Match and Safeties?

College Search & Selection
1

<p>Here are my stats: Any thoughts?</p>

<p>Junior (Class of 2010)
Asian
IL (average suburban high school)</p>

<p>36 ACT, 12 Writing
4/490 Rank
4.481 Weighted GPA
3.781 Unweighted GPA</p>

<p>Courseload: All Honours and AP offered at my school (4 APs junior year, 4 senior)</p>

<p>Extracurriculars:</p>

<p>Class President (9,10,11)
Debate Team (9,10 Captain 11)
Academic Team (Captain 9,10,11)
Band (9,10,11) First Chair Trombone, Band President
Thespians, NHS member (11)</p>

<p>Ron Paul Presidential Campaign Precinct Leader*</p>

<p>AMC 10/12 School Winner (9,10,11)
NMSQT Semifinalist</p>

<p>*I'm not quite sure if this would hurt me or help me. Would they write me off as a loony, or see the dedication and passion (albeit to a lost cause)?</p>

<p>~</p>

<p>My dream school's Chicago; I'm currently looking to major in economics.</p>

<p>I'm not having much trouble coming up with reaches, but as for my matches and safeties, I'm not so sure.</p>

<p>I feel I have a off/decent chance of making it into Chicago, but still, I'm not really sure just how good/bad my stats are, and what I can do/where I can go with them.</p>

<p>I fell in love with Chicago back in freshman year, and I've been trying to find some other schools that convey that same intellectualism and passion for learning. The vibrance of the 'life of the mind' on campus really struck me, and it's that dedication to knowledge that would really attract and endear me to a college.</p>

<p>So . . . thoughts?</p>

2

<p>Reed (life of the mind)
Claremont-McKenna (great for econ, I think with your Libertarian views you’d find the other students congenial)</p>

3

<p>Some you might look into are Grinnell, Kalamazoo, Carleton, Knox, Kenyon, Macalester, Beloit, St. John’s College in Annapolis/Santa Fe, Allegheny, Lafayette, Gettysburg, the University of Washington Honors Program (and UIUC honors program, if there is one). You’re probably not going to fall in love with all of them, and they probably won’t be as intellectual as Chicago (which was my dream school too, until I changed my mind), but what can you expect from safeties and matches? I’m listing these schools because I was into the same thing as you were, except I wanted to major in math, not econ.</p>

<p>As for the Ron Paul thing, just put it down. They’re not going to think you’re crazy. Well, they might, but it won’t hurt your application.</p>

4

<p>Thanks a bunch for the suggestions, folks.</p>

<p>Particularly, Reed, Claremont McKenna, and Carleton seemed to have a Chicago-esqure intellectual drive that I really liked, and I might be visiting a few of these come fall.</p>

<p>However, these are all LAC’s, and I’vn’t really looked into many LAC’s in general. What should I be expecting, what does ‘focus on undergraduates’ really mean, what kind of or degree of intellectual diversity and vibrancy does it translate to?</p>

5

<p>I agree that CMC is probably the next best fit for you. Honestly, U. of Chicago is pretty hard to replicate. I’d suggest Reed & Swarthmore as well, but both are quite liberal (your libertarian views would be quite challenged).</p>

<p>Brandeis would be my suggestion as a lower match. It may not perfectly fit your desires, but may be your best bet in terms of safeties.</p>

<p>Look into some Ivies, you have great stats, you stand a fighting chance.</p>

6

<p>From your stats I’d say you have a good shot at Chicago.</p>

<p>And I would not worry about the Ron Paul thing. In the past, Chicago has had a nicely balanced and civil political atmosphere. I hope it is that way still.</p>

<p>As for LACs, I like them, too. In working with my son’s school, what I’m finding is that we can call somebody in admissions or financial aid, or email a professor cold, and expect a level of personal response one would not expect from Chicago and certainly not from a larger university. The intellectual diversity (not of interests but of ideology) may be a legitimate concern with some schools.</p>

7

<p>to greg6or, I’m not altogether too concerned with where the school population actually lies politically, but rather with whether differences of opinion and ideology are tolerated and whether free debate and exchange of ideas thrives.</p>

<p>Most of my friends in high school have been diehard liberals anyhow (perhaps echoing Rothbard infiltrating the Maoists at Columbia?), so I don’t feel like I’d be too out of place in a very liberal institution. However, I’ve seen my share of liberals (and conservatives) who haven’t been quite as civil and open-minded, and it’s those populations that I’m trying to avoid.</p>

<p>Should I worry about the liberal overload, or can I assume as people get smarter they get saner?</p>

<p>I think tk21769 is right on the spot when he talks about intellectual diversity; will the fact that LAC’s are a) smaller, and b) more focused (perhaps less worldly?) be a detriment to my dream education?</p>

8

<p>There are intellectual LACs, but they tend to be rather selective (Swarthmore and Reed come to mind). So you may have to compromise a little on that to find matches and safeties.</p>

