Temple is a public school – and I was offering the OP ways she could edit her list down, as that was her request. I noted that there were similarities among her clusters, and some schools which didn’t seem to fit the same profile, though one could certainly have a phenomenal experience there. I missed her post where she said Harvey Mudd is at the top of her list, my bad. For someone who is watching financial aid and costs carefully, being a potentially expensive flight away can be difficult. Doesn’t mean don’t apply, but when the final decision is being made, it should be an important factor.
Temple is a “state related” university.
http://www.temple.edu/secretary/search_commitee_position.htm
You don’t mention subject tests. Mudd requires two, and one of them must be Math 2.
@Midwestmomofboys yeah, in the end it’s definitely going to come down to money, and it would be difficult, but still possible (my friend in a similar financial situation is going to caltech so I’ve talked to him about it before)
@intparent I’m registered to take bio, chem, and math 2 in October
I would definitely reconsider proximity since you can’t afford a plane ticket to look at these schools. The “idea of CA” vs. the reality of being unable to come home as you please might not look the same a year from now. Access by train should weigh in to this IMO. I’m not saying cross all West Coast schools off your list, but one that is far from an airport might not be the easiest life choice to live out. See which schools can really accommodate you to getting home. Also, how they facilitate summer storage for your stuff.
Scripps, Pomona and Harvey Mudd are the CA schools I see on the list. They are all at the same location which is close to an airport. (It is Ontario which doesn’t have as much selection as LAX, so you need to check that out). And Scripps and Mudd definitely have storage pods for summer storage (I assume Pomona does too).
Any chance you can catch a ride with any of your peers as they visit? You might discover a school you wouldn’t have otherwise visited this way.
Many LACs offer some sort of expenses paid fly-in program for minority students. Check into it. They usually require a short essay/application process and deadlines are likely looming.
I think post #19 gives you a way to group schools by type/vibe. Since you can visit the Philly colleges, do that as soon as possible. From that visit, you may be able to figure out what kind of vibe/size you want. At that point, you can ask for more help narrowing things down, since if like college x, but hate college y people can help you try to apply those preferences to the rest of your list. Most kids I know do not visit all the schools on their list… it’s just not possible if they aren’t close enough geographically. Good luck with your search!
I agree with @Creekland …visit local schools of the same type…LAC, big public, etc in urban/rural areas and see what types you like.
Also if you are in NJ check out TCNJ.
Re #19, has the OP mentioned anything about wanting a quirky student body?
@merc81 Not explicitly, but the list suggests that the OP finds appealing many schools that one might call quirky.
@merc81 No – she didn’t. In my post, I suggested there were ways to cluster the schools together through shared characteristics, and that “type” seemed a dominant thread, with Grinnell, Oberlin, Kenyon, Sarah Lawrence etc. Schools which are generally considered more athletic with strong greek life etc., were in the minority or not mentioned at all, so I applied that label/organizing principle to her list. If the “quirky independent” type of schools is not what she is looking for, then that could help her to assess hewr current list to think about what characteristics are most important to her.
@Creekland I love the geographical description you gave. Separating urban "street " from urban "bubble " makes so much sense. My D16 loved Tulane and Columbia (bubble). She wound up at Pitt (street) and now I have an easy way to explain why she didn’t love it in the same way.
OP good luck! It is much easier to find reasons to keep schools on the list than take them off. I think visiting the Philly schools should help quite a bit. I hope you are doing it soon.
Well, @Fangirl1999, do you want “quirky?”
Some questions to consider:
Would you prefer a more campus that’s more connected, or one that’s more isolated/rural? Often schools will have course catalogues up and you can check those out and see the volume/type of courses offered (since a lot of yours are smaller, what’s offered in upper-level classes depends a lot on what the faculty is specialized in - though also consider that a few of your schools are in consortiums, which expands offerings). Do you want a school that’s very political or more neutral? “Quirky” or preppy? Lots of sports? Are you interested in continuing music and religious activities (I’ll tell you that Mt. Holyoke has a great jazz band)? How OK are you with the honors college at a big school, or would you prefer safeties that are smaller? As previously mentioned, the Fiske Guide gives a good overview of the mood at most schools; that might help if you can get your hands on it.
With respect to fraternity participation, three of the OP’s choices are within the top 50 nationally by percent of male student membership:
MIT: 50%
Whitman: 48%
Dartmouth: 46%
At the remaining schools, fraternities are either absent or have membership rates under 30%. They may also be limited to, in cases, nonresidential organizations.
I’m guessing an MIT fraternity is a somewhat different animal from a Dartmouth fraternity.
@doschicos @MurphyBrown yes, I’m attending a fly-in at Hamilton and MIT, and I applied to one at Smith. I’m going to apply to one at Whitman for if I don’t get into the Smith one. I’ll also apply to Oberlin but I can’t go to Oberlin if I’m going to Whitman (I would be missing too many classes this semester, for the Smith one I wouldn’t have to miss any school)
@merc81 @FireflyLights I’d say I’m interested in quirky schools, but I feel like that’s super subjective… Like there are different types of quirkiness and they each mix with different kinds of people? There’s overlap of course but I don’t know. I definitely would not want to go to a very preppy school. It’s also really important to me that the environment is more cooperative than competitive.
I really want to study abroad and am considering taking a gap year (either to spend a year abroad if I’m accepted to a scholarship program or working for half the year and using the money to volunteer abroad for the other half) so I guess I can look into the types of study abroad/co-op abroad things available and if anyone knows if any college has negative gap year policies (either a hard ‘no’ or I would lose scholarships/FA), please let me know.
I’m interested in doing club or intramural sports, but not varsity. I don’t think I’d want to do band (I only play the mellophone, although I could probably pick up the trumpet pretty easily if I can find the money to buy one), but I’d definitely like to do some sort of choir group. I think I’d also like to join some sort of religious club.
@Midwestmomofboys Allegheny and Ursinus aren’t on my lists because they’re safeties. Allegheny has a great CS program (one of the first LACs in the US to offer it I think) and I’m mostly applying to Ursinus for their creative writing scholarship (probably won’t win it but it’s worth a shot).
@Fangirl1999 I think Haverford, Bryn Mawr, Grinnell really fit your description above in your second paragraph. I know you are looking to narrow your list, not add to it, but have you considered Carleton?