<p>I'm currently a junior and I'm starting the college search process. It's nerve-wracking! To start off, here are my stats:</p>
<ul>
<li>3.55 GPA (unweighted)</li>
<li>haven't taken PSATs/SATs yet, but took an SAT prep course and got a 700/610/740 (reading, math, writing) on the practice test</li>
<li>AP classes: junior year - US history; planned for senior year - US government, English, French</li>
<li>ECs: gymnastics team throughout high school (a likely choice of being the captain next year), write for my school's newspaper, volunteer work at my Hebrew school, unpaid CIT at my summer camp, taught dance and gymnastics classes</li>
<li>other info: went to a French summer immersion program last year; my dad and several aunts, uncles, and cousins went to McGill and donated a dorm there </li>
</ul>
<p>I'm currently considering: McGill, NYU, American, Georgetown, Barnard, Northwestern, and Occidental. I'm tentatively considering a major in French or sociology. I'd like to stay out of New England (I live in MA and want to experience something new) but would like to go to school in a big city. </p>
<p>Any other schools I should be considering? Do I have too many reaches and too few matches?</p>
<p>If you like Oxy, consider looking at the Claremont Colleges. Assuming you like Southern California, they are all excellent schools with awesome resources due to their five-school consortium. If you really want to major in French (and you’re a girl) Scripps College is the Claremont College that seems to be the best fit, but you could also check out Pitzer or CMC…if you go to either one, you could easy cross-register in Scripps awesome language classes.</p>
<p>Oh, I just thought of another one… Maybe take a look at Macalester College. It actually is in a big city (Saint Paul, MN)! It’s liberal arts, but they have a kind of “global” feel because there is a significant international student population. Plus, the Minnesota winters aren’t so bad when compared to Montreal… Haha.</p>
<p>I had considered Pitzer, but eliminated it because it’s about 30 miles outside Los Angeles. After fit, location is my most important criteria. I’ll check out Macalester, though. Thanks for your help!</p>
<p>Reach: Northwestern, Georgetown
Slight reach: NYU
Match: Barnard, Occidental, American</p>
<p>Lewis & Clark and Reed, both in Portland, might be of interest to you. Assuming it doesn’t cut French like it did German, USC might also be a good option.</p>
<p>McGill and NYU sound like the best bets considering your criteria. Are you leaning more towards big University or small LAC?
A lot of the smaller schools have particular personalities, so you need to tell us more if you want better advice.
Barnard is a reach, IMO. How about Tulane or Emory? Small schools in cities are harder to find, but look into Macalester and Reed. At Occidental one needs a car to get anywhere, so its not in a city the way BU and NYU are.</p>
<p>Thanks for the advice so far! Here’s a little bit more about me, in terms of what I’m looking for in schools:</p>
<ul>
<li>I’m extremely liberal, and while I’d like to broaden my horizons (I currently live in a liberal, like-minded community,) I don’t want to go to school in a conservative state.</li>
<li>I’m looking for a medium-sized school, although I wouldn’t rule out a large school.</li>
<li>I’d like to stay in NYC, Wash DC, Chicago, Montreal, Los Angeles, etc… big cities, not small cities. </li>
<li>I don’t mind using a car to get around, although my preference would be the subway.</li>
</ul>
<p>I would say Boston University to add to your list, though you would like to stay out of the Northeast.</p>
<p>Other schools due to your preferences( reach, match, safety etc…):
University of Minnesota- Twin Cities
University of Southern California
University of Miami
University of Washington
George Mason University ( depends on your intended major)
George Washington University
Drexel University</p>