By this time of the year, I have mostly finalized my college list, but am having a great deal of trouble finding “possible schools” that I really like. I go to a well regarded boarding school in Massachusetts (Hotchkiss) and realize upon asking for advice from middle school friends that many of the “possible schools” on my list that my college counselor and I decided on might be “reach schools” for others. I was hoping that CC could help my find some schools that might fit me best; my college counselor at the moment is more concerned about finding the most prestigious schools that I have the greatest shot at getting in and does not consider the vibe of the student body as important as I do.
The colleges that I had on my “possible” list so far are:
Carnegie Mellon
Vanderbilt
Carleton
Wellseley
My college counselor considers Wellseley to be a low possible for me.
I realize that my “possible” options, which range from Hamilton (high safety) to Wesleyan (low reach) , are very limited even if just by the sheer number of schools that falls within it. Upon visiting all the above mentioned schools on my possible list, I did not like any of them. Honestly, I found LACs a bit too homogenous and small from my visits, though I certainly appreciate their strengths - the reason my safety list consists of all LACs is because I find them highly preferable to public universities.
I am not sure what I hope to major in so I would like a college that is strong both in the sciences and humanities. Out of all the schools in my possible list, I liked Carleton the best for the inclusive and intelligent student body (also it is coed). I disliked the superficiality and social hierarchies I detected at Vanderbilt (though this is only my perception of course), and the air of competition and stress at CMU. I would love if anyone could suggest schools that fall within my possible schools’s selectivity range, with the qualities I mentioned in this paragraph. If the following characteristics could also be met, that would be even more fantastic:
little to no Greek life
mid-sized student body
as liberal as can be
strong Mock Trial/Model UN teams
quirky/intellectuals (i.e. who like reading Game of Thrones and simultaneously discussing works by Seneca)
Disclaimer: before I get salt for this post, I would like to say I worked extremely hard to get to this place, placing high in international science fairs, winning debate competitions, and etc. I have heard things from my middle school friends where they jokingly attribute the selectivity of my college list to the prestige of my high school, which ignores all the accomplishments I have worked my ass off to amass so far.
Thanks in advance for taking the time to read this!
If you have the grades and scores to get into Carleton, that is a terrific school for CS and meets all your criteria.
Rice would be a great option too. Larger than Carleton, and has the residential college system (think Hogworts) that many students really like. Denison is also Tier I in CS, and should be a strong match. Denison has greeks, but very limited and no residential greek houses.
Tufts. And although it may be smaller, Bard. U. Of Chicago? And while I’m a little clueless about its programs, Macalester. Focusing more on the quirky intellectual part.
@wisteria100 yes it’s in CT I meant I live in Massachusetts. It’s summer and I always get the two states jumbled up, my apologies.
Northwestern, Uchicago, Rice, swarthmore, Wesleyan are reaches for me (low to mid). Thank you so much for all the help! I will take a more careful look at tufts, cwm, and washington u.
Because Georgetown’s science offerings appear to be fairly limited in breadth (e.g., no geosciences or astronomy as far as I can tell), I personally do not consider them to be generally strong in sciences.
Though the title is unfortunately reductive, you can acccess a Business Insider list, “The 50 Smartest Collleges,” to assist you in ordering your choices by selectivity.
Most of the schools mentioned so far in this thread are reach schools. I suggest adding some match-range schools and at least one safety that you like and can afford. (Hamilton is not a safety)
So that we’re on the same page, here’s how I define the levels of admissions likelihood:
High Reach - 0-5% chance
Reach - 5-15%
Low Reach - 15-25%
High match - 25-40%
Match - 40-60%
Low Match - 60-90%
Safety - 90+% chance
Since you’re in New England, it should be easy to visit the NESCAC schools (Williams, Middlebury, Bowdoin, etc). All great schools that are similar in many respects to Carleton and meet most of your criteria.