Narrowing down my LACs

College Search & Selection
1

<p>Hi! I'm working on narrowing down my college list to seven schools, and I've got 5 LACs for 2 spots. I'll share my stats and what's important to me, and if you have any experience with these schools (or suggestions that I may have overlooked) please share your opinions!</p>

<p>Stats:
4.0, valedictorian in class of app. 375
will have 8 APs by graduation (so far: World History- 5, U.S. History- 5, English Language- 5)
800 CR, 740 M, 800 W
740 Math 2, 780 U.S. History (I plan to take Literature and re-take Math 2)</p>

<p>ECs:
Girl Scout- done Silver Award, working on Gold- starting a community vegetable garden at my church to grow produce for the food bank
ballet/contemporary dance- 6 hours/week
Key Club- bulletin editor for past two years
Also- National Honor Society, Gay Straight Alliance</p>

<p>What I'm looking for:
A strong program in international relations/politics (I'm particularly interested in the Middle East and would prefer a whole major dedicated to Middle Eastern Studies or the like but would be ok with shaping an IR major to my individual interests)
An open-minded, politically active student body (I'm fairly liberal, wouldn't want to be the only one there who believes in gay marriage, abortion rights, etc.)
Easy access to a big city
I'm not the sorority type, nor the polo-shirt-and-pearls type, and want a school that attracts at least some students with values similar to mine.
Lots of study abroad opportunities- especially in the Middle East
Internships at international organizations, Congress, the UN, NGOs and the like</p>

<p>The other schools on my list:
Yale, Brown, UC Berkeley, Georgetown, University of Washington (in-state tuition!)</p>

<p>Here's what I need help with:
Barnard, Claremont McKenna, Pomona, Haverford, Davidson</p>

<p>I need to narrow that down to two schools to round out my list.</p>

<p>Thank you for your help!</p>

2

<p>Pomona is more liberal than CMC, so if you want California, that’s probably the better choice, although CMC has a strong reputation for international affairs. From what I’ve heard, Davidson is more preppy and obviously more Southern, though not at all close-minded. Barnard being in New York could give you more opportunities, I’d think, and it’s the only one on your list that is in a city, so if you’re cool with an all-girl school, that’d be a great choice. Haverford is also a really good school, and I know it has strong Quaker values, if you care about that. You can’t really go wrong here, but I’d go with Pomona and Barnard. Occidental (not as good of a reputation as Pomona, located in Los Angeles) also has a really great Diplomacy/World Affairs program and the opportunity to intern at the United Nations is available, so you could consider that school as well, it’s in the city.</p>

3

<p>Even though Davidson is reasonably liberal, North Carolina is not. Agree with CMC comment. Haverford v accepting of differences and a great school but very small (1400 students) but you can also take classes at Bryn Mawr or Swarthmore for free (both also very liberal). If you want east coast, go Barnard & Haverford, or drop one and pick up Pomona. Or apply to all three. Hard to see how you could go wrong with any of them x CMC.</p>

4

<p>barnard is an amazing opportunity. Although it is a girl school, it is affiliated with columbia…just something to think about. </p>

<p>Honestly I think you will do really well at Cal, but thats just my opinion.</p>

5

<p>Why isn’t Macalester on your list? They’re in St. Paul, and they’re huge on international relations. They fly the UN flag there, and rotate flying the flags of all the countries represented in the student body. I know adding schools is not what you’re after, but Macalester sounds like just what you’re looking for.</p>

6

<p>Another LAC in the Haverford/Macalester vein is Earlham College. It has a high international enrollment, about 16%. It offers a Middle Eastern Studies course of study (not sure if it’s a major or minor), a major in International Studies, and a semester abroad in Jordan. It’s another Quaker-affiliated school, liberal, and non-Greek. It’s in a small town, though, about an hour away from Indianapolis.</p>

7

<p>smdporfavor: Thanks! Those are the things that stood out to me as well, glad to know I was drawing the right conclusions! I looked at Occidental, but decided it wasn’t for me.</p>

<p>doonerak: That’s the problem- it IS hard to see where I could go wrong with any of them, but I can’t choose them all!</p>

<p>hannahj65: Yeah, I really really like Barnard, and its relationship with Columbia is one of the reasons why. That gives it way more in terms of opportunities and, well, guys, than most other womens’ colleges. And thanks! I visited Cal and really liked it, I hope I get in!</p>

<p>spdf: I had overlooked Macalester because of its location, but I’ll give it a second chance. Since some of the schools on my list don’t even have a major in International Studies, Mac might be a better choice in terms of strength of program.</p>

<p>LasMa: If it was anywhere else…it would be perfect. But Indiana isn’t really where I want to be.</p>

<p>Does anyone know if I could be a Pomona student and major in Middle East Studies and Claremont? Or am I limited to the International Relations major offered at Pomona? How far could I stretch the cross-registration privileges? Pomona’s got the right atmosphere for me, but CMC has the programs I want. Should I just apply to CMC and know that my friends can still be Pomona students?</p>

8

<p>Suggest you look at Bard, which has a strong Middle East studies program, including a program for a semester or year abroad at the Al-Quds Bard Honors College for Liberal Arts and Sciences in Abu Dis, East Jerusalem. [Academics</a> | Bard College Catalogue](<a href=“Bard College Catalogue”>Bard College Catalogue)</p>

9

<p>You’re right - CMC has the programs you want and they are first-rate. I wouldn’t worry about fitting in. All political ideologies are well represented at CMC. In fact, there are probably more liberals than conservatives.</p>

10

<p>I’d say pick Ponoma & Barnard by what you’ve mentioned in your original post :)</p>

11

<p>I was going to mention Macalester too. I was <em>very</em> impressed by their brochures and the campus tour, and I think Minneapolis/St. Paul would be a great place to live. The 2012 Princeton Review “The Best 376 Colleges” ranks Mac #1 for “most liberal students”. I don’t know how seriously to take that, but it definitely has a very internationalist vibe.</p>

12

<p>My vote goes to Barnard & CMK, based on the information in the original post.
CMK, not Pomona, because:

  1. CMK is a tad less selective (the OP’s list is very top-heavy with reach schools)
  2. IR, econ, and government seems to be a specialty/focus at CMK</p>