Know what I want, just don't know where....

College Search & Selection
1

<p>Hey everyone. :) I'm new here, and completely stumped finding colleges that match my list of "criteria".... Any help would be greatly appreciated. (I don't think any Ivies or (very) highly-selective schools are within my reach... so skip on those please).</p>

<p>Mmmk, so this is what i'm trying to find:</p>

<ul>
<li>Warm to chilly climate, not bitter cold, and not simmering heat. (For a gauge, i'm from around boston and its a bit too cold for me in the winter.)</li>
<li>Be in or close to a major city.</li>
<li>Have a good size population (not too big, not too small.... 4-8k sounds about right)</li>
<li>Be open and accepting to the gay community (as well as the surrounding area).</li>
<li>Liberal or moderate political "climate".</li>
<li>A good out-of-state population.... preferably a quarter or more of the total....</li>
<li>On-campus housing must be available. (Residential campus, not too big on commuter schools.)</li>
<li>Good public transportation options in the area.</li>
<li>Residencies/general campus must be architecturally interesting (aka, pretty), clean, and safe.</li>
<li>NOTE: I'm BIG on campus aesthetics. If it doesn't LOOK nice/welcoming/beautiful/pretty/etc., I won't like it. Trees are a HUGE plus. Concrete jungles aren't my thing.</li>
<li>A big list of major options. I KNOW i'll change my mind about my major at some point and want plenty of options for when it happens.</li>
<li>Be RELATIVELY inexpensive, but i'm sure financial aid can offset a good portion of the cost.</li>
</ul>

<p>I've used a bunch of matchmaking tools but need a more personal opinion (and there's way too many to whittle down). Thanks in advance for any help. :D If you need any more information, just ask.</p>

2

<p>Minus the public transportation/OOS population recs, I'd say UCLA. Maybe Cal.</p>

3

<p>Emory sounds about right. Rice too. Vanderbilt. Duke is fairly happening, but not big city. Stanford. One of the Claremont schools(Pomona, CMC, Pitzer, Scripps, Harvey Mudd). Michigan is in Ann Arbor, which is fairly happening.</p>

4

<p>Maybe American or UNC Asheville.</p>

5

<p>USF in San Francisco is nice, its not too hard to get into, although I'm not sure what percent of kids are from out of state. And in terms of weather, today was about 70 degrees and completely sunny.
Also, the gay community in San Francisco is pretty active, public transportation is better than almost any other city in the country, and its a pretty liberal city.</p>

6

<p>What might your academic interests be? </p>

<p>Georgetown, John Hopkins, schools in the Philly area, UVA not a city, but there's some nice stuff there, and they sure wrote the book on asthetically pleasing.</p>

<p>Since you're from the Boston area, you know there's a lot of good schools around here, but it sounds like you want to get out of the area.</p>

<p>I second the Claremont idea - my daughter is applying to 3 schools in that group.</p>

7

<p>My academic interests are really varied.... Anything in Business, Visual Art, Psychology, Communications, or Chemistry. (Yea... I know, its a strange mix.) But I guess looking at it from the other angle, anything intensely math-y isn't too important. I mean, if there were a liberal-artsy business major, that would make all of the above point to a liberal arts school. But as of now, I can't decide between the two. (U vs. LAC)</p>

8

<p>Obviously not every school meets every criteria, but I would suggest looking at:</p>

<p>Seattle University
University of San Francisco
Reed College
Santa Clara University
George Washington University
Emory University
BYU-Hawaii :)</p>

9

<p>Your GPA and test scores would help guide suggestions.</p>

10

<p>I third recommendations for the Claremont schools.</p>

11

<p>Woah. I just looked at the Claremont schools. Very expensive....
First, let me share my financial situation:</p>

<ul>
<li>I'm paying for college on my own.</li>
<li>My mother (only parent right now, father's missing somewhere) makes under 15k/year.</li>
<li>First generation college student.</li>
</ul>

