Need help choosing LACs, my list is way too big.

College Search & Selection
1

<p>I am a female from Cali</p>

<p>STATS
have overall gpa(9-11) uw - 3.67
w - 3.85
overall gpa(10-11) uw- 3.67
w- 4.0
UC Gpa - 4.0</p>

<p>SATs:
SAT I - 630 V, 740 M, 680 W - 2050 total
again english is only my 3rd language, hence the low verbal score)
SAT II -
Bio E - 720
Chem - 680
Math 2 - 620 (will def retake, math is my strong subject, but at the day of the test my calc was weird and i didn't study at all so i wasn't ready at all)</p>

<p>Extracurriculars (very weak!)
- tennis club team all 3 years
40 hours volunteering freshman year
9th grade - pr officer of class of 2010
international club 10-11
all summers in eastern europe - i worked at my dad's office(10-11 grades)
love languages, fluent in 2, know english pretty well, learning 2 others, skipped spanish 4 because i did so well, try to practice with native spekers often
honors roll all 3 years
... can't think of more. I know they are very weak, but it was hard for me since my english isn't that good (considering accent especially), the way of life is totally different etc
also i don't need financial aid and i'm a permanent resident</p>

<p>I want a LAC or middle sized uni somewhere in the northeast or midwest, it has to have a campus and offer traditional american college experience (lol) , I would prefer the atmosphere to be intellectual/not cuuthroat/friendly. Basically, I want to have a traditional college expirience at a nice place))) that's pretty vague, so if you have any further questions - ask) </p>

<p>some of the colleges I'm considering are-
Boston college
U of Rochester
Bucknell Uni
Kenyon college
Uni of Richmond
Colgate U
Denison College
St.Lawrence
Lafayette
Carleton
Macalester
Hamilton
Grinnell
Villanova
Lehigh</p>

<p>I know the list is way too long so any thoughts where I need to apply and what schools I should drop from my list? also any suggestions are welcome!
Thank you)</p>

2

<p>Kenyon, St. Lawrence, Hamilton, Denison, Grinnell, and Colgate are small and in small, isolated towns. If you are want more than a few options with your free time, you might consider dumping all or at least some of these 6. That would leave you with a reasonable number.</p>

3

<p>any other suggestions? rural location isn’t really a problem for me</p>

4

<p>Macalester/Carleton/Grinnell are very different from Denison/St. Lawrence/Lafayette/Lehigh/Bucknell/Colgate/Richmond. Research campus culture and find out what you prefer.</p>

5

<p>ok, but what’s the difference in campus culture?</p>

6

<p>To over-simplify, Macalester/Carleton/Grinnell tend to be considered more liberal and intellectual. Compare the Princeton Review distinctions:</p>

<p>Lehigh (little race/class interaction #13, lots of beer #11, lots of hard liquor #14)
Bucknell (little race/class interaction #20, major frat and sorority scene #18)</p>

<p>Macalester (most liberal students #13, gay community accepted #13 )
Grinnell (students study the most #20, gay community accepted #15)</p>

7

<p>thank you!
do you I thing I could get into Middlebury or Kenyon or ony of the more liberal LACs?</p>

8

<p>Yes, I think you can, but did you see Middlebury’s rankings on the latest US News? Whew!</p>

<p>Look, no one can tell you if you can get in or not. You can only compare your stats to accepted students and see if you are in range or not. I’m guessing you are. Maybe lower range for some schools, but still in range.</p>

<p>Language skills are very valuable, especially now. Don’t downgrade yourself for having them. If english is just your 3rd language, they will take that into account, you can be sure.</p>

<p>I would apply to all the schools that Schmaltz told you not to. They are the best in general, intellectual reputations, and the isolated nature of the community equals a vibrant community that is active. They also have tons going on on campus, as opposed to people trying to get away to party at the nearest underage bar in town. </p>

<p>I particularly like Grinnell and wish my daughter would have checked it out more. Also most everyone does some study abroad and that will mesh well with your language skills. Just remember that some of the schools on your list are in the top 10 or so of LAC’s so they are a crapshoot for anyone. ANYONE. just like Harvard. That includes Middlebury and likely Kenyon. But you do have a chance, for sure, a good chance.</p>

9

<p>Reading your description, it was screaming Macalester to me. I see it’s on your list.</p>

<p>I’d suggest that you consider adding Carleton, Bates, Smith, and Beloit and dropping Bucknell, Lehigh, Colgate, and Hamilton. I don’t understand why Villanova, Richmond, BC and St. Lawrence are on your list. Tufts is a school with the kind of atmosphere you want. I’m not citing the AWS/Ivy contingent, since they are obvious and of course reachy to boot. I would be inclined to consider College of Wooster over Denison. And Oberlin is a definite possibility.</p>

<p>Are you absolutely determined to leave the west coast? Because Pomona, Whitman, and Reed would probably have what you want.</p>

10

<p>Some on collegeconfidential (eg, Consolation) seem to assume that extremely liberal schools have a monopoly on being “intellectual” or “open minded”…as if going to the likes of Bucknell, Lehigh, Colgate, Hamilton, Denison, Villanova, Richmond, BC, or St. Lawrence is the same as attending a 4-year keg party.</p>

11

<p>Schmaltz, don’t think of two kinds of schools, think of three: intellectual, regular, and party.</p>

12

<p>Schmaltz, the political orientation of the schools in question didn’t enter into my thinking at all. That is the lens through which YOU apparently view the schools, not me. I would anticipate that they would all have pretty much the same range of politics among the student body.</p>

