<p>Depending on your parents income, yes to Stanford.</p>
<p>Gocanes,
In response to your earlier comment, Rice is absolutely, positively a peer to Duke and IMO, Rice might be the most underrated college in the country. Put Rice in a more visible location, eg, Philadelphia or some other major NE city, and it would be a perennial Top 10-ranked college (like Duke). </p>
<p>In addition to the big four in the South of Duke, Rice, Vanderbilt, and Emory, Davidson is definitely a high quality place as is Washington & Lee (although I’m doubtful that either would fit the OP’s requirements). Same with the publics of Virginia, North Carolina, Georgia Tech, Florida, and Texas. But arguing about which is better or has higher prestige is a waste of time as all are terrific schools with highly talented students bodies and unique campus environments. The personalities of these colleges are distinctive and IMO make for very attractive options for top students across the country.</p>
<p>Like the others, Tulane is a very unique place and this is enhanced by its locale in one-of-a-kind New Orleans. The Big Easy is unlike any other city in the USA and the spirit of the school infuses the undergraduate experience for Tulane’s students. It draws a surprisingly national student body and IMO its academics are hugely underrated.</p>
<p>The fact that Rice is underrated really does hurt ur point, as Duke is neither overrated nor underrated, it is simply regarded as the best in the south and arguably just as prestigious as the ivy leagues. I have not seen Rice being mentioned often with Ivy Leagues (Harvard, Yale, Princeton, etc..)</p>
<p>Regardless, as u said this Rice/Duke debate is pointless as its not the point of this thread. make a thread about it and see what ppl say....</p>
<p>this thread is about listing options for the OP and Rice clearly is an option.</p>
<p>Trinity and SMU in Texas are possible sources of scholarship money. Rice, Duke and Vandy need some seriously high stats to get $$s. I know some impressive kids at those schools who have not gotten merit money. I do know some sweet scholarship packages at those schools but those kids did have demonstrated need. If you are talking merit money, it is a tough go to get sizable grants.</p>
<p>Duke has more prestige than Rice, but it's just as hard to get into Rice as it is to get into Duke. Rice is definitely a peer school of Duke, and vice versa, and it is underrated. And no, Duke definitely is overrated, at least on CC, in my opinion. Duke basketball really contributes to its "prestige" for the average Joe on the street (aside from those who know colleges and academia); Rice's baseball is impeccable but unfortunately college baseball doesn't get as much attention as the NCAA and March Madness and such.</p>
<p>Biggest applicant overlap schools for Rice include Duke, WashU, Stanford, UT-Austin (b/c same state), and Harvard. I think that says in itself what kind of quality students Rice attracts.</p>
<p>Emory and Vanderbilt are slightly lower than Rice.</p>
<p>Rice's overlap schools also explain why the school has a surprisingly low yield. No question that it loses to Harvard and Stanford with most students and also the cost differential with UT surely makes an impact with some Texas students. Vs. Duke, Wash U, Vandy, Emory, I'm pretty sure that Rice competes well and hopefully students are making their choice among this group of colleges based on fit and not on perceptions of prestige.</p>
<p>Vanderbilt should be a match for you in terms of admissibility--if they give merit money, perhaps you would be in their radar for that, but my sense is that at top-20 schools merit money isn't just about grades and scores but about service/ECs/intangibles. I gather that Tulane gives merit money relatively generously; while in terms of conventional (USNWR) rank it is well below Vanderbilt and even a bit further below Duke and Rice, it's certainly a fine school and would seem to fit your criteria in most ways. </p>
<p>If your parents earn too much to qualify for need-based financial aid (which in many cases no longer includes loans) but really won't pay more than $15,000 a year and you don't want to be bogged down with private loans, I don't see a lot of opportunities at schools at the very top levels. That is, I think you'd get in to some but not get merit money. Keep in mind too that merit money is not always huge--for example, my children received unsolicited merit offers from very good LACs, but that was in the single-digit range (about $5,000)--which would not reduce the total yearly amount to be paid by your parents anywhere near $15,000. You probably need to have a conversation with your parents about what really is going on financially. State universities such as UVA (and of course Charlottesville isn't really a big city but it is very vibrant and alive for its size) might be financially feasible if you were instate, but you aren't, and OOS tuition, while lower than for some private schools, is substantial. And I don't thinhk there is a lot of money going to out of staters these days at most public universities. Looking at your own state university, which you sound as though you do like except that it's in Athens rather than Atlanta, I think you may find that being in a college town is so all-absorbing and there is so much going on, that it won't feel as small as it is.</p>
