Narrow Down My List?

College Search & Selection
1

<p>I have way too many colleges to consider. I want to narrow this list down to 6-8 schools.
Please help? </p>

<p>Also, I'm having a difficult time finding out what schools are realistic and which are not. My GPA is 3.9 un-weighted and 4.2 weighted. I'm homeschooled and I've been taking college classes through Montgomery County Community College since I was 15, mostly full time. I plan on majoring in studio art. </p>

<p>My ACT scores are not great though. My first time taking them I got a 23. However, I plan on retaking the ACT. </p>

<p>Here's my list:</p>

<p>Bates College
Colby College
Cornell College (not the University)
Dartmouth College
Swarthmore College (first choice, huge reach)
Earlham College
Hampshire College
Middlebury College
Temple University
Vassar College
NYU
Ursinus College
Northeastern University
Beloit College </p>

<p>Thanks in advance!</p>

2

<p>You need to research which colleges are test optional and focus on those.</p>

3

<p>Might want to try Bowdoin, which doesn’t require SATs, ACTS.</p>

<p>There is a list of schools that don’t require standardized tests.</p>

4

<p>Thanks. I will focus on finding more test optional schools. Thanks for the suggestions.</p>

5

<p>You might consider taking the SATs, my son scored MUCH higher on them than the ACT. I’ve heard that this is sometimes the case. He turned in his SAT scores, but not the ACT.</p>

6

<p>Bates, Colby and …NYU? This one leaps out as ‘not like the others.’ Why is it on the list? Some of these schools are urban, some are rural and some are suburban? Does that reflect no preference?</p>

<p>Are you looking for financial aid? Any other criteria other than LACs or LAC-like with good studio art?</p>

7

<p>M’s Mom,</p>

<p>Yeah, that school does stick out. I just love NYC and prefer an urban environment, but I also love small liberal arts colleges. However, the location is not the first thing I think about when searching for a college. I just prefer colleges that are not on the west coast. It’s too far from home.</p>

<p>Yes, I’m planning on applying for financial aid. </p>

<p>I’m also considering Bowdoin, Bard, Dickinson, and Lawrence College.</p>

8

<p>Check out Colorado College. Like Cornell College, it operates on a one-course-at-a-time block schedule. Admission is not completely test-optional but does allow you to put together your choice of sub-scores from several tests. In selectivity, it’s similar to Colby or Bates. You can apply Early Action for notification by late December or early January.</p>

9

<p>Bard might be a good idea.</p>

10

<p>Rhodes is a LAC in the middle of a large city. The ACT score makes it an almost desperate reach though. If you retook it and pulled in like a 28 or did a similar job on the SAT, then it would be a match.</p>