Lost!

College Search & Selection
1

<p>I've just started my college selection process (I'm a junior) and started out knowing little to nothing about any US schools. There's a great deal of schools that seem amazing, but my problem is that I'm such an easy-going and adaptable person, I don't know how to refine my search!</p>

<p>People keep on asking questions like "Urban or rural?", "Big or small?" and I just can't seem to choose! I'm one of those people who loves both the sciences and the humanities--and honestly can't choose between the two! On one side I'm a total history buff..but there isn't anything like the stability of math!</p>

<p>I'm not opposed to women's colleges, and honestly love the sound of all of them, though there are some clear differences and I don't know how to choose!</p>

<p>I'm very interested in international relations, and have already had many study abroad experiences so schools like Dickinson College and Tufts are very appealing.</p>

<p>So far, I've looked and liked:
Barnard, Bryn Mawr, Dickinson, Lawrence, Mt Holyoke, NYU, Northwestern, Smith, Tufts, Wellesley.</p>

<p>That crude list seems like such a mismatched grouping, does anyone have any suggestions on how to refine my choices, besides visiting(which I am planning on doing, and very excited to do so), and put me on a clear path?</p>

<p>All help is greatly appreciated!</p>

2

<p>You still have plenty of time to think about what you want out of a college. It sounds like you would prefer a broad education, which would indicate a liberal arts college. You have an interesting list; does it match up with your statistics? Take a moment to consider each college - make a list of what you like about each. Use the list to come up with your criteria. Visiting will also help you focus on what you want.</p>

<p>Oh, and keep reading these forums!</p>

<p>Good luck!</p>

3

<p>I was exactly the same way last year. But I applied to a couple big schools, a couple small schools, and a couple in between. I don't think you necessarily need to decide absolutely what "type" of college is for you.</p>

4

<p>I haven't taken the SATs yet, but am gearing up for them at the end of January, so I'm not quite sure as to where I'll line up, I know some of those will could be reaches...but there is no hurt in trying!</p>

<p>Besides SATs, I have had an interesting course schedule, and will have actually been in high school for 5 years (my first "high school" worked ahead a year, combining 3 years into 2) and I am doing senior courses right now as a junior so I'll have to see how schools think of that part! I have a 3.8 GPA(over these past 3 years...unweighted) so I'm hoping that, if the SATs turn out fine, I will at least have some sort of a shot at those schools! I know I can turn out some great essays and fabulous teacher recs so I'm really focusing on making a list...and doing well on SATs!!</p>

5

<p>sorry...</p>

<p>Bump</p>

6

<p>golden_fish you are in great shape. </p>

<p>Visits will help you pin down the elusive 'campus character'; overnight visits are even better. Still, take visits with a grain of salt as the specific host will give you only one 'slice' of campus life. </p>

<p>Being adaptable and open minded is a very healthy approach; there are probably many schools where you could be happy.</p>

7

<p>i dont think that's a very mismatched list at all, i looked very closely at all of those schools except lawrence and i'm now at barnard.
i applied to a mix of big and small schools, coed and women's colleges, very competitive and then not so selective. while all my schools were urban, i often looked longingly to rural schools like smith. so you are not unusual with your selection and it's probably even better if you apply to very diverse schools. i had friends who ended up deciding between schools that were nearly identical, like ucberkeley and ucla, and it was a very tough decision.
but now i'm at barnard and i really encourage you to look more into it, it's such a happy medium of all the things i wanted in a college, and it seems like you were interested in things i was since we had similar choices. it's all girls, but it's not like you never see boys. it's in the city, but it still has a gorgeous campus.. etc etc etc.
if you need safeties i'd suggest simmons or fordham.</p>

8

<p>darn i thought this was going to be about the tv show! i actually got excited. :) my advice: get some brochures, do campus visits if possible. look at websites, etc. etc. etc.</p>

9

<p>
[QUOTE]
darn i thought this was going to be about the tv show! i actually got excited. my advice: get some brochures, do campus visits if possible. look at websites, etc. etc. etc.

[/QUOTE]
</p>

<h2>Damn, me too, I was like how does this workin with college, got me all excited!</h2>

<p>I haveto note, for me, this process was like this. My list started out with a wide aray ranging from Marlboro College (304 student in Maine) to Stanford, to UMass Dartmouth (large state school).</p>

<p>What really tells you what you want is visiting two schools... my dad's advice was to visit any fairly-good/known school nearby and then to also visit one school on your current list (note that mine had 19 schools :D) that you believe is an ideal place for you.</p>

<p>So, I visited Morehouse and Emory while I was in Atlanta. I noticed that at Morehouse (1) I wanted women around, Spelman next door was not enough, (2)I want a campus-campus and variety of housing, (3) diversity was key for from that point on, I don't want all-black or all-latino, I want an well-diverse mix of cultures, lifestyles, beliefs. (4) Surroundings meant a lot more to me than I thought, even if I was a girl on Spelman's rather nice campus, just the neighborhood I was in ruined it for me. I didn't like being squished between four other schools, and (5) I wanted a student body where everyone was dedicated and eager to learn, partying is fine on some nights, but academics need to be center.</p>

<p>So I visited one school on my list and found out what I was and was not looking for in a school, and so I wrote these things down. THen I visited a school that I thought had everything on that list that I wanted, and after touring I loved it, but it was not everything I dreamed, it was a 7 out of 10 fit for me, so I made note of what was missing or what felt iffy and that's where my colleger search took off.</p>

<p>I ended up at Amherst College after a lot of searching for the right school, but what it took to start was identifying what I did not want in a school and then moving on to there.</p>

10

<p>Could you tell us what city you live by, and maybe I could make a suggestion. Visiting a major name school that everyone suggest to you often helps so you can prove to yourself why it is not a fit. Like I took a ong visit to nearby Harvard just to shut down all voices saying that I was selling myselfy short. What I found is, the campus was not cracked up to be all that you may think it is (no Ivory Towers or glorious buildings in the sense that Oxford, Cambridge, or Princeton is).</p>

<p>My dad was like, then what is it that you want, what could be better, from that discussion came a long talk. he streets sliced through the campus destroying almost all unity that united it. The students seemed dissatisfied with campus life. FElt ideal for grad school, but not at all for the close-knit community that I wanted to spend four years undergraduate in. I say this, b/c there are possiblities at all of the schools on your list as well as areas where you may feel discontent.</p>

<p>Dickinson College's campus is parcelled into boxes by the town streets that cut through the campuses block-by-block.</p>

<p>Smith to some girls feels wonderful and to others feel cramped and they much rather prefer the openness of Mt. Holyoke.</p>

<p>NYU, you may love New York City, but the compromise is NYC in exhcange for having no campus. You may find that you want a campus with happenin social places and them quiet, shaded tree spots/hillsides where you can go off to for some peace. You wont have that at NYU, you campus is the city, and nothing but.</p>

<p>Tufts, some people don't enjoy Tufts surrounding city or how the campus is split into two halves, Uphill & Downhill, that share almost nothing, socially or architecturally, in common. Others love the diversity and how you can seperate the two scenes.</p>

<p>Those are just a few possibilities that you may find the school doesn't fit or does. It really helps that you follow the step of visting, not one on your list, but just any school and find out what you don't want in your soup (so to speak), it really helps when you go back and think through your list.</p>