<p>Do you definitely want to stay in the midwest? How important is being in a city to you? Personally, I think Macalester sounds fabulous - small but in a big city (two, actually), with students who tend to be very politically mindful (lots of activism, so your Ron Paul love would definitely be appreciated both by admins and by students), and all about internationalism.</p>

9

<p>Your stats and leadership are very compatible with CMC. I don’t know first hand but much of what I have read indicates that it is an environment that thrives on debate and idea exchange. It also has the advantage of being part of the Claremont Corsortium and shares its campus and many resources with 4 other liberal arts colleges. I’m not sure that a school with a freshman class of 280 and a 16% acceptance rate can ever be regarded as a safety but you seem to be a strong candidate.</p>

10

<p>An Update:</p>

<p>I’ve taken a closer look at a lot of the schools mentioned, and, as much as I like some of them, I’ve realized that in addition to my desire for an intellectual environment, on an equal level I’m looking for an urban environment. (I’m sorry, CMC, but I’ve got to let you go)</p>

<p>Anyhow, I reviewed my list of colleges to apply to, replaced a Yale that didn’t really fit anyhow with Swarthmore, and am now trying to find a place to add in Macalester. I like Reed as well, but I feel like I have too many reaches already, and the other reaches are more conducive to me than Portland would be.</p>

<p>So, what should I take out? Which schools look really out of place?</p>

<p>Columbia
Swarthmore
Northwestern
Chicago
NYU
Michigan
McGill
Illinois
UBC</p>

<p>Thanks!</p>

11

<p>Hey again.
I think you’re underestimating yourself, you got a perfect ACT score. I don’t think Reed is a reach (but if you’re not hot about the school despite that, dont’ apply). I actually think Yale, Brown and Columbia students would be some of the most intellectual out of the Ivies, so I’d look into those. </p>

<p>The only one that looks out of place is Michigan (and Illinois, but I’d suggest applying in-state). I don’t think Michigan has a ton of intellectualism (not to be confused with smart students - it has a ton of those). I’d replace Michigan with Macalester/Reed.</p>

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<p>I personally like the Ron Paul campaign EC, it’s much more unique than the many Obama campaigners, and it shows you have an interest in politics, and don’t simply jump onto the bandwagon.</p>

13

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<p>Thanks for the reassurance. I’m just rather worried I don’t have anything ‘outstanding’ or special, that’ll help me at the top schools. I’m just a bit of everything, and my extracurric’s are too great, so I’m afraid I’ll appear a bit too round . . . besides, I’m east asian, so I doubt my ACT would appear that impressive with that in context.</p>

<p>Anyhow, on Reed, the fact that it only accepts ~30% of applicants makes me somewhat nervous. If it could be a match for me, though, that would help in evening out my list, which as of now approximates an upside-down bell curve.</p>

<p>Yeah, Michigan wasn’t exactly a top choice for me, I put on the list mostly because my father’s an alumnus and I spent my first few years in the States on its campus and under its shadow (my family came over to the states with my dad’s student visa).</p>

<p>Concerning Ivies, I was once enamoured with Yale, mostly because I attended one of their off-campus information sessions and was rather impressed with how much it seemed ‘un-ivyish.’ No talk of tradition, but rather experimentation. As time has passed, however, I’m not sure whether that was just good salesmanship, or what kind of culture really resides on campus. Besides, I don’t especially relish life in New Haven.</p>

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<p>You’ll find a lot of libertarians at traditionally liberal schools.</p>

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<p>

</p>

<p>That’s very good to hear. I’d been reading some LAC threads, especially [this</a> one](<a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/macalester-college/567587-mildly-disturbing-conversation-last-night.html"]this”>Mildly disturbing conversation last night - Macalester College - College Confidential Forums), and it seemed the animosity towards non-social liberals was rather large. Not that I don’t love smashing liberal worldviews, of course.</p>

16

<p>It really depends on how prevalent and intense you want your intellectualism to be. If you want it to be the pervasive campus-connecter, add Reed and take out NYU. Is UBC British Columbia? I don’t know anything about it, but why is it on your list? Also, I’d say to replace Northwestern with Macalester, since they’re in a similar location (Mac’s is better, though, since you’re in the city proper) and of a similar selectivity.</p>

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<p>Swarthmore seems out of place on a list of larger, generally more urban schools.</p>

18

<p>Columbia - Keep
Swarthmore - Definitely keep! The only smaller school on your list.
Northwestern
Chicago - It’s your dream! I could never cut it off.
NYU - CUT. It’s similar to Columbia in many ways, but Columbia is better for youin my opinion.
Michigan - Keep
McGill - Keep
Illinois - Uh. You are not goingto Illinois. CUT.
UBC - Safety (Keep)</p>

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<p>Aye, I’m going to be writing my common app essay on my experiences with the Campaign, so I hope I’ll be able to express and expand upon that oh-so-important side of me.</p>

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<p>What’s wrong with Illinois?</p>