Need advice and help narrowing down college list

College Search & Selection
1

<p>First of all I'd just like to say how much of a help CC has been in exposing me to colleges I never would have been aware of before and getting me out of the dream school(looking at you Penn) mindset.
Ah-hem: WARNING Long post ahead, proceed with caution.</p>

<p>Anyway, stats:
SAT:
1st sitting- Comp:1970 (Math:570 Reading:740 Writing:660)
2nd sitting-Comp:2060 (Math:630 Reading:750 Writing:680)
I didn't really study as hard as I should have and I plan on taking it again in October(offered by school) just in case my ACT does not turn out as expected.</p>

<p>Sat Subj. test:
World History:630
I realized that some of the schools I want to apply to req. the SAT along with two subj. test but I was being stubborn at the time and simply decided to take the ACT in lieu of it. I am now planning on taking Math Level 2 and either Lit or Spanish w/listening in October then take advantage of the mandatory in school SAT given to seniors at my school so that I can have both scores.</p>

<p>ACT w/writing: Taken w/out any studying or seeing format of test(or eating the morning of, which was a bad idea)-
Comp:28 (English:26 Math:27 Reading:32 Science:25 E/W comb:24 Writing:7)
Now that I've taken practice tests(scoring about 32-33 can make it to a 34 or higher) I am much more used to the format and timing and I will be taking it again this Sept. just in case the SAT doesn't turn out how I want it to. ;)</p>

<p>GPA: Un-weighted= 4.0 on 4.00 scale
Rank: Top 5%
My EC are is good standing IMO and won't be a problem.
I am female and a 1st generation American (though not college student, my father was an international student- or the equiv. of it I think, I don't know what kind of Visa he had- in the U.S. before he became a citizen but neither of my parents are familiar with the admissions process) and a URM.</p>

<p>I was a QuestBridge College Prep Scholar and I've started on the National College Match App. but I don't plan on ranking if I happened to be a finalist because I am not completely sure where I want to go. I'm also applying for Gates Millennium and Jack Kent Cooke. I tried to make a list of QB partner schools and LACs that I've learned about from CC,
Supermatch , and Collegexpress.</p>

<p>Colleges I'm considering:</p>

<p>American University
Amherst (QB partner)
Baylor University
Carnegie Mellon (QB partner)
Columbia (QB partner)
Emory (QB partner)
Georgetown
Johns Hopkins
Loyola in Maryland
Middlebury College
Stanford (QB partner)
Swarthmore
UT Austin (In State auto admit and my safety)
Tufts (QB partner)
Penn (QB partner)
Vanderbuilt (QB partner)
Yale (QB partner)</p>

<p>I took all the OOS Publics off my list(thank you parents on CC) because I read about the cost of going to such places and there is no need for me to do that when UT Austin is a great in state option. I am planning on sending all the QB partner schools my QB app for RD since I no longer want to ED at Penn.
Most of these colleges meet the criteria of Mid-size school(11,000 or less for UG), good amount of diversity, focus on lang. and/or international relations(most also have a large range of majors in case I change my mind which is possible because I used to want to major in neuroscience hence Emory's presence on the list), they are in or near a large urban area(Philly, New York, DC, etc.) and most have really good Fin.Aid.
I'm on the fence about Baylor, Standford, Emory, and Tufts. Standford will most likely come off because I'd prefer to go mid-west and northeast areas. U Chicago came off because I don't like their "core" curriculum; it seemed too heavy on reading ancient texts and classics, even though I LOVE to read.
I changed my mind about Penn because of their preprofessionalism and due to the fact that I loved then hated their Huntsman program(Dual degree btwn schools for a BA in IR from CAS and BS in Econ from Wharton) since I'd have to apply directly to that program. I thought I'd feel stuck if I eventually wanted to change majors later on. I was interested in it before I knew it was an Ivy because of it's all the language department I discovered in a Google search(it even has my parents' native language which I really want to learn).
The problem is I don't want to go to a school where competition among students is a major factor, where students work themselves ragged to be on top of their peers academically and become upset if they are not. I can't personally say that is how it is at Penn; I'm just worried it will be like that.</p>

<p>Questions, comments, concerns anyone? I'd love to hear about any of the colleges on my list!</p>

