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<p>I’ll be visiting NYU at the end of month, so I’ll see how I like it in person, but yeah, it’s probably coming off the list and getting replaced by something.</p>
<p>UBC is on there as a pseudo-safety; their admissions is very numbers-focused, so that’s good for me. Also, they’re in Vancouver. Beautiful.</p>
<p>I’m not sure about replacing Northwestern just yet, though. I visited them earlier in the summer, and they didn’t seem half bad. Entirely dry campus, though, lol.</p>
<p><em>bumpity bump</em></p>
<p>So . . . after further consideration,</p>
<p>Columbia
Swarthmore
Northwestern
Chicago
Reed/Macalester (having a hard time deciding between the two of them. should i apply to both?)
McGill
Illinois
UBC</p>
<p>With NYU up in the air, depending on how the visit goes. (I’ll be visiting UPenn while I’m in Philadelphia, but that’s mostly because it’s conveniently close to Swarthmore.</p>
<p>Have you seen Bruno? It has a hilarious scene with Ron Paul.</p>
<p>On topic: I agree with sirensong. If I were an AdCom, I’d view that political credential as original and showing personal conviction. Also, as a moderate liberal, I find that I share a lot in common with my staunchly libertarian friends, especially with regard to personal freedoms.</p>
<p>A lot of Ron Paul’s views will be shared by “college liberals.” From Wikipedia:</p>
<p>“He opposes federal regulation of the death penalty,[152] of education,[157] and of marriage, and supports revising the military’s “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy to focus on disruptive sexual behavior (whether heterosexual or homosexual).[158] As a free-market environmentalist, he asserts private property rights in relation to environmental protection and pollution prevention. He also opposes the federal War on Drugs,[159] and thinks the states should decide whether to regulate or deregulate drugs such as medical marijuana.[160]”</p>
<p>Most kids at liberal Eastern institutions that I know would agree with a lot of that. Just saying there may be a lot of common ground.</p>
<p>You’ll probably have a great chance at chicago…write a creative essay (well the essay topics lend themselves to creativity to begin with), and make sure your extracurriculars show what your passions are. because your grades are great and so is your ACT (isn’t 36 a perfect score? idk for sure, idk much about the ACT…)
sorry this doesn’t answer your question about matches and safeties, but i do agree that grinnell would be a good safety</p>
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<p>eek! small town alert!</p>
<p>Uy, it’s frustrating, trying to balance my desire for an intellectual school with my desire for an urban environment. Why won’t more of these LAC’s just stay in the city? /rant</p>
<p>I think people are taken back initially by the Ron Paul supporter thing because there were genuinely crazy people who supported him, such as white supremacists and truthers (people who think 9/11 was an inside job).</p>
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<p>True, but that’s true for every candidate. Anyhow, that’s neither here nor there, or anywhere near my Matches and Safeties.</p>
<p>Or would my political orientation affect my chances for admission . . . negatively? Then, is it a better idea to keep my involvement low-key, or to continue writing my common app essay on it in hopes of clarification and justification?</p>
<p>No, definitely write about it, admissions officers will just appreciate you’re doing something, some students will have a negative reaction to the Ron Paul thing but liberals and libertarians are a lot more likely to hang out together than with conservatives.</p>
<p>Agree that your political campaigning is definitely interesting and would be a good essay topic.</p>
<p>I like your list now. I’d say apply to both Reed and Macalester because 9 isn’t too big a number of schools to apply to and they, while different, sound like they could fit you well. Have you visited either?</p>
<p>In general, urban environments don’t lend themselves well to the culture fostered by a smaller school. I for one loved the university I went to in the city, so I understand why you’d prefer to stay urban. Go for Chicago, you have a great chance. If you’re worried about not standing out, contact the office and schedule an interview (I can’t remember if Chicago is a University that requires interviews or not). </p>
<p>Best of luck!</p>
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<p>I haven’t gotten a chance to visit either of them, and I probably won’t get a chance to visit Reed. Macalester, maybe, because it’s closer (I’m in the Midwest). I have visited Northwestern and Chicago, and at the end of the the month I’ll be visiting Swarthmore, UPenn, NYU, and Columbia, with an on-campus interview scheduled for Swarthmore. I plan on having my Chicago interview sometime in early August, I just need to register and schedule it.</p>
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<p>Aye, but for me it’s less about staying urban then getting out of suburbia as quickly as possible, lol.</p>
<p>Gaah . . . Asian parents.</p>
<p>I just had a talk/argument with them, and they pretty much vetoed all the Canadian schools on my list (McGill and UBC). What now?</p>
<p>ok, my parents just threw out all my LAC’s on my list too. What now?</p>
<p>Now you move on to the universities…yay!</p>
<p>Wait. Have you had a serious discussion with your parents about the pros of LACs? You could post in the Parents’ Forum asking for advice about how best to convince them that small schools, while perhaps not the most prestigious, can give you an excellent education.</p>
<p>Columbia
Northwestern
Chicago
Illinois</p>
<p>That’s all I’ve got for my list right now. Terrible!</p>
<p>They approved this list earlier in the year:</p>
<p>Yale
Columbia
Berkeley
Northwestern
Chicago
Michigan
Illinois</p>
<p>and they want me to revert to it.</p>
<p>Well, what do you like and dislike about the original list? And have you told them that?</p>
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<p>I don’t know that much about Illinois but it looks like you need a safety.</p>
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<p>Aye, hence my original creation of this thread.</p>
<p>So, perhaps a clarified request: Universities that would be safeties for me?</p>
<p>In which state do you live?</p>