Looking for colleges (safeties wanted!)

College Search & Selection
1

<p>Hello! I currently have a nice list of colleges that I have researched and am quite interested in, but I would love some suggestions for some colleges that I may have turned a blind-eye to! I also have yet to find a safety that I like, so please list some that you think would match me :)</p>

<p>I tend to gravitate towards LACs and strong intellectual schools. The first thing I look for in a college is if it's strong in its history/government/philosophy/poli-sci programs with teachers that are both very accessible and very excited about what they do. I thrive in an environment where I can be on a friendly-basis with my teachers! As you can probably tell, I like smaller colleges, but I have no qualms with having some classes where I can enjoy the anonymity of being in a lecture hall with hundreds of students.<br>
I absolutely want a college with nice dorms, it's a bit of a deciding factor for me, despite how shallow that may seem. I'm a huge homebody and will be spending a LOT of my time in my dorm, so it's extremely important for where I live to be nice. Schools that offer a large amount of single rooms and substance-free housing would be ideal.
In terms of the social scene, I would prefer to be in a school where Greek life is small. It would be wonderful if the school had a Gay-Straight Alliance or Rainbow Club and offered a good deal of community service groups. That being said, being in a heavily conservative college would be positively stifling, so a more left-wing college would be lovely :) Being around people who are very goal-oriented, driven, and friendly is extremely important to me, as well. College towns are lovely!</p>

<p>*** I really need a school with great financial aid, too. My family makes <$40k</p>

<p>Here are my stats:
GPA: 4.0/4.0 UW, 4.45/5.33 (An A+ in an AP class is a 5.33, and given that my school only offers 4 of them as of now, a 5.33 is impossible to have)
Class Rigor: I've taken the hardest class load I could given how little my school offers. 10 honors, 1 AP, 1 dual-enrollment by the end of this year. Next year I will be taking 2 APs, 2 college courses at Lehigh University, 1 advanced course, and 1 dual-enrollment class
Rank: 6/300 something
SAT: 2100 on practice tests as of now (800CR, 640M [no calculator, should go up when I get mine back], 660W). I'm trying to raise my scores considerably.
ECs:<br>
Gay-Straight Alliance (11-12): President-elect as of this year, will be President next year. Created website from scratch that allows members and students in general to voice their experiences and receive emotional support without compromising their identities. Will be setting up a network of all GSAs in the area. I put a LOT of effort into this club, and it's something that I care deeply about.
Human Rights Club/Amnesty International (11-12): Will be co-founding with my best friend.
Student Focus Group (11-12): Selected by principal to improve all aspects of the school. I successfully am pushing for more APs and better academics as my school offers very little, but honestly has some talented teachers. I'm also working on having clubs create their own chapters of our school's anti-bullying program.
Scholastic Scrimmage (9-12): JV Captain (10-11), Varsity Captain next year.<br>
Junior Prom Committee<a href="11">/i</a>
*Model UN<a href="10-12">/i</a>
*Mu Alpha Theta, NHS<a href="going%20for%20pres%20or%20VP">/i</a>, *Spanish National Honor Society</p>

<p>Summer:
-Hospital (summer of grade 10): 40 hours, probably won't include as someone told me those hours were too little :/
-Will be working for a law firm catering to providing health insurance to the low-income community (summer of grade 11, 12)
-Job (summer grade 11)
-2-3 Lehigh Courses (summer grade 11)</p>

<p>*Recs/Essays: * Recs will probably be very good as I've established very good relationships with my teachers, especially my APUSH teacher. As for my essays - I'm a very strong writer. I've done the beginnings of my common app essay (it's a bit early, but when an idea pops into my head, I have to start writing) and my English teacher thought it was extremely emotionally compelling, strong, and heartfelt.</p>

<p>Schools I'm very interested in:
-Amherst
-Claremont McKenna
-Hamilton (History teacher/Scholastic Scrimmage advisor is the interviewer for the area, he'll put in a pretty good word for me, haha)
-Colgate
-Bowdoin</p>

<p>Feel free to chance and give me some suggestions! I appreciate it!</p>

2

<p>Middlebury has wonderful dorms (except one of the freshman dorms) and a great political science department. It seems like you should think about Wesleyan and Vassar too, but maybe you have, for some reason, eliminated them? As more of a safety you might want to check out Macalaster.</p>

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<p>Thank you so much for replying! I was looking at Middlebury, but I was a bit iffy about it as I read something about them having not-so-great financial aid.</p>

<p>And I can’t believe I forgot to look at Wesleyan - it’s definitely a school I’d consider. I haven’t looked at Vassar though, so I guess I’ll be doing my research :)</p>

<p>I was just looking at Macalester - I didn’t think I was strong enough of an applicant to consider it a safety, but it’s a wonderful school so I’m flattered, haha.</p>

