My Perfect college....

<p>Hey all,
Ive been lurking in the forums for a while now, trying to pick up some advice here and there, but i think i really need some personal advice. Im really struggling to find the "right" college for me. This is basically what Im looking for:</p>

<p>Liberal Arts college
Good med-school placement rates (yes, i want to be a doc.)
Strong Bio (preferrably enviro. science) program
Somewhere on the eastern half of the country</p>

<p>Im a junior in high school right now, and i think my stats are decent. Im ranked in the top 5% of my class of 120, have a 3.9 GPA (nonweighted, with postsecondary college classes), and scored a 26 ACT as a sophmore (i was puking on the test day, taking it again April). I do a lot of ECs, lots of art, music, sports here and there. Havent taken the SAT yet, but i plan to soon. </p>

<p>Basically i want a school that will challenge me and help me prepare for med school. I really want to study enviro science, as i am very passionate about it, and that will be a big factor in deciding on a school. I know that my standardized test scores arent the greatest, but i hope to get a 30+ Act here in april, and my PSAT scores put me in the 700+ range for each subject. </p>

<p>Any advice is greatly appreciated, so please, FIRE AWAY!!!</p>

<p>Thanks,
Ryan</p>

<p>Ryan, There are many, many colleges that would fit your description. Just be sure to have a good balance of selectives and less-selectives. At this point, it would be better to find schools that match your current scores. You can always add more selectives later.</p>

<p>If your scores come out as you hope, then you'll have a wide range of choices. If by liberal arts college you mean small, I'd suggest that you take a look at Williams. It fulfills all of your requirements plus it has excellent art, music and sports programs. </p>

<p>If art and music are serious pastimes for you then I'd suggest you submit a portfolio and/or a performance tape. This would help differentiate you from other science oriented kids. Small colleges especially like multifaceted kids so being an athlete, artist, musician and environmentalist is a great resume.</p>

<p>check out this program at Conn Coll--
<a href="http://www.conncoll.edu/ccrec/greennet/ccbes/%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://www.conncoll.edu/ccrec/greennet/ccbes/&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p>

<p>Williams
Amherst
Brandeis
Reed
Weslyan</p>

<p>There are quite a few.</p>

<p>I agree that you have a ton of options, but I definitely want to suggest Middlebury and Bowdoin; they're often overlooked.</p>

<p>Denison</p>

<p><a href="http://www.denison.edu/departments/envs/%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://www.denison.edu/departments/envs/&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p>

<p>I'll second Middlebury, which is well known for having one of the premier environmental studies programs in the country.</p>

<p>Bates has a great success rate with med school admissions. It is also winning recognition as one of the best values in higher education and one of the sanest and most flexible schools with financial aid.</p>

<p>Kalamazoo College</p>