I am a junior looking into colleges for next year.
Stats:
3.7UW/4.6W GPA
IB program junior year (dropped out this semester), currently mostly AP classes, had pre-ib/honors classes freshman and sophomore year
Intended major: Computer Science
34 ACT Superscored (all the schools I’m looking at superscore the ACT)
I have determined the following characteristics are important to me:
Small size
Friendly atmosphere/community feeling
Involved teachers
Some free time
Dining options to meet my very specific dietary needs (paleo)
Limited greek life
Not overtly liberal, or social and political activism (Wesleyan)
Rural, limited city life (due to not being able to afford going out)
Location: New England and the Mid-Atlantic. Not South, Not west. Only as far west as Ohio.
But I am willing to keep an open mind
Here is a list of schools I am currently interested in:
Colby
Bates
Bowdoin
Hamilton
Middlebury
Franklin and Marshall
Connecticut College
Babson
Dickinson
Gettysburg
Lafayette
Union
Bucknell
St. Lawrence
University of Rochester
Johns Hopkins
St. Lawrence
Kenyon
University of Vermont
My favorites out of this list are Colby, Hamilton, Bates and Bowdoin
Schools that I have looked into and that I am not interested in:
Wesleyan
Muhlenberg
Washington and Lee
Rhodes
Tech schools like RPI, WPI, Carnegie Mellon
Alternative schools like Reed, Hampshire, etc
I am looking to play D3 athletics and use my athletic ability to leverage my academics to schools that I think I normally would not be admitted to.
I took a look at schools like Haverford, Swarthmore, Williams, Amherst, but am not interested. Nor am I in the Ivies or the top tier schools (and I don’t think I am academically good enough either). I don’t want to be at a college that is too intellectual or that is academically and socially cutthroat (like Cornell). I do not mind academic competitiveness though.
I am not looking at schools that are tech schools (WPI, RPI, others). Lafayette, Union, and Bucknell on my list are schools that offer “engineering” but I want to go to a school that is well balanced.
I will need A LOT of financial aid, my parents do not make much. Not sure how it effects the list as many of the schools are need-aware, but I am hoping being a recruited athlete would also help. Really don’t know on this part.
Here are some schools I had the chance to visit:
MIT: hated it
Tufts: disliked
Skidmore: disliked
Union: really liked it
Babson: liked
Dartmouth: liked
Brandeis: liked (but no longer interested)
I think I have given some pretty good info. I am not sure if this is an exhaustive list, but I have put a lot of effort into it, and I’m not sure how many other schools are out there. I’d be happy to answer anything else that would be helpful into getting the best recommendations. And I am willing to be open, I realize that this list has some very specific criteria.