Matchmaker, matchmaker, make me a match (schools, that is)

College Search & Selection
1

<p>Hello everyone,</p>

<p>This is my first post here, and I apologize in advance if I cross any unspoken taboos. With that out of the way, the meat of my post:</p>

<p>Finding reach schools is easy. There aren't a lot of names, we hear them all the time, and know a lot about the highly selective institutions. Safeties are easy to find too, it's really a geographical matter. The trouble is in finding the mid-range match schools, as they are scattered across the country and there are so many that one wouldn't think of immediately. That's why I came here. My hope is that CC, in its combined wisdom, could steer me in some right directions. Now then, my parameters:</p>

<p>Me:
Sophomore in Alaska, looking to go out of state.
PSAT: 212 CR: 80 M: 67 W: 65
GPA (now): Probable 4.1 wt, 3.9 unwt
Rigor: IB Diploma
Rank: 5%
Interests: Law/Politics
ECs + Honors: Hard to predict how they'll be, but I've won several state level debate/forensics awards, hope to be a captain on the XC Ski team next 2 years, and I do significant volunteer work</p>

<p>Schools:
MUST: Have cold winters
SHOULD: Have debate program, easy access to skiing
PREFERABLE: School supported skiing (I'm flexible here)</p>

<p>I'm trying to keep the information relatively short as this is not a chancing thread. If you want more, I'll be happy to post. So, your thoughts?</p>

2

<p>check out colorado college. im not sure if it has debate programs, but it is a very good liberal arts school that runs on a block system (not sure if you’re into that) and has a major ski culture.</p>

3

<p>Colgate University
Cornell University
Dartmouth College
Middlebury College</p>

4

<p>Are you more interested in national universities, or LACs? For someone who has been through an IB diploma program and liked it, LACs might offer a better pool of “match” schools.</p>

<p>For a good “match” LAC in a cold-weather state, I second Colorado College. I don’t know about debate there, either, but it does offer excellent access to excellent outdoor recreation. That’s not only due to the Rocky Mountain location, it’s due to the block plan. It gives you a break from classes for several days every 3.5 weeks. Some kids use this time to ski. It has a Division I ice hockey team. Though … I’m not finding any information about Nordic skiing there.</p>

<p>Other excellent (but not ultra selective) LACs in cold weather states include Whitman College in Walla Walla WA and Macalester College in St. Paul MN. St. Olaf College in Northfield MN is a little less selective (and more conservative) than Macalester.
Bates College in Maine seems like a great school; it is a little less selective than Amherst/Dartmouth/Middlebury/Bowdoin. Colby is another good Maine college.</p>

<p>Whitman has been a member of the Rocky Mountain Intercollegiate Ski Association (RMISA), but I read that their ski team is being reduced to club status. St. Olaf sent men’s and women’s XC teams to the MidWest XC regionals. I don’t know about team skiing at the other schools, but would be surprised if good X-country trails were not close by any of them. Whitman College is #25 in the Fall 2008 NDT debate rankings; don’t know about debate at the others. (Is Whitman starting to sound promising? It is, by the way, one of Loren Pope’s “Colleges That Change Lives”.)</p>

<p>I can’t say much about national universities in the “match” zone. They are so many, and tend to be so big, it is hard for me to get any sense of distinctive identities. Maybe the University of Vermont? SUNY Binghamton is a cold weather school that shows up in the NDT 25. Syracuse sent a women’s XC team to the MidEast USCSA regionals. UC Boulder has a gorgeous campus, and I’d assume it is good for competitive skiing.</p>

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<p>Colorado has a much more pleasant climate than most people give it credit for. I imagine somebody who is interested in cross country skiing would like a place where there is consistently snow on the ground during the winter.</p>

<p>Take a look into the midwestern schools eg UW Madison, Univ of Michigan, Univ of Minnesota, UIUC. They would have strong academic programs and the climate you are looking for.</p>

6

<p>The University of Michigan-Ann Arbor is not that great for skiiers, but it does have nice, cold winters, an excellent Political Science department and excellent Law School placement.</p>

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<p>Syracuse gets more snow than any other metro area in the US, so if that is your thing then I would recommend checking out SU.</p>

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<p>You may want to think about what sort of snow you like. For racing and slick snow, it’s the east coast. For powder, it’s Utah and Colorado and the rest of the west. </p>

<p>U Vermont attracts a lot of skiiers, and although it’s a broad university, it’s got some of the vibe of a liberal arts college. You might like it. Great x-country skiing up there, as well as decent downhill, and nice cold winters. UVM is near every major VT ski resort. Champlain College is right in the same town as UVM. </p>

<p>Middlebury might be one you’d want to look at. It’s got a lot of skiing going on. It’s in VT. Dartmouth is in NH, and is close to skiing. I believe that both Dartmouth and Middlebury own their own ski areas. The Dartmouth area is a bit smallish, but there’s plenty of opportunity for XC rather than downhill, and you can drive about an hour for good downhill at Killington. </p>

<p>Westminster College in Salt Lake City, UT might be a good one to look at. Utah skiing is very good. My friends from the east coast go out there, and to Colorado, for skiing all the time. </p>

<p>Williams, in Mass, is about 15 miles from Jiminy Peak. In the winter, I think they run daily shuttles to the mountain. UMass Amherst, Smith, Mt. Holyoke, and Hampshire Colleges are all in driving distance of good skiing. UMass has a thriving ski club. </p>

<p>Colorado College, which others have mentioned. U Colorado Boulder. </p>

<p>Most colleges in New England will be near to ski areas - some closer than others, but all are in easy driving distance of major ski areas. If you stick to northern NE - Massachusetts and north - you should have plenty of really good, cold weather, skiing and really good unis and colleges to choose from. Also look at northern NY State to see what’s available. Utah and Colorado should be contenders if you would prefer to stay out west.</p>

9

<p>

Oh, that’s true. 300 days of sunshine, right?</p>

<p>Still, skiers will be able to find snow fairly close to UC Boulder or Colorado College throughout the winter. Not necessarily in the immediate vicinity, but in the ski resort areas.
The OP will have to look into ease-of-access to slopes/trails.</p>

<p>I did not mention Bowdoin, Dartmouth, and Middlebury because I thought the OP was looking for “match” schools. Middlebury has its own ski area a short drive from the school. I don’t know for sure if they have good XC trails but I would imagine they do.</p>

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<p>Thanks for the replies. I’ll be sure to look into these schools.</p>

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<p>Bowdoin, Williams, Bates, Colby</p>

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<p>IB Program, Woo-hoo! Screw AP
(just kidding)</p>