2

<p>I think you could refine your LAC list somewhat. The key with LACs is to find a good match culturally. Don’t know how many you’ll be able to visit, but my guess is that you you apply to the colleges’ diversity recruiting weekends, visits will be financed. </p>

<p>From what your wish list, Swarthmore’s academic atmosphere may be more intense than you’d like
If you think you’d like Amherst and Middlebury, you should also look at Williams, Bowdoin and Hamilton. All of these are interested in high achieving URMs, even if your scores may end up on the low side. </p>

<p>I’d also look at some of the less selective, though still academically excellent, LACs: Smith, Grinnell, Carleton, Macalester, Trinity, Barnard. Many of these are also QuestBridge partners.</p>

3

<p>Thanks! I wasn’t aware of this and I’ll definitely look more into Swarthmore’s environment (also a QB partner I forgot to add). I don’t mind really mind competition, just not anything of the caliber of IVYs where I’ve heard some students become depressed or develop feelings of inadequacy. I actually crossed off some LACs like the ones you mentioned because they don’t meet the “in or near major urban area” requirement.</p>

4

<p>I was hoping you’d reconsidered the urban requirement because you had Middlebury on your list. (Amherst is in a small college town, so I don’t know what that counts as.) Strategically, URMs have an advantage at rural, insular colleges, moreso than at urban or bigname universities. </p>

<p>But for sure you need to be in a place where you’re comfortable, so keep researching ambience and culture and visit if you can. Smith, Barnard, Macalester, Trinity are still possibilities. I would also add Wesleyan!</p>

5

<p>Yeah, I made an exception for Middlebury because of their excellent language program and Amherst for a similar reason. I like the look of Macalester from a quick search I just did, I’ll research it more. Trinity is instate, and I do not wish to go instate, but if I did I would attend UT Austin (I don’t care for Rice, it’s far too small) Also, I’d rather attend a coed college, though Wesleyan is tempting. Thank you so much for all your suggestions~</p>

6

<p>Sorry, I meant the Trinity College in Hartford, Connecticut. Wesleyan is coed. (Are you thinking of Wellesley?)</p>

<p>I don’t think of Amherst as being particularly strong in language, though UMass which is part of the same consortium has a wide offering. Amherst is one of the few LACs that offers a neuroscience major, but many offer concentrations or interdisciplinary programs.</p>

<p>Smith is part of the same consortium (meaning that you can attend Smith and take classes at Amherst or UMass plus two other colleges.) Both Smith and Amherst very strong academically, though Smith is considerably less selective. </p>

<p>Same for Barnard, which shares a campus and courses with Columbia but is not as selective. Are you aware that Columbia has a core like Chicago?</p>

<p>Middlebury’s International and Global Studies is a great program, but the Language Schools are open to anyone to attend during the summer. You don’t have to be a Middlebury student.</p>

<p>You might take another look at Williams despite it’s location. The combination of strong social sciences and strong sciences would make academically appealing – more so I think than some of the other LACs of the same caliber. High achieving URMs tend to gravitate toward urban campuses which crowds the admissions field. Going against the grain can be a good strategy when applying to selective colleges.</p>

<p>Lastly, though you said you’re not targeting the West Coast, you should look at Pomona. As part of a larger consortium, it has everything you want.</p>

<p>In order to succeed in a career in international relations – to work for the government, the diplomatic corps or an NGO – you don’t necessarily need to go to one of the IR magnets for undergrad. I live overseas and often interact with foreign service officers and NGO workers. Although most of them attended the usual suspects for graduate school – Georgetown, Tufts, JHU, etc. – their undergraduate experiences are quite varied, from LACs to State Universities. You don’t need to major in IR: political science, development economics, history all can lead to IR graduate school. The key is to secure meaningful internships and make connections in the field along the way, which you can do most anywhere.</p>

<p>So look for fit, look for a strategy that allows you to get into the academically strongest school that you can. You could easily end up in med school or getting an advanced degree in one of the sciences or even law school, so look for academic excellence across the board with a good track record at graduate school admissions. Most college students change their majors again and again in their first two years. Experimentation and exploration is the attraction of a liberal arts education.</p>

7

<p>Carnegie Mellon isn’t a Questbridge partner…They don’t even meet need.</p>

8

<p>Sorry, I accidentally put it down as one when I went back through the list.</p>