<p>I'm on the cusp of receiving my ED acceptance/deferral/rejection from Princeton and I'm beginning to realize that if I don't get the good news, I don't know what I'm doing.</p>
<p>Quick stats:
1520 SAT (800 V, 720 M)
Mediocre SAT IIs (740, 740, 640)
95% unweighted average
Ranked 9/121
Decent Recs, Decent ECs (theatre-type things), Decent essays</p>
<p>Right now, I have a list that means I'm not getting in anywhere.
Yale
Dartmouth
Wesleyan
Amherst
Vassar
Duke</p>
<p>Duke is there because of parental pressure. I don't even think I like it very much. Vassar is the closest thing I have to a safety. Bad, huh?</p>
<p>I'm looking for schools that are within a 5 - 6 hour drive from southeastern PA (I could make exceptions, but I really would rather stay in the northeast). I want a more liberal school that is accepting of/has a large gay community. Size isn't too much of a concern but ideally, it would be somewhere in the 3000 - 7000 range (but I can always go bigger or smaller). I'm most likely going to major in English/French/Comparative Literature (something in that vein) so strong programs in those types of areas would be a plus.</p>
<p>My guidance counselor has been useless through this entire process (hadn't even ever heard of Amherst) and my parents just want a school to brag about. I really don't know what to do anymore.</p>
<p>Try applying to a few state schools (including your own). That should alleviate some of the pressure regarding all of your possibilities being far reaches. Although, your SAT score and GPA gives you a pretty decent chance at many of those schools. Just put in a few quick apps to less competitive schools just in case.</p>
<p>I have applied to (and been accepted at) The University of Pittsburgh, but the problem is I really don't want to go there, and my parents don't want me to go either, which makes it hard to be excited about that prospect.</p>
<p>I would be very surprised if you didn't get into Vassar, but you could also consider Bard and Skidmore, and Kenyon if you're willing to go as far west as Ohio. Other possibilities that would be pretty safe for you would be Conn College and Trinity.</p>
<p>Brown Brown Brown!!!! Gay community is large and well integrated/ welcomed, perfect size, GREAT theater, great academics for undergrad. You must apply there, I think you would love it, much more so than Duke (Dont know why you are applying if you didnt like it, its not like Yale, Dartmouth, Amherst, etc arent good schools). I cannot think of a more perfect school for you from what you tell me above.</p>
<p>Outside of Brown (reach), Vassar/ Wesleyan should be very safe for you. BUT as a real safety perhaps(?) look to Grinell. Yeah its far away, but its a very liberal prestigious LAC, and would be a safety for you.</p>
<p>A friend of mine is looking at Grinnell, so I have some secondhand information about the school. It sounds nice, but I'm not so sure about Iowa. I guess it's always an option.</p>
<p>I think that I might replace Duke with Brown. Someone at school said something about NYU to me, so I might apply there, too.</p>
<p>Yeah I was going to recommend NYU but then I realized its sort of off your target. Its very big, has no campus, and none of the school spirit the others do. Even Columbia is much more community oriented. But it IS liberal and open minded, and is in a cool part of the city. Anyway as a 'safety' there are much worse places, and I bet you will get into Vassar. I think replacing Brown with Duke would be a great bet. From what you sound like, I just think you would love Brown.</p>
<p>It looks like Brown is going to be off the list. They aren't a common app school, and therefore have a teacher recommendation form that would need to be filled out. And my teachers aren't very cooperative when it comes to filling things out for me. So Brown looks like it might not work out.</p>
<p>How about Columbia or UPenn? I have their rec forms filled out from a million years ago when my parents were trying to push them on me.</p>
<p>UPenn is a great choice, although I think you would like Brown alot more. Penn is sorta big, but its campusy and all types go there. I dont think you will like Columbia if you liked the more LAC like campuses. I went there for a year but actually transferred to Dartmouth. The school was cool but the social life was very non-existent outside a couple bars. I felt like I could go there when I had money or in grad school and it would be the same. </p>
<p>I would really try for brown though, I really think its worth bothering your teachers.</p>
<p>I actually thought about Columbia when I saw your potential majors, interest in a school that's liberal and tolerant, and in theater. I think it'd be a great school for you. It still doesn't answer your safety issue, however.</p>
<p>find a safety now! Chances are you won't end up there, but that it, it's just probability. There is no sure way to tell. Find a state school you like, you can really enjoy, and don't apply just because...and if you want more reaches, these are great, but columbia is going to be an extreme reach, as well as some of the others already mentioned.</p>
<p>Adding Skidmore (safety) and Bard (match/safety) would make sense, though I figure you are in at Vassar (absolutely for sure if you are a male student) with a good shot at Wesleyan. A yes from Duke or Dartmouth wouldn't shock me either, though neither would be my first choice for you. I agree that Connecticut College would be worth a look, too.</p>
<p>Reid, yes, I am a male student. So does that mean I could use it as a safety-esque school? Of course I wouldn't just blow off the app, I would definitely be putting a lot of time into making everything right.</p>
<p>The only reason Vassar is not a pure safety for you is their overall selectivity. With a solid application I'd bet a significant amount of cash on your acceptance.</p>
<p>For peace of mind and to increase your options, I would get at least one more less-selective school on your list, and Skidmore, Bard and/or Connecticut College make the most sense to me. </p>
<p>Though certainly not a safety, Penn is worth a look, as they have a very good English department and strong academics across the board. Finally, if you would like to consider another match school, Johns Hopkins would be a great choice. It is sort of typecast on this board and elsewhere as a pre-med and international studies school, but its humanities departments are excellent, with English and French top departments. I lean toward LACs but both Penn and Hopkins are great schools and they have a little more going for them in the prestige department.</p>
<p>What does everyone think of Carleton College for me? Still very hard to get into, but it sounds like a very good school and it's caught my attention.</p>
<p>Carleton is an EXCELLENT school. I have both a friend who attended there and a friend who taught there. Both loved it (both did their doctorate at Princeton and have taught at Cornell and Harvard and say that if they had to choose a school, they'd go with Carelton for undergrad.) Reid can probably tell you a bit more about Carleton but the feel I get is that it is a laid back school with VERY interesting students and faculty.</p>
<p>Carolyn knows that three of my favorite LACs (Carleton, Macalester, Grinnell) are in the Midwest, but I did not suggest any of them because you had more or less restricted yourself to the northeast/mideast and 3000-7000 size schools. </p>
<p>If you want to broaden your criteria a bit Carleton would be a very good choice for you. And you could certainly investigate Macalester and Grinnell, though by a small margin I'd favor two Ohio LACs, Kenyon and Oberlin, both of which have good theatre, too.</p>
<p>Okay, I have to turn my absolute final list into the guidance departmen tomorrow. I'm trying to trim it down while still giving my parents a few schools.</p>
<p>Keeping in mind that I want a liberal, accepting school with good English/French/Courses along those lines, would you pick:</p>
<p>Harvard or UPenn?</p>
<p>UPenn or Columbia?</p>
<p>Carleton or Pomona?</p>
<p>Amherst or Pomona?</p>
<p>UPenn or Amherst?</p>
<p>UPenn or Pomona?</p>
<p>If you can't tell, I'm in the middle of a battle involving UPenn and Pomona, mainly. Columbia and Harvard are being pushed for very strongly by my parents (as is UPenn) and I would like to give them at least one of those schools without making my list grow to astronomical proportions.</p>