Looking for some college search advice

College Search & Selection
1

<p>I'm having a tough time choosing which colleges to apply to, and I'm definitely looking for some "safer" schools to add to my list.</p>

<p>Asian female from WA.
Objective:[ul]
[<em>] SAT I (breakdown):2290/1490 (800 CR, 690 M, 800 W, though I am retaking it in hopes of raising that math)
[</em>] ACT: N/A
[<em>] SAT II: Taking in November
[</em>] Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 4.0, school doesn't weight
[<em>] Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): school doesn't rank, probably top 5%
[</em>] AP (place score in parenthesis): Bio (5), US History (5), school doesn't offer many for underclassmen
[<em>] Senior Year Course Load: AP Calc BC, AP Chem, French IV through U of Washington, Physics, and I chose a seminar-based combined Honors Theology/English/Social Science program offered though Seattle U that focuses on classical and contemporary thinkers/philosophers over AP Gov + AP English. Some might say I should have taken the APs because they're more widely recognized, but I honestly think the combined program is more intellectually stimulating.
[</em>] Awards: Various in-school awards, National French Contest top 10%, summer scholarship to CMU
[/ul]</p>

<p>Subjective:[ul]
[<em>] Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis): Interact service club (treasurer, president), French Club (president), Hi-Q quiz bowl team (captain), Campus Ministry, Recycling Club
[</em>] Job/Work Experience: part-time at my family's business
[<em>] Volunteer/Community service: About 100 required for school, plus many more with my Interact club organizing fundraisers and volunteering
[</em>] Summer Activities: received a scholarship to spend the summer taking courses at Carnegie Mellon
[/ul]</p>

<p>I'm leaning towards majoring in science, particularly neuroscience.
I prefer smaller to medium sized schools, nothing gigantic. I learn best when I know my teachers well. Location-wise, I would prefer something more urban than rural, some place with character. I like cooler climates, I was mostly looking at the Pacific NW and the east coast. I''m hoping to get some fin aid, but realistically, not a lot. Diversity is fairly important to me.</p>

<p>Right now I'm considering:
Brown & Columbia as far-reaches (I visited and loved both)
Carnegie Mellon (Had the time of my life this summer)
Wellesley, Barnard, Smith (The all-girls thing isn't a huge deal for me. I visited Wellesley and Barnard and really liked their strong sense of pride and tradition)
Carleton, Bowdoin, Whitman (Certainly not urban, but I've heard such good things. Plus Whitman is kind of closer to home)
University of Washington (Family history and a great in-state school, but sooo big)
University of Portland (Safety, I love the city of Portland but I'm not a fan of the Catholic core)</p>

<p>Any advice? CC has been my greatest resource throughout my college source, and I'm hoping you guys can help me out once more! Really hoping to cut down my list, or find some hidden gems. Thank you so much, I know this is really long!</p>

2

<p>Yale, Harvard, Duke, Michigan, Stanford, NYU, Cal - You pretty much have a chance anywhere in the country. Yale and Harvard are both great college towns, Yale has more school spirit, Harvard is on the outskirts of Boston - nitpicking. Duke is in a great college town and good climate. Stanford and Cal are Northern California, definitely check them out (great climate, nearby urban centers, culture). NYU is here in the Village, the opposite end of the island from Columbia. It is a really particular culture, so it is a gamble for people who aren’t familiar with the area and lifestyle of the Village.</p>

3

<p>Are you going to take the ACT? Some do better on that…especially those with lower math on the SAT.</p>

<p>What is your likely major?</p>

<p>How much will your parents pay for college? </p>

<p>BTW…don’t be afraid of the Catholic Core at most Catholic schools. They know that there are non-Catholics, non-Christians, and atheists at their schools. Those classes aren’t indoctrinating or anything like that.</p>

4

<p>Thank you tobacco! I visited Harvard and NYU this summer, I don’t think NYU is for me and Harvard is just so difficult to get into when I’m looking for some safer schools. Same goes for Yale and Stanford. I have been looking at Duke, Mich, and Cal though - my cousin is currently at Cal.</p>

<p>@mom2
I have considered taking the ACT, but I wasn’t sure. I think I will though.
Likely major would be neuroscience.
My parents understand that most of the colleges I’m looking at come with a hefty price tag, and while they are willing to pay for my education, I know they are also hoping that I will receive a little financial aid.
I’ve gone to Catholic schools all my life and haven’t particularly loved that aspect, but I think it will probably be a different experience in college. Thank you so much for your advice!</p>