<p>Also, your choice of schools and location depends on what you consider a big city. Is Nashville a big city by "real" city standards (NYC/Chicago/LA for size and DC/Boston/Philadelphia for tradition)? Is New Orleans? Perhaps a lively city rather than simply a big one in terms of population is what you are looking for--in that case both of those mentioned probably do meet your needs. The need for a warm climate is also a little limiting--that combined with the financial factor really eliminates a lot of options that would seem to fit both your qualifications and your interests very well, like Northwestern, University of Chicago, GW, and NYU--also smaller schools like Brandeis. GW is known for being generous with merit money, but DC is not a truly warm climate.</p>
<p>It also occurs to me that when people talk about doing research as an undergraduate they are often in the sciences or social science fields--sometimes also history. If your goal is to be a college English professor and you love literary analysis it would not seem that you'd really have much in the way of research opportunities because English isn't necessarily a field where professors require meaningful assistance. Besides, undergraduates are more likely to have research opportunities at small schools where there are few or no graduate students to vie for professors' attention--but a small school is not what you are looking for in other respects.</p>
<p>Keep thinking. And remember that while it is nice to be warm, if you are at a school that is right for you in every other respect it may just just fine to have to wear a jacket or even hat and gloves some of the time.</p>
<p>Thank you for the wonderful reply mattmom. That bit of information has really helped me out more than you probably realize. Especially the note about college towns.</p>
<p>I think, because of my lack of spectacular EC's and service, it would be extremely unlikely for me to get enough merit money at most upper level schools. My best bet, I am beginning to believe, is UGA. It is a wonderful school with a strong English program, and its Honors program is highly praised. Also, since it is a lower level school, I have a better chance of more of my AP credits being accepted to allow me to take more higher level courses. While it may not be the most prestigious or in the biggest city, I think it will do just fine, especially after considering the fact that thanks to Georgia's HOPE scholarship, tuition will be free.</p>
<p>However, my long lost dream of becoming a software engineer for Apple computers has recently been rekindled (after a nice, long conversation about college with my mother yesterday) and all of this may become irrelevant if I decide to pursue that.</p>
<p>The search continues.</p>
<p>Concerning Emory- Atlanta is ... okay. I mean, I think it's a great place to raise a family, but my one concern about the city is that it's not the best for young people. MARTA (the public transit system) pretty much sucks as there is only one E-W line and another N-S line, and if you decide to go to Emory, you'd have to take a bus and then transfer to a MARTA train. Furthermore, it's not exactly safe. at all..</p>
<p>Now, on colleges you should look into. What you wrote above is extremely pessimistic, and you really need to realize that you have a really good application. 3.92/33 will put you in contention for any school in the country. You're probably in at any school in the south (including duke), but since you wanted a "nice college in a warm, big city," I'd avoid the S, as there really aren't many cosmopolitan cities (quite frankly, Houston, Atlanta, and NOLA suck compared to NYC/LA.) Ever figure out why COL is so much cheaper in those cities compared to LA, SF, Boston, and NYC? It pretty much boils down to the fact that demand for urban housing is higher in the hipper cities (yes there are lots of more factors, but I'm not gonna waste time on that), so I would look into schools in LA/SF if I were you. </p>
<p>UCLA/USC- you most likely in at those schools, and you are probably in contention for merit aid. </p>
<p>Stanford- very suburban feel. Great school obviously, but I don't know if that's what you're looking for.</p>
<p>UCB- again, very suburban. GReat connections however to silicon valley (same applies to Stanford)</p>
<p>I'd look into Pomona if I were you. Yes, it's suburban, but LA is just sooo ridiculously huge and sprawled out.</p>
<p>There are plenty of young people in ATL -- GT, Emory, GA State, Morehouse, Spelman, Emory, etc. Plus Athens is only an hour away.</p>
<p>By the way, you're going to need 4 or 5s in most everything to get credit at UGA. Couple things take 3s however. You are correct though, UGA honors is a great choice especially combined with HOPE. Plus Atlanta is an hour away.</p>
<p>Your stats are similar to my D's and we're looking for merit money from schools ranked 50 or lower in the USNews rankings. I think she at least has a fighting chance at those schools.</p>
<p>A good friend of mine went to the University of Houston several years ago because of its outstanding English program. I don't know anything else about the school, but I assume it would be easier to get into, and more likely to offer merit aid, than Rice.</p>
<p>You should also look at Arizona State University. You won't find a warmer climate, and you might be eligible for the Honors College and merit aid.</p>