looking for matches and safeties, help me, please!

Chance Me / Match Me!
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<p>I've found plenty of reach schools that I'm very interested in, but I really need matches and safeties. What kind of college I'm looking for: Small to medium size (really important--don't want to go to a huge school), LAC (preferable, but not limited to). Strong English/Writing programs are a plus, but so are strong biology/enviromental science ones (those two areas are my biggest interests, but I'm not one of those people who has already decided what they'll do in and after college.) My ideal school would not have frats or barely would, wouldn't have strict curriculum requirements, would have more of a geeky vibe, and would be located near a city but not in one (location isn't that big a deal however, feel free to ignore that one). Don't consider uber-conservative and/or heavily Christian schools.</p>

<p>W GPA: 4.31, not sure about UW but it's got to be at least 3.8-3.9, I got one B in sophmore year and that was it
Rank: Unsure...I know in 9th grade it was 30 and it's gone up a lot with the weighting and straight A's..probably between 10-20 out of about 250 kids in the class
SAT I: 2050 (770r, 690w, 590m)--Retaking in the fall after a lot of prep this summer. I feel there is quite a bit of room for improvement.
SAT II Biology and English scores are unknown as of now, but I think I did pretty well
Classes: 1 AP 10th grade, 2 AP's 11th, will take 2 AP's this coming year as well as several college classes (Anthropology, Genetics, Sociology) all other classes are Accelerated/Honors. I have 2 years of Latin and 3 years of Spanish (including sr year)</p>

<p>Extracurriculars: National Honor Society, National Forensics League, English Festival, Science Olympiad, Envirothon, band, marching band, selected for an honors band and a youth orchestra (9th and 10th grades for the music stuff, everything else 9-12). Wrote for school newspaper in 9th. Cofounded a literary magazine at my school and had various leadership roles in that--judging, design, etc, in 10th. Political Interest Club, 11th. Will attend Pennsylvania Governor's School for the Arts in Writing this summer.</p>

<p>Awards: A couple state Science Olympiad medals, a couple Keystone awards from PA School Press Assoc., a few minor Forensics awards, 1st place overall in the individual and journalism competition at the WPCTE English Festival (9th grade.)</p>

<p>Volunteer stuff: Will intern with the National Writing Project this summer/fall, Goodwill, PA Cleanways Tire Cleanups, will volunteer at local and state parks and probably the public library this summer.
I have no work experience, I just don't know where I would get the time, ah well.</p>

<p>OK I realize this was pretty long-winded, sorry! Please focus on matches and safeties (I mean, feel free to suggest reaches, I just need more help finding others.) Thank you!</p>

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<p>Hmmm... Bucknell might be a decent match with better SATs(safety if you improve SATs a bunch). Mmm... the nerdiest safety school I can think of is New College in Sarasota, FL. Right near tampa, sarasota is a great town, Ringling museum is right there...and everyone hates sports, frats, et. al. You seem like you have a good concept. With research you should probably be able to find a fit tighter than a glove (there are a billion small LACs). Good luck!</p>

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<p>Thank you!</p>

<p>I find it amusing that the title of my thread was edited from "ayudeme, por favor" to "help me, please." Just trying to spice it up a little people, geez! : )</p>

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<p>
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Mmm... the nerdiest safety school I can think of is New College in Sarasota, FL.

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<p>Everything I know about New College points to it as being a non-traditional, artsy, hippie-ish school rather than a nerd school. Has an excellent academic reputation, not for everyone, but may satisfy the OP's requirements.</p>

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<p>If you are female, try looking into some women's colleges. Mt. Holyoke, Bryn Mawr are actually easier to get into than a lot of colleges with similar academic reputations.</p>

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<p>I have thought some about women's colleges. I really can't see myself attending an isolated rural one though, because, well...I like boys! A lot! Bryn Mawr though is near a city and near other colleges, so I am willing to consider schools like that.</p>

<p>I actually have visited New College and miiight apply there. I didn't like that it was right next to a busy road/highway that students had to cross and I didn't like how extremely small it was, but it is strong academically and the warm weather of Florida would be nice. I don't know...I guess I would be happy there, but I didn't get that "this is right" feeling when I was there...I just wish I had a safety or match that I felt passionate about.</p>

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<p>Matches (with a little better SAT) Colby, Smith, Skidmore, Occidental. The are all selectives, and should be thought of as 50/50's, not auto-admits.</p>

<p>Safe Match: Conn College, Allegheny.</p>

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<p>What about Grinnell? ....small, LAC, strong in sciences (not sure about English, though I think it's good), open curriculum besides the freshmen tutorial, no frats, 1 hr from Des Moines, 4 hrs from Chicago (alright so it's not really near a city)...
Anyway, I think that would be a good match for you, you should check it out!</p>

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<p>Thanks all.
About my SAT scores...I think the writing can go up a lot in the fall..I ran out of time on the essay and that hurt me pretty badly. I've always hated and been bad at math, but I think with studying I can bring that up maybe 20-30 points. It's never going to be up there with the reading though, I am just terrible at math. I hate that one standardized test determines so much about my future! My grades are near-perfect in the most challenging classes my school offers and my extracurriuclars are pretty decent, I didn't cure cancer or anything but I have some good stuff (like getting into the writing program at the governor's school, which only takes 20 people a year), and still the SAT is holding me back. Ah well, life is unfair, just felt like ranting : )</p>