Looking for best fit - Help!

College Search & Selection
1

<p>Hi everyone,
I'm a junior and looking for colleges that are good fits for me. It's a bit overwhelming, though, so I'd appreciate it if someone could give me some suggestions . . . I know you guys are good at that.</p>

<p>So here are my stats . . .
-SAT I (taken sophomore year - will be higher when I take in spring of this year): Math - 650, CR- 730, Writing - 790
-SAT IIs: Have not yet taken, but will probably take: Math IIC, Literature, US History, Chemistry
-PSAT (taken sophomore year, will be higher this year): Math-66, CR-76, Writing-78 (any ideas about chances for National Merit? is this possible?)
-AP: (our school doesn't let us take them until sophomore year): currently taking English Language, Chemistry, and US History (online) - anticipating 5s on all; next year will take (also anticipating 5s): English Literature, Calculus AB, Physics, US Gov, Macro or Micro Econ
-Online classes: Currently taking 3 online classes (1 AP, 1 Honors, 1 language), took 1 language last year, will take 2 APs next year (don't know if this helps or not, just wondering)
-Foreign Language classes taken (also not sure if this is useful): 3 yrs of Spanish, 2 yrs Latin
-GPA: UW: 4.0, W: 4.6 (should stay the same this year, hopefully next year)
-Rank: not sure at the moment, its hovering between #2 and #5 (out of about 600)</p>

<p>Extracurriculars:
-Volunteer with Habitat for Humanity, Teen Court program (will be attorney this year and next), Sunday School/nursery at church, International Market - a business run by our Model UN team that sells handmade crafts from Third World countries, profits go back to artisans to pay for food, shelter, education, etc, will be manager next two years
-have danced (tap, jazz, ballet) for 14 yrs (until 9th grade)
-concert band 4 yrs of hs, marching band 2 yrs
-National Honor Society
-National Latin Honor Society
-Junior Classical League
-FCA
-very involved with youth group
-Very very involved with Model UN Team - we are one of the best in the nation (even though we're from a not-so-rich public school) - we've won several national and international conferences, regional champs 10 yrs, state champs 4 yrs, yada yada yada. Personally I've won a 2nd place at UPenn conference, 3rd at regionals, will (hopefully -crossing my fingers) win several awards at top (Harvard, Yale) conferences this year - also one of 5 Vice-presidents this year (we have a wierd leadership system, no president, etc)</p>

<p>So that's about it. I'm a white female, so no URM anything, I'm fairly conservative, would prefer rural or suburban setting . . . also would like a college where profs are accessible, not always researching, etc, also would prefer not huge (10,000 or more), but not too small either (less than 2,000). $ will also play a factor . . . if I stay in Florida I will have a full scholarship, but I'd like to go somewhere colder if possible. I'm looking to major in International Relations/Political Science/History, and would like to study abroad. Umm . . . can't think of anything else at the moment. Any ideas would be GREATLY appreciated. Thanks!!</p>

2

<p>Anybody? Please?</p>

3

<p>Since you just started your junior year, it is a bit early for you to think about the colleges, still let me give you some names. Note that early admission will probably be eliminated at most of these for your class, so you have nearly 15 months to think about these:
harvard
yale
princeton
brown
stanford
caltech
MIT
Williams
Amherst
Duke</p>

4

<p>Thanks for the suggestions!!</p>

<p>I'm assuming you meant all of those as reaches/high matches . . . any ideas for matches/safeties?</p>

<p>Also, how competitive are the atmospheres at those schools compared to each other? I mean are they all cut-throat, none of them, some more than others?</p>

5

<p>Don’t know what the heck Collegebound was thinking, but every college on the list he gave you is, given your stats, either a reach or a big reach. </p>

<p>Here’s a list of schools that pretty much meet your criteria and are more of a match for your stats:</p>

<p>Colgate
Brandeis
Oberlin
Hamilton
Wake Forest
Lehigh
Connecticut College
Trinity College (in CT)
Dickinson College</p>

<p>The schools at the top are what I call high matches. The ones towards the bottom, low matches.</p>

6

<p>as far as international and study abroad schools go, i would definatley apply to Middlebury. I got in there last year but i couldnt go cause they didnt offer very much financial aid. definately worth a shot though. They have a snowboarding mountain on campus. just thoguht id put that in lol. Its absolutely beautiful.</p>

7

<p>Oh, I should mention that if you score 1450 or above on the CR+M and 2200 or above total on your SAT retest, you’d be able to add schools like Carleton, Vassar, Tufts, and Notre Dame to your list.</p>

<p>Also, you may qualify as a Merit semi-finalist. It depends on your state.</p>

8

<p>Thanks to all of you!</p>

<p>rennarj, does Middlebury have a good Int. Relations (or polisci) program in addition to study abroad?</p>

<p>Also, how do all of those school compare in terms of partying, liberal or conservative, etc?</p>

<p>amptron, I noticed most of the one's on your list were LACs . . . is this because of size or another reason? just curious</p>

9

<p>theyre really heavily into languages, so im assuming they have a good international relations program as well.</p>

10

<p>Given those preferences, you might want to consider Tufts and Bowdoin too.</p>

11

<p>I think GW would be a good school, maybe Georgetown as a reach as well. Great International programs at both places.</p>

12

<p>Yeah. I recommended mostly LACs in suburban or rural areas of a particular size. Most of the schools on the list have between 2000 and 3000 students.</p>

<p>Also, if you don't mind an urban school (Washington, DC, to be exact), GW as a match and Georgetown as a reach would be schools you might want to look at. Georgetown is noted for its School of International Relations and GW is a Poli Sci junkies dream, and has endless intern opportunities.</p>

<p>Of the schools I mentioned in the list above, Colgate, Wake Forest, Hamilton, and Lehigh are more on the conservative side, Brandeis, Connecticut College, and Oberlin on the liberal. Not sure about Dickinson.</p>

13

<p>Ok, thanks for clarifying about the LACs, those sound like the size/locations I'm looking for. </p>

<p>About GW and Georgetown . . . I love the Int. Relations/PoliSci-ness of them, but I'm wondering if they are like a unified campus or spread out around the city? My main concern with going to school in the city is that I want to feel like I'm living on a campus, not in the middle of a city (does that make sense?) So if anybody has any input . . .</p>

<p>Thanks amptron about the conservative/liberal thing . . . that helps a lot.</p>

14

<p>GW is basically a bunch of buildings dispersed through a limited area of DC. Though GW owns most of the buildings within this area, there is no campus. All the buildings are right on the city's streets. Georgetown, though I've never been to, so I don't know whether there's a campus there or not.</p>

15

<p>Might want to look at Holy Cross-top30 LAC with very strong political science program with good Washington internships-several Congressman are HC alums. Also HC has a good major in Classics / Latin and the school is somewhat conservative.</p>

16

<p>You have a good chance at UF.</p>

17

<p>^^^ Bright Futures. OP would get paid to go to UF.</p>

<p>I'd go with Tufts for the OP.</p>

18

<p>What about Johns Hopkins for IR?</p>

19

<p>If I stay in Florida I'll go to UF . . . I know I'll get Bright Futures, but if I can get enough scholarships I'd like to go out of state.</p>

<p>I hadn't really thought about Johns Hopkins . . . does it have a good IR program?</p>

20

<p>wow this girl has some great grades and pretty good stats. she shows a lot of leadership in her community, so some of the places called high matches.slight reach for her really seem to be going a little rough on her. also, i don't think you really need 1450 plus for schools like vassar and tufts. all that said, i haven't applied or gotten into college yet and if things really are that tough, life is really going to suck in a couple of mos.</p>