<p>I currently have a list of about 18 schools I like. I have read a lot about them, and I like them all. So, what advice would you give me to narrow down my list? Are there questions I should ask or something I should focus on that I might think is unimportant now? Also, there are some schools that I like but I guess I just haven't put lots of effort into researching them-do you think I'm really unconsciously saying that I don't like that school as much and should cut them or should i make an extra effort to research them now to verify my list? I'm also a bit scared with some schools that are more on the top that I have liked what I've read, but I just can't figure out the social scene and some other things and if it is a school i'd like.</p>
<p>when i first started looking i made a preliminary list of every college i was interested in. after that, i narrowed it by deciding on a few key factors, for me:
1. geographic location (how far away from home and what region of the us)
2. size of the school (probably my biggest narrowing factor)
3. sports teams (whether you want a school with a big sports scene or not)</p>
<p>those were about my only real limiting factors. and just making sure that i had a balance between safety, match, and reach... i narrowed it down to 7, and probably could have narrowed it down to about 5.</p>
<p>maybe i should name a few schools i am concerned about. Truthfully I am probably stereotyping schools a TON, which i feel really bad about, but i'd like to hear the truth about these matters, since some of these bother me.
Yale- it would be a major reach. i don't know if i could get in, but at the same time, why not try?<br>
University of Rochester-I have really liked a lot of things I read, i am just concerned because i haven't heard much about their writing and history departments and it has Greek life which i'm not really into.
George Washington- One i haven't researched about a ton. I have the same concerns as for Uni. Roch. I also don't know much about their music program and i like a sort of liberal artsy atmosphere. However, I love the location.
Vassar- I have just heard things like students are really rich and that there's drug use, and i just want to know more about that. I also heard that the town is bad and the libary isn't great.
Boston U- It may be too big. I again heard that people are kind of rich and snobby, and i'm wondering if the campus comes together at all or if it's more an independent school.
Case Western- It doesn't seem to have a very strong humanities department which is what i want.
Tufts- I should probably cut this. I like it, but i don't know much about the programs and i can't get a feel for the school at all.
Wesleyan- In a way it seems too quirky for me. I'm really liberal, but i'm not hippy-ish at all and i'm kind of a modest introvert, and it just seems as if that's not the campus feel.
Uni. Chicago- I am wondering just how academic it is. I really love learning and all that, I just don't know how much i really want to constantly work, which it seems happens at chicago, though i do want to be somewhat scholarly. also, i feel almost inferior to some of their admissions stuff. Maybe I would like it though, I don't know.</p>
<p>Wesleyan is hardly hippyish. There may be a few alternative people on campus, but its basically intellectually curious kids who are politcally aware and active.</p>
<p>Just in case you were wondering, Tufts is strong in international relations and UofC's reputation for academics is hard core. Supposedly, you have a slim to zero social life when you get there. BTW Chicago if known as the west point of academia.</p>
<p>I have the same fears about U. Chicago! I know that it's a great college, but the high school I'm currently going to is so demanding and full of pressure, and it sounds like Chicago is more of the same.</p>
<p>you actually are looking at a lot of the same schools i did. </p>
<p>rochester- being a rochester native, i can attest that this school is really good. top notch academics and several really outstanding programs. most schools have a greek life, i'm not sure how strong it is at rochester, but i'd be willing to bet that it isn't as large an influence as you would expect. and plus, greek life isn't all that bad... when you're a freshman it is sometimes the only access you have to parties. </p>
<p>boston u- really fun and eclectic. you have to be willing to go to a big school. but also, boston is just awesome. also, a word about large schools- i tend to believe that they are as big as you make them. you'll probably never know everyone in your graduating class, but once you get involved with stuff, it will seem a lot smaller. (unc has 15000ish undergrads, and i see people i know all the time).</p>
<p>u chicago- seemed a bit too focused on academics to me, if that makes sense. it all depends on how much time you want to spend in the classroom and studying, i guess.</p>
<p>of course, the only way that you can really know about a school is to visit it.</p>
<p>Visit, Research. I hate to say it, but there's no other way around it. It's either cut down your list now, or wait till April and pick 1/18. Anyway you turn it, you really have to dive into the things that are important to you, and see which schools have it and which don't- talk to real students who go there, and not freshman who think everything wonderful as they've spent like a month there. Inquire about the departments- small doesn't always mean a bad department. Get in contact with students on the sites- some of the sites have student ambassadors (like case). You can read all the literature you want, but until you get the "real deal", it's not worth anything.</p>