<p>Hello again! CC is proving to be very helpful for me!... I HAVE WOKEN UP TO MY SENSES AND I AM THINKING not just in HYPSM terms now. I am an International high school senior and my penchant for Liberal Arts colleges is increasingly increasing :P
Here are some I have in mind... Can we trim the list! This is for EVERYONE ON CC who wishes to major in Economics from a LAC! WE NEED A LIST SOON... LET'S DO IT GUYS!</p>
<p>Colgate
Grinnell
Swarthmore
Wellesley
Bowdoin
Pomona
Macalester
Haverford
Davidson
Dartmouth (NOT SURE IF IT'S A LAC!)
Williams
Amherst</p>
<p>Check these colleges’ web sites carefully- Wellesley is all female. Some are more remote than others. Take a look at the region of the US. Some schools are more “laid back”; others may be close to cultural hubs. To get a fast read on the quality of their econ depts, look at the course catalog online- see what classes are offered and if they interest you. Then, look at faculty bios, to see the balance of PhDs versus lecturers/part-timers and where they studied. Many of these schools have generous financial aid- when you read their own descriptions, see how they handle international students.<br>
Do not drop HYP. Some of what you have done will stand out- teaching for 3-4 years, tree planting, Global Citizens, school leadership, recent debate, etc. The trekking, military and some awards are good- but older. Try to organize all this to highlight well. Write great essays.</p>
<p>@LOOKINGFORWARD- WOW! You are a great person… Thanks a lot for your comment. I’ll check up those colleges in the manner you told me to. And yes, I’ll still apply to HYP. WHAT’S THE HARM IN TRYING! THANKS!</p>
<p>For each of these schools, look up the Common Data Set (google it) and check out where your stats fall relative to those admitted to the school. You’ll note that schools like Amherst, Williams, Swarthmore, Pomona and Bowdoin are nearly as competitive to get into as HYPMS. The Indian student I know who got admitted to Amherst with a full-ride was first in her class and had 2400 on her SATI and several more 800s on her SATIIs, so you might want to calibrate your expectations accordingly. (No, Dartmouth isn’t a LAC, but it has a lot of LAC-like qualities.)</p>
<p>Lookingforwards advice about checking depth and breadth of coursework by school is a good idea. Also note that most of these schools have study abroad opportunities at places like London School of Economics - and financial aid usually can be applied to your semester/year abroad.</p>
<p>I also think you look pretty good for Grinnell and Macalester. They are both about 12% international students and have generous financial and merit aid compared to the other LACs. Macalester is urban and Grinnell is rural.</p>
<p>@M’s Mom- Thanks again! Yes I know Amherst and the other 3 LACs you mentioned are very tough to get into. And I am ready to take rejection in my face (that’s the way it should be)… But at least I’m trying… My stats are in the range (definitely not very high, but just in the range)… POMONA’S COMMON DATA SET is Intimidating!
Maybe my essay will do the trick!
One more thing, my letters of reccomendation are <em>amazing</em>… What impact will that have on the admissions officers…
Here are 2 lines from 2 reccomendations…
It is a real pleasure to write this letter of recommendation for Nishad Potdar, who has stood out as one of my best students in all my years of teaching experience.
In this two year course, what I have seen has never ceased to amaze me. From the very beginning he was an extraordinarily responsive, appreciative and conscientious student, and I could see that his qualities were complemented by outstanding ability and scholarship. BLAH BLAH BLAH…
Yes, Macalester and Grinnel are great schools…</p>
<p>Oh my god, now I’m told that Liberal Arts college grads have ‘bleak’ job prospects! OH NO! I WANT GOOD WORK EXPERIENCE BEFORE I APPLY TO A B-SCHOOL FOR AN MBA IN FINANCE… This is a big puzzle! LIBERAL ARTS! URGG!</p>
<p>You are getting sucked into the CC vortex. Stand back. Breathe. First you were worried about ECs and getting into college- now you are worried about after college. </p>
<p>Liberal arts college grads who are focused, pick a solid major, get good grades, do research with professors, take summer internships, make early contacts, etc, incuding being friendly, well-rounded, confident individuals- these kids usually have good chances for good first jobs. (Not Donald Trump jobs, but very legitimate jobs.)<br>
Your plan to study economics and work in finance before an MBA is very strong. You could go to Harvard or Oxford and succeed or make mistakes. You could go to a great LAC and succeed or make mistakes.<br>
Time to get off CC for a while and research your colleges.</p>
<p>@lookingforward- You’re right! I took a deep breath and shortlisted these schools. It’s time to relax now! YOU’VE BEEN VERY HELPFUL… THANKS A LOT!
PLEASE GIVE YOUR COMMENTS ON MY LIST (Intended major=economics!)-
Private Research Universities:
Wharton-U Penn (DREAM + excellent aid)
U of Chicago (DREAM + excellent aid)
Columbia(DREAM + excellent aid)
Harvard (DREAM + need blind)
Yale (DREAM + need blind)
Princeton (DREAM + need blind)
MIT (DREAM + need blind)
Dartmouth (DREAM + need blind)</p>
<p>Liberal Art colleges :
Colgate (REACH, almost safe + excellent aid)
Bucknell (REACH + good aid)
Swarthmore (Achievable + excellent aid)
Williams (DREAM + need blind)
Amherst College (DREAM + need blind)</p>
<p>NB- I have already applied to UCL, LSE n Cambridge in the U.K… I also attended Cambridge’s interview. If not Cambridge, I have a hunch that I’ll at least get into LSE (and LSE offers loads and loads of aid to internationals, plus it’s reputation for economics is extraordinarily good :D)…</p>
<p>According to SSRN.com (social science research network), the Colorado College economics department puts out the most economic research in the country, out of all the LAC’s. It is ranked 130 in the world, and these rankings include every college and university in the world. This is pretty incredible seeing as that every other school in the top 200 has at least 10,000 students and Colorado College only has 2000.</p>
<p>Holy Cross has both economics and accounting majors. In this year’s cnbc payscale study Holy Cross was ranked 12th for highest salaries(Ivies included). HC is need-blind for admissions and has a January 15th application due date.</p>