<p>....I REALLY don't wanna have to limit my choices based on my situation.... I live in MA and I REALLY don't want to have to go to a state school (none of them really "match" me, and most don't have a good rep, except maybe UMass Amherst, but I don't like SUPER-GIANT schools, and the rest are all commuter.) I don't wanna feel like i'm wasting my time trying so hard in HS just to make it to a state school that I could've gone to even if I DIDN'T try so hard. Uggh to be young and poor......</p>

<p>OK, my stats are:
IMPORTANT NOTE: I attend a Technical High School. Therefore, honors and AP courses aren't offered.</p>

<p>GPA: 4.0
Class Rank: 2nd/of around 350
Rigor: All College classes (highest offered where I am.)
Elective/"Shop": Graphic Communications</p>

<p>*Taking the SAT soon, but here's my PSATs if they're any help whatsoever:</p>

<p>Crit. Reading: 67
Math: 60
Writing: 56</p>

<p>Extracurriculars:
Student Newspaper: 3 Years
Gay/Straight Alliance: 4 Years/Member (2 Years), Facilitator/Leader (2 Years)</p>

<p>SkillsUSA: 2 Years (Going to be 3 counting Senior year.)
2006 - 2007
* 3rd place in-house competition (Graphic Comm.)
* 3rd place northern district competition (Graphic Comm.)
2007 - 2008
* 2nd place in-house competition (Graphic Comm.)
* Competing in northern district competition.</p>

<p>....I don't know if you need any more info, but I understand i'm an average student at best (hence the, "cut out the Ivies and Highly Selective schools" thing). Once again, thanks for all of the helpful replies, and thanks to any future advice as well. :D</p>

12

<p>Don't worry about the 'list' price. Every school I listed meets 100% need. I know that Pomona and Rice, and possibly some of the others, offer no-loans too.</p>

13

<p>In the Pacific Northwest, check out Willamette, Lewis & Clark, University of Puget Sound. In general, do ignore list prices.</p>

14

<p>PSATs seem a tad low for top tier, barring special circumstances and minority status. However, top state schools (i.e. UMass-Amherst, UConn, Mich State, even UMich) are good options.</p>

15

<p>"Michigan is in Ann Arbor"
"Don't worry about the 'list' price. Every school I listed meets 100% need."</p>

<p>No, UMichigan does not meet 100% of need. And in general, applying to a public university as an OOS student is not the best way to go financially unless you are in the running for major merit scholarships. This is because as an OOS student you are not paying into the taxes that help support the school, therefore tuition is substantially higher and FA packages are not as good as for instate students. COA at UM is 40k/yr for OOS students by the way. </p>

<p>The Claremont colleges are pretty typical cost wise for a private college. There are definitely some private colleges that offer excellent financial aid packages, particularly for low income students, they tend to be the ones that are very selective. You can ignore the list price if you like, but remember, except for a handful of schools, FA packages are made up a combination of three components, grants, loans and work study. You run the risk of later starting one of the "I got accepted, but I can't pay, what do I do now?" threads that hit these boards every spring.</p>

<p>You have time, along with searching for academic fits, find the financial fits as well. Learn about how financial aid works, finaid.com is a good start.</p>

16

<p>My mistake, MOST of the schools I listed meet 100% need (Claremonts, Emory, Rice, etc.). Forgot I had UM on that list.</p>

17

<p>Same here, I meant privates.</p>

18

<p>Humboldt State University in Northern California meets all of your criteria except for being close to a big city. But if you have the finances, you can always take weekend trips to San Francisco (6 hours by car, 1 hour by plane).</p>

19

<p>Hmmm.... Humboldt seems a little bit too rainy for me.... and the dorms aren't very nice; they seem very rustic. (not that they have to be palaces or anything....) But temperature-wise the area seems perfect. Like autumn weather all-year round (which is what i'm looking for....) I'll definitely give it some thought and see if the rain and dorms are something I could get over. Thanks for the suggestion though, very much appreciated. :)</p>

20

<p>Just so you know, most people haven't heard of Humboldt State.</p>