidback and non-competitive, located in the northeast, not too preppy, diversity would be nice but not required, and great profs.</p>
<p>any suggestions would be great!</p>
<p>-sgt. pepper 08</p>
<p>p.s. if you care to answer, what's your favorite album? mines revolver :)</p>
<p>thanks a lot. i think i'm going to really look into dickinson now because you're the second person to mention. skidmore as well. if i were, to say, look west are there any particular places you would suggest that are similar to the ones my list?</p>
<p>Oberlin (match)
Kenyon (low match)
Carleton (stretch or high match)
Macalester (match)
Reed (the Swarthmore of the West)
The Claremont consortium (Pomona, Claremont McKenna, Scripps, Harvey Mudd, Pitzer -- a highly, highly impressive place)</p>
<p>BTW, I don't think Notre Dame meets your <5000 requirement, but Chicago does if you count only undergrads.</p>
<p>Thanks for the schools. I have to talk to my parents about it because I was interested in Kenyon and Oberlin but they sort of talked me out of it last year. I know that Notre Dame is larger than 5,000 but I promised my dad that I'd apply there because it was his dream school. Yes my parents live their failed aspirations through me but if I have a choice I won't be going there.</p>
<p>Really, I think I would advise just about anyone to look very closely at the Claremont consortium. The schools are first rate and it's definitely a LAC atmosphere, BUT there are resources you'd expect at a much larger school. The library, for instance, has more volumes than the flagship state school where I teach. There are daily lectures from top national and international figures at the CMC Athenaeum. And the list goes on.</p>
<p>Not really a match or safety, but I'd add (or replace something with) Brown to your list. It is not the stereotypical Ivy, matches most of your desired qualities, and I'd say you have a good shot at it. What majors interest you at the moment?
White Album rocks!</p>
<ol>
<li>revolver 2. abbey road 3. white album/beatles for sale for me but it changes frequently. anyways, i think i'm going to look into the claremont consortium especially pitzer. bucknell is a little too preppy for me and I still haven't made up my mind about brown yet lol.</li>
</ol>
<p>major interests are either philosophy or poli sci/gov't or american studies, not sure yet but in that arena.</p>
<p>Bard- considerably smaller college than those on your list, as well as rural. However, meets your other criteria. Often mentioned in the "nonconformist" LAC league with Wesleyan and Oberlin.</p>
<p>Like you yourself noted you need more sure matches and safeties. Right now most of your schools are very high to more reasonable reaches -- but reaches nonetheless.</p>
<p>Speaking of the Beatles, I just saw "Across the Universe", and I loved it. Unfortunately for this rock opera, the only Beatles song they don't sing is Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band. Sorry.</p>
<p>if diversity is not a factor, you'd be a shoe-in at middlebury; they accept >70% of their african-american applicants. and its an excellent school.</p>
<p>thanks for the advice everyone.
1. my parents don't want to be too far from my younger siblings and my dad hates california
2. I know a lot of the school I have are preppy which I don't exactly mind because it's all i know, really. I guess I should have clarified that what I really don't want is WASPy, snobby people lol.
3. I kind of want to see across the universe but I'm always iffy about films that have the beatles music i.e. sgt pepper's... but I'll probably see it anyway.
4. didn't like middlebury but nonetheless an amazing school
5. i know i have A LOT of reaches and high matches and that's why I'm trying to get some feedback.</p>
<p>I've wanted to look at Skidmore and Goucher but I heard really bad reviews from people who went there, more so from Skidmore. Also, I've always thought that Bates would be a high match/reach.</p>
<p>Goodness. How is it possible to hate all of California? It's an enormous state with a population about 2.5 times that of Sweden and an economy that would rank among the top 10 in the world were it a nation. It has just about every climate you could want, every terrain you could want, and is blessed with stunning natural beauty.</p>
<p>yeah, my dad's very umm...religious and he think I'll get brainwashed by the liberal media out there...lol. Which is sort of impossible because I already have completely different fews from him any way, he just doesn't know yet. Anyway, that's a completely different story.</p>