Midwestern LAC's

College Search & Selection
1

<p>I'm looking to add a few more colleges to my list. I prefer small colleges that are in the midwest, although I am open to colleges anywhere in the US. I'm interested in history, economics, and pre-med. I would like a school that is surburban/urban, although that does not really matter to me. Some schools that I am already interested in are Lawrence, Kalamazoo, and Knox. How would these schools fit in with my stats(reach/match/safety) and what are some other schools that you would suggest for me to look into? Thanks. </p>

<p>Location: Illinois
College Class Year: 2014
High School: Public
High School Type: sends some grads to top schools
Will apply for financial aid: Yes</p>

<p>Academics:</p>

<p>GPA - Unweighted: 3.40
GPA - Weighted: 3.80
Class Rank: top 15%
Class Size: 800</p>

<p>Scores:</p>

<p>ACT: 30 (will retake later junior year)
AP US History: 4 (took soph. yr)
planning to take English Language, Latin Lit, Human Geography, US Government, and Macroeconomics this year + English Lit, Latin Vergil, and Calc AB next year
SAT II U.S. History: 690
will take Math II and another SAT II later this year</p>

<p>Activities:
Varsity Basketball
Varsity Lacrosse
Mathletes
Junior Classical League (Latin Club)</p>

2

<p>You are looking great for all three</p>

<p>Some other suggestions that fit your stats:</p>

<p>Beloit College- Fits right in w/ knox and lawrence DEFINITELY check it out!</p>

<p>Cornell College- One class at a time thing is pretty sweet</p>

<p>Wabash- All males school in Indiana that provides an amazing education</p>

<p>St. Olaf- Great College in Minnesota with a rising national reputation</p>

<p>Kenyon- Great LAC more of a reach for you</p>

<p>Others to check out: Monmouth College (Illinois), Ripon College, Hope College, College of Wooster, Denison College, Luther College</p>

3

<p>In addition to the three you mentioned in your original post: Beloit, Earlham, Denison, Ohio Wesleyan, St. Olaf, DePauw</p>

<p>Kenyon and Macalester as reaches.</p>

4

<p>Thank you for the quick responses, I'll look into these colleges suggested for sure. Does anyone else have any more suggestions?</p>

5

<p>College of Wooster, Wittenberg, Hanover</p>

6

<p>I second Macalester and add Centre College- pretty good LAC in Kentucky.</p>

7

<p>Those schools you are looking at right now are all matches. Some more matches would be </p>

<p>Beloit College Buccaneers
Illinois Wesleyan University Titans
Earlham College Quakers
Centre College Colonels - Kentucky
Rhodes College Lynx - Tennessee </p>

<p>Some good reaches would be</p>

<p>Kenyon College Lords and Ladies
Macalster College Fighting Scots
Oberlin College Yeomen</p>

8

<p>Consider Hendrix in Arkansas, too. More liberal than you would think, often considered a blue dot in a red state.</p>

9

<p>Not quite midwest, but close. Look at Allegheny College in western PA. They are strong in history and econ and have a good track record in med school admissions.</p>

10

<p>A few others, not yet mentioned: </p>

<p>Illinois: Lake Forest College
Minnesota: Gustavus Adolphus College, Carleton College (reach)
Ohio: Denison College, Otterbein College
Iowa: Grinnell College (reach), Cornell College, Coe College</p>

<p>And, it wouldn't hurt to check out a few smaller universities. Try: Creighton, Marquette, Valparaiso U, and Bradley U for starters</p>

<p>The midwest has so many great colleges -- you're lucky!</p>

11

<p>Lake Forest is stereotyped a country club for lazy rich kids, I wouldn't recommend it</p>

12

<p>Thanks everyone for all of the responses. Does anyone have any suggestions for some safeties that might fit my criteria, where I could also maybe get some money? Thanks.</p>

13

<p>Luther College, Gustavus Adolphus College, Monmouth College, Depauw College all are great safties that will give you an outstanding education.</p>

14

<p>Thanks SmallColleges for the quick response. Does anyone know anything about Elmhurst College in Illinois? I got something from there in the mail and it looked like it might be a good safety for me to look into.</p>

15

<p>Wittenberg has a lovely campus and gives excellent merit money. it has some very interesting programs, some are surprisingly very strong. A lot of nice kids go there</p>

16

<p>Thanks boysx3, Wittenberg wasn't really on my radar, but I will definitely check into it.</p>

17

<p>Thanks for all the replies so far...anyone else.</p>

18

<p>For a match I'm going to reiterate Knox College as a match. It's a fabulous school, and Knox will give you plenty of $$.</p>

<p>I may be a bit biased, but definitely apply to Kenyon. It's a reach for you, but if you start their supplemental essays early (summer before senior year), and make sure your essays stand out, you will be in.</p>

<p>Also, playing a sport in college will give a boost to admissions. </p>

<p>good luck!</p>

19

<p>Thanks Paul, Knox is definitely one of my top choices and I will definitely look into Kenyon as a possible reach.</p>

20

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