Need advice on college selections, especially LACs

College Search & Selection
1

<p>I'm an international student with a rather low GPA and high SAT scores.
I applied to Williams for early and have almost decided on "reach" schools, but am undecided on others.</p>

<p>I am mainly interested in applying to LACs, but bigger universities are OK.
It's just that I have gathered so little information on individual colleges - just researching them on the Internet make them seem look more and more similar to each other, and I obviously can't visit them physically. (Time/money restrictions)</p>

<p>I don't plan to apply to colleges that I would not go to (even if I get accepted). So I guess my idea of a safety would be...not so safe.</p>

<p>The reaches I'm considering are Columbia, Dartmouth, Amherst, Swarthmore, and perhaps Middlebury. Advice on narrowing my reaches would also be really, really helpful.</p>

<p>I do need financial aid, but I am going to seek it in my country as well, so I would like some advice on colleges based only on my stats/interests.</p>

<p>Stats:</p>

<p>GPA weighted 4.06 (My school has a lot of AP courses, so unweighted should be kinda lower...about 3.8? 3.7?) SAT I 2370 SAT II 800 800 760 (Math Chem Lit)
Several APs (5 for English Lit, World/US History, Psychology)</p>

<p>Interests:</p>

<p>Despite my SAT IIs, I have absolutely no interest in the sciences (especially those that concern math, or even worse, calculus). I've always planned to have a career in writing, but also want to study other subjects in college, at least in the undergraduate level. Psychology and Art History are some of my such interests. (and my guilty pleasure, Criminology) A broader spectrum would also be nice.</p>

<p>Hoping to find a school more likely to overlook low GPAs. I hardly studied in high school, but I truly want to learn in college.</p>

<p>PS. Do any of you know about the New School? Someone I respect recommended it to me. Along with Yale - he wanted me to study creative writing in college.</p>

2

<p>If you like Williams you might also like Dartmouth, Middlebury, Amherst, Hamilton, Kenyon. On the other hand if you like Williams you might *not *like Columbia and Swarthmore. It’s hard to know your criteria. </p>

<p>Some other LACs in a range of selectivity that have good art history departments are Wesleyan, Hamilton, Vassar, Oberlin, Conn College, Skidmore. Smith if you are female. Skidmore also has a strong writing program.</p>

<p>3.7-3.8 is not a particularly low GPA and shouldn’t be unsurmountable. LACs put a lot of weight on extracurriculars, recommendations, essays. Depending on the culture of your home country, being an international could be a plus – especially at the more isolated campuses.</p>

3

<p>Why do you like the schools already on your list? If we can better understand what you are looking for we can help you more.</p>

4

<p>Thanks for your advice.</p>

<p>The thing is, I’m a bit undecided on what I truly want from colleges. On the one hand, I do want a liberal arts atmosphere where I can accumulate a lot of knowledge and depth before delving into writing itself. On the other hand, I would also like to directly study creative writing or even journalism.</p>

<p>I would like Columbia for the latter reason. City/Rural doesn’t really matter to me, as I’ve been in both settings and have done pretty well.</p>

<p>For the former reason, a setting where I can quietly study would be nice. The other colleges mostly fall into this category, especially Swarthmore - I have a relative who went to Williams and she recommended Swarthmore for me.</p>

<p>Recommendations I guess would be OK (all three teachers know me very well, especially my high school counselor) and extracurriculars I’m not so sure. Essays…um…I’m working on them:0</p>

5

<p>Rhodes College in Memphis counts several authors and journalists among its alumni. The English major has both literature and creative writing tracks. There are strong Art and Psychology departments. Sadly no criminology, but there is an FBI field office in Memphis if you are looking for an internship. My best friend’s wife majored in psych at Rhodes and works for the FBI, her husband majored in business and works for the Secret Service.</p>

6

<p>look at William & Mary and Davidson for good LACs that offer what you are looking for. Having great weather is also an added bonus.</p>

7

<p>Middlebury is very well know for its writing program and, if it matters, there are more international students than most LACs have. I always hear Kenyon mentioned as being good for writing and it is somewhat easier to get into.</p>

8

<p>strawberry, have you actually already sent your ED application to Williams? If your relative sees you as more of a Swarthmore type, you may want to rethink your list. Although they are both academically excellent the atmosphere and learning environment is vastly different.</p>

9

<p>The deadline for Williams ED was November 10th, so yes, I’ve already applied. I was personally more attracted to Williams:)</p>

10

<p>Some good ones here:</p>

<p>[Colleges</a> That Change Lives](<a href=“http://www.ctcl.org/]Colleges”>http://www.ctcl.org/)</p>

<p>I know that Earlham College loves internationals.</p>

11

<p>If you’re “personally attracted” to Williams because of its culture, environment, personality, whatever it is that drew you in then consider the schools I listed in post #2: Dartmouth, Middlebury, Amherst, Hamilton, Kenyon.</p>

<p>Good luck and let us know how you do.</p>

12

<p>From you list:

I will take keep Columbia and Swarthmore for the reasons you described. Middlebury is good for creative writing too. Together with Williams, you already have 4 reaches. That should be good enough for you. For matches or low reaches I will suggest Macalester, Grinnell, Kenyon, Sarah Lawrence, Trinity College, Hamilton and Oberlin.</p>

<p>Hope this will help. :)</p>