5

<p>The most important part of your post was</p>

<p>

</p>

<p>This gives you a couple of options:</p>

<p>1) an LAC or undergrad-focused University (Rice, Yale, Brown, Dartmouth, WashU, CMU, Hopkins, Princeton, etc.). Well known Universities NOT focused on Undergrad are Harvard, Cornell, Penn, Stanford, MIT etc. who tend to have more grad students than undergrad. It is most definitely NOT Cal unless you are in the Engineering program which has better faculty/student ratios than the rest of the school. Cal has no Honors program.
2) Honors program in a larger Flagship (UCLA, UDub)</p>

<p>Ultimately, your desire for close faculty interaction is the LAC’s raison d’etre.</p>

<p>Since you are oriented toward the sciences, but very well rounded as shown by your CR and Writing scores, Pomona College comes immediately to mind. They have a great science curriculum that is augmented by classes available to you at Harvey Mudd, which is a 7 minute walk across the campus. Additionally, I think Williams College, which you did not list, is strong in the sciences.</p>

6

<p>A liberal arts college really does make sense and a bunch of the top schools have neuroscience majors. Amherst might make more sense than Williams because, although it’s certainly not urban, there are several towns and you have the consortium of schools. If the urban criteria isn’t too important to you, you might want to consider Middlebury which is a little larger than many LACs (2400 rather than 1800 students) and has a sizeable international contingent.</p>

7

<p>Case Western is a small university with all majors but more of a science focus. Rose-Hulman is an engineering/science school, but almost a liberal arts college for scientists. You wanted some safeties and these are both lovely.</p>

8

<p>@Dunn
Thank you for your advice about the LACs and smaller undergrad-focused universities. Cal doesn’t seem right now that you mention it. I had previously looked at Pomona because I liked the idea of the Claremont group, but I don’t know if I can handle that much sun :slight_smile: I’m a weak Washington rain-lover. I also have a friend whose sister attended Williams and loved it, so I’ll certainly look into it. I thought it was in a more rural area of Massachusetts though…?</p>

<p>@Hitch
I definitely think an LAC would be a good fit for me, but unfortunately they are all in some fairly remote places! I may have to set that factor aside. Thank you for your suggestions, I will definitely take a look at Amherst and Middlebury.</p>

<p>@GeekMom
Thank you for suggesting some safer schools!! My worst fear is that I love all these schools, but they are all so selective that the admissions process may not work out in my favor… I will be looking into Case Western and Rose-Hulman right away :)</p>

9

<p>Duke and Holy Cross both very strong on sciences. Both have great facilities -Holy Cross just completed a $70 million science building. Holy Cross also offers several internships in the science field-per their web site. HC offers very small class size and is one of the few LAC’s that has produced a Nobel Prize Winner in Medicine. Both schools have strong diversity and offer need-blind financial aid. Holy Cross is the easier school to gain admission to.</p>

10

<p>*and I’m definitely looking for some “safer” schools to add to my list.</p>

<p>Asian female from WA.
Objective:</p>

<pre><code>* SAT I (breakdown):2290/1490 (800 CR, 690 M, 800 W, though I am retaking it in hopes of raising that math)

  • Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 4.0, school doesn’t weight
  • Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): school doesn’t rank, probably top 5%
    </code></pre>

<p>Work Experience: part-time at my family’s business</p>

<p>I’m leaning towards majoring in science, particularly neuroscience.
I prefer smaller to medium sized schools, nothing gigantic. I learn best when I know my teachers well. Location-wise, I would prefer something more **urban **than rural, some place with character. I like cooler climates, I was mostly looking at the Pacific NW and the east coast. **I’'m hoping to get some fin aid, but realistically, not a lot. **Diversity is fairly important to me.*</p>

<p>Dumb question…Is neuroscience more of a grad level emphasis or is it undergrad at some schools?</p>

<p>What is your likely career? medicine or research?</p>

<p>Does your desire for “diversity” mean that you want a strong Asian population?</p>

<p>How much will your parents pay each year? </p>

<p>You mention a family business. Does that mean that your family income/assets/savings may be too high for financial aid? Do you know what your EFC will likely be?</p>

<p>if you won’t qualify for financial aid, does that mean that you’ll want/need merit scholarships?</p>

<p>Keep in mind that safeties often don’t give much/any financial aid other than loans (or small fed grants to low income students), so if your parents won’t pay $50k per year, then you need to find schools that will give you enough merit to be affordable.</p>

<p>Also…consider some larger schools that have honors colleges. Honors classes are generally small…like 15 kids per class.</p>