<p>Hello everyone. I'm a new member in this forum. I have browsed this website for the past week of so and finally decided that I will join and partake in the college discussions.</p>
<p>During the course of my junior year I have visited several college campuses and talked to many students. Some of the colleges were really pretty and others no so; some had gregarious and outgoing students while others were less so and more academically focused. </p>
<p>Can you guys help me by naming some colleges I should visit this summer. First let me tell you a little more about myself. I currently live in the state of New Jersey and attend a very top notch public school. I am Caucasian and come from a middle class family that need financial aid. I took the SAT once already and do not plan on taking it again. I scored a cumulative score of 2270. I also took three SAT 2; math 2 and US history and chemistry all of which were 800s.</p>
<p>As for my extracurricular activities, I hold actively participate and hold leadership position in about four clubs/sports. During my high school years I have amassed several hundred hours of community service but have not done any research. I think this much information should suffice for the time being.</p>
<p>I'm looking for an academically strong school that can be either private or public. However, I don't want the atmosphere to be super competitive or too academic oriented. I want a college that will provide lots of opportunities for research, internships, clubs, activism, volunteering, etc. Preferably an urban location with many things to do. Sport scene. I don't necessarily want to attend an Ivy university. States that really appeal to me are California, New York, Pennsylvania, Massachusetts, N. Carolina, and Virginia. These are just some criteria that appeal to me but I'm more than willing to consider colleges that do not fit these criteria.</p>
<p>If any of you recommend your own college or some college that you have lots of knowledge about can you tell me why you like that university. Well thanks a lot you guys.</p>
<p>I visited NYU and UPenn over spring break and I think both would be good schools for you. NYU is obviousley in the center of NYC and is really a great place. When I went there, I noticed lots of opportunities for commuinty service as well as internships. However, NYU does lack a sports scene. UPenn is right next to Philadelphia, which I loved! It felt like a campus, but was ten minutes into the city by bus. I also loved the school spirit at UPenn. I think you should take a look at both these schools, as they both fit some of your criteria. </p>
<p>Other schools you may be interested in that I don’t know as much about:
Wake Forest U (NC)
UNC Chapel Hill
UVA
Boston U - visited here, great location
Duke</p>
<p>I would say UCLA and U Michigan would be great schools for you especially UCLA since I’m going to going there next year haha BUT both schools are not known to give lots of aid to OOS students so unless you live in California or Michigan you probably will not be able to afford those two school if financial aid is crucial as you stated.</p>
<p>Academically strong? Yep. Not too competitive? Yep, it was pretty laid back from what I saw. Lots of research/internships/etc? Yep. Urban? Is Houston urban enough for you? Sports scene? Not a football powerhouse, although we’re getting better. Baseball is pretty damn good, although we got knocked out of the CWS by LSU this year :/</p>
<p>Only drawback is that it’s in TX, which a lot of people find unappealing, for one reason or another. The only thing I’m not looking forward to is the humidity.</p>
<p>U Southern Calif is the perfect college for you, it has all the programs , and opportunities you want and they are very generous with scholarships/ FA. If you will be a NMFinalist [ did your PSAT score exceed the NJ cutoff?] then you would receive an automatic 1/2 tuition scholarship for all 4 years there. Just be SURE you have submitted your application by the Dec 1 deadline to be eligible for scholarship consideration [if you decide to, you can still apply SCEA elsewhere- it won’t prevent you from applying early to USC because it is required for scholarship consideration]</p>
<p>Davidson sounds like it could be a great fit. </p>
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Check.</p>
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Davidson students are exceedingly laid-back, and the honor code has nice benefits like being able to take exams on your own time and using community bicycles left around campus. Town-gown relations are so great that local women have made cookies for Davidson students during finals week!</p>
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Community service, clubs, and the arts are popular. For example, the Royal Shakespeare Company is regularly in residence on campus. There is plenty to do on campus (let alone off) to keep you busy. The only drawback is that you or a friend would probably need a car to take full advantage of Charlotte’s resources. </p>
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People both participate in and watch sports, particularly basketball (Division I). In fact, over 75% of Davidson students participate in intramural sports. Being near a lake enables students to go waterskiing, kayaking, etc.</p>
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NC, check. </p>
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Davidson has very good financial aid and is loan-free!</p>
<p>You’d have a great shot at a full ride depending on your GPA and whatnot. Also shouldn’t be terribly far from home depending on where in Jersey you are.</p>
<p>I agree with a lot of the suggestions so far and I’ll add UC Berkeley (although may be too competitive or academically focused, especially if you are pre-med).</p>
<p>Also Northwestern. It has competitive football and basketball teams, and is fairly close to Chicago and right next to Evanston, which I consider a small city.</p>
<p>I second USC and strongly suggest Vanderbilt as well. </p>
<p>You don’t mention your GPA, which is an important factor in merit aid, so don’t assume that your SAT score alone will lead to significant aid being offered. Next year may be a tight year for aid offers. </p>
<p>So…even though you have the scores for the highly selective universities, do not make the assumption you will get enough aid to attend if admitted. Be sure you research and visit some unis further down on the prestige ladder and find several you like and where your stats would put you at the top of their applicant pool.</p>
<p>If you’re looking at Engineering VT fits all of your criteria except urban area. There is stuff to do in Bburg since it is a college town and Roanoke is about 40 minutes away.</p>
<p>You have impressive credentials. In what subject do you want to major?
Regarding your interest in sports…Do you want to participate in sports or do you want Division I spectator sports? You might like Johns Hopkins.</p>
<p>USC would be a good choice. Even with your good credentials UCLA would be very iffy because you would be OOS. UNC could also be iffy for the same reason. You would have no problem getting into VT. It is a fine school, but in a very rural location.</p>
<p>good scores + not competitive + not just academics + lots of research + lots of campus involvement + great sports scenes + california, north carolina, penn, virginia</p>
<p>WOW, you just sound like me LOL. i strongly suggest to look into duke and stanford… they fit all your criteria well i also would say to look into penn, uva. </p>
<p>schools such as ucb/ucla are VERY competitive (student nature-wise), just fyi.</p>
i also would say to look into penn, uva. </p>