4

<p>Try Denison U.</p>

5

<p>Thank you Erin’s Dad! Denison seems lovely and I’ll certainly consider applying :)</p>

6

<p>Also Ct. College. Best of luck!</p>

7

<p>Thank you! I’m so excited to have a new list of colleges to look up!!</p>

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<p>I would take a look at Grinnell, more as a match than a safety. Intellectual, quirky, liberal, understated, unpretentious, strong work ethic. A huge endowment which means great merit aid, state-of-the-art facilities (including some nice, new substance free dorms on the east side of campus), and the smallest class sizes of any LAC (no class bigger than 30, even intro classes.) A cute college town of 9,000 right adjacent to the campus and two cities (Des Moines and Iowa City) about an hour away. You can attend Grinnell-in-Washington for a semester that includes an internship in DC, as well as one of the many semester abroad programs. And the president of the university is gay - lives there with his partner and their two kids - so about as gay-friendly as I think you’ll find.</p>

9

<p>OP,</p>

<p>Have you looked into Questbridge? It is for low SES, high achievers, and some of the schools mentioned in this threads are partner schools. You can find lots of info about it right here on CC. Go to the fin aid portion, and above are several sub forums. Good Luck!</p>

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<p>Goucher would be a safety has the atmosphere you want.</p>

11

<p>Hobart & William Smith (NY) (Safety LAC)
St. Lawrence University (NY) (Safety LAC)
Alfred University (NY) (Safety Regional University, under 40k/yr. merit up to 14,000)
Connecticut College (CT) (LAC, maybe a match)
College of the Holy Cross (LAC, maybe a match) Catholic </p>

<p>SLU is the only one with a Greek Life (minimal impact on the social life, down to one fraternity I believe) </p>

<p>Best of luck to you in your search!</p>

12

<p>@M’s Mom: Thank you! I have taken a peek at Grinnell but haven’t looked at it intensively. Grinnell seems wonderful :)</p>

<p>@Gloworm: I have looked at Questbridge, and I’m certainly considering it, but I’m not sure if I’d be able to find a match considering there are lots of students who apply who are much worse off than me. </p>

<p>@momjr & SLUMOM: Thank you for your time! I haven’t heard of these colleges before, but I’m really excited to look them up!</p>

13

<p>If you liked Bowdoin, you’ll probably like Whitman. My son loved both saying that there is a similar feel in the atmosphere and priorities. He’s now attending Whitman and loves it. There are a fair number of freshman who are in single rooms, I was amazed. My son is in the loud dorm, by choice, but there are quiet dorms with limited access for those who want to get away from it all. All of Whitman is superbly maintained so I doubt you’ll find a crummy room. On the other hand, when my son spent the night at Macalester he was completely freaked out by the freshman dorm rooms.</p>

<p>The student body at Whitman is left leaning, multitalented, active, smart and very friendly. They do have a GLBT club, here is the link:[GLBTQ</a> (Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, Transgender, Questioning)](<a href=“http://www.whitman.edu/content/student-activities/organizations/clubs/glbtq]GLBTQ”>http://www.whitman.edu/content/student-activities/organizations/clubs/glbtq). All I know is that one of my son’s close new friends is openly gay and it’s a non-issue.</p>

<p>Whitman has fraternities and sororities but they seem to be much more open and inclusive than at many campuses. The parties are open to all and they do a lot of community service. Whitman is neither preppy or snobby, it has a relaxed inclusive west coast feel.</p>

<p>The academics are challenging and the faculty are very involved with students and campus life. Walla Walla is charming and the weather is drier than Seattle, the sun shines 300 days a year. My son says that it will shower or snow part of the day and then the sun will shine the rest. </p>

<p>Whitman has gotten pretty selective, probably a match for you, but it loves people who have taken leadership roles and gone out and done things. They want people who will arrive an campus and get to work improving it. Leadership opportunities abound. You should take a look.</p>

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<p>Whitman sounds wonderful, and I’m especially ecstatic about the fact it’s in Washington as my boyfriend goes to school in the Seattle region, so it’ll make it easier to visit me :slight_smile: Thank you so much!</p>

15

<p>Definitely apply for QuestBridge.</p>

16

<p>try university of teaxs…they LOVE gay people there</p>

17

<p>Reed is another good choice close to Seattle.</p>

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<p>@Xavier: I definitely am applying for QB - I’m just a little iffy on if I’d actually qualify to be matched or even be a finalist. Although, I think I’d have a better shot applying for Vassar through QB.</p>

<p>@Kapman: Thank you! University of Texas may be too big of a school for me, though :/</p>

<p>@Ricegal: Thanks! I totally forgot about looking up Reed, but I certainly will now. :)</p>

19

<p>I think Kapman was trying to be funny. Also, unless you are in-state for TX it would cost $45K+/year.</p>

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<p>Ah figures, haha :)</p>