<p>The OP said they wanted a campus experience and a school that was intellectual/not cutthroat/friendly in a certain region. I simply suggested some places that, according to reputation, seem to fit better than others. There’s a lot of real estate between “has a reputation for being on the intellectual side” and “a 4-year keg party”! You see Colgate, Hamilton, and Bucknell as more intellectual than Carleton? Okay. It’s a head-scratcher for me, but hey, to each his own.</p>

13

<p>Consolation,</p>

<p>Talking about head scratching, someone asks for a “traditional American college experience” and you come up with Reed??</p>

<p>Please show me where I said those schools were MORE intellectual than Carlton. You’re the one who scoffed at them so much the OP shouldn’t even consider them. I’d really like to hear your detailed rationale behind this statement: “Carleton, Bates, Smith, and Beloit and dropping Bucknell, Lehigh, Colgate, and Hamilton. I don’t understand why Villanova, Richmond, BC and St. Lawrence are on your list. Tufts is a school with the kind of atmosphere you want.”</p>

14

<p>Reed and similar schools are often suggested when an OP says something like “I would prefer the atmosphere to be intellectual.” Occasionally one school will perfectly match various feature requests, but not consistently.</p>

15

<p>You’re right: I was thinking only of the intellectual thing and non-competitive things when I recommended Reed. It probably isn’t much of a fit on the “normal college” criterion. </p>

<p>“Scoffed at them so much?” What the heck? I simply said that I would recommend a different list instead, given her criteria! I said nothing negative about them at all!</p>

<p>Okay, here’s my detailed rationale: she says she want an intellectual environment, with friendly people, that is not unduly competitive, and a real college experience. Carleton, Bates, and Smith all are generally considered to on the intellectual side in atmosphere, and certainly more so than Bucknell, Lehigh, Colgate, and Hamilton. All are supportive LACs, and not known for cut throat students. I’m not saying that the kids at the latter schools are stupid or even less bright than at the former. I’m simply saying that they generally-speaking are not described as out on the “intellectual” end of the spectrum with kids at schools like the University of Chicago and Reed, just to name two strong examples of “intellectual” schools. At the same time, all three of the schools I suggest have real campuses and would provide a nice college experience.</p>

<p>I recommended Bates instead of nearby Bowdoin or Colby, for example, because Bates is considered to be a little more off-beat and purely intellectual than either of the other Maine schools, both of which are preppier. (I personally prefer Bowdoin, but this isn’t about my preferences.) </p>

<p>The rest of the list–Villanova, Richmond, BC, and St Lawrence–aren’t known for being particularly intellectual in atmosphere–again, no one is saying that their students are stupid–so it is hard for me to figure out why they are on her list. All I said was that I didn’t understand why they were on her list, given her stated criteria. Perhaps she’ll explain.</p>

<p>Tufts is a school that prides itself on being friendly and having a collegial, non-competitive atmosphere. It is more intellectual than many, in a great college town in the region she wants, and would provide a pleasant college experience. What’s the problem with that?</p>

<p>Beloit I suggested because it is an easier admit that would appear to be the kind of school she wants.</p>

16

<p>

I wouldn’t.
Regardless of one’s own personal politics, I don’t think it’s too controversial to suggest that the country’s most selective schools tend to lean left. True, at any of the most selective national universities, and most (but perhaps not all) of the most selective LACs, you’ll be able to find out-of-the-closet libertarians, neocons, or David Brooks-style right-leaning moderates. However, at least a plurality will lean left. And you’ll be much more likely to encounter vocally hard left than vocally hard right students. I think many a red meat conservative would agree, enthusiastically.</p>

<p>As you move out of the top 15 or 20, it seems you find more schools that tend to be moderate or tilt a little to the right (Vanderbilt, Notre Dame, Georgetown, Bucknell, perhaps Hamilton and Colgate.) Compared to similarly selective, relatively left-leaning schools (Berkeley, Brandeis, Oberlin, Macalester, Grinnell), I would expect their students to gravitate more toward business and finance, less towards academia and the arts. All the more so compared to more selective schools like Carleton or Swarthmore. Academia (if not the arts) is by definition “intellectual”, no? I mean this as a descriptive, non-normative statement. This is not to say students at more right-leaning schools are not well-informed or thoughtful. When they are sober, that is. :)</p>

17

<p>Consolation, I think Bates is a little too off-beat and preppier schools like Colby might be better for me. Also U Chicago and Reed are too intelectual)) I mean I like smart people, but I also want parties and like I said before, a kind of traditional college experience. I liked Bucknell and Lehigh because they are bigger than LACs but still not huge, and I though I would have a good experience there, but maybe not…
I am also worried that all the schools I like and people here suggest are too selective. Carleton, Kenyon, Macalester etc are all very high on the rankings and I am afraid I will not get into any of them.</p>

18

<p>also, I don’t really care if a school is more liberal or conservative, and I do not want to go a women’s college like Smith</p>

19

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<p>the problem is that many of the schools on your ‘moderate or a little right’ list lean pretty heavily to the left. based on both old facebook data and 2008 election returns, liberals outweigh conservatives at bucknell 2:1. colgate and hamilton are probably closer to 3:1. now, those ratios are in a different universe than the 20:1 or, heck, 50:1 youll find at places like oberlin… but last time this liberal checked, 2:1 is far from a conservative or even moderate environment. its just a sign that there are real, live republicans on campus.</p>

<p>do these schools have different feels? absolutely. but lets not overstate things.</p>

<hr>

<p>to address the original question, my simple recommendation would be to rank the schools on your list in order of preference (regardless of selectivity). then do the same for selectivity. after your top few choices, those schools that are more selective than they are high on your list should be the first to go.</p>

20

<p>I think Colby, Hamilton, Conn College, U roch, and Kenyon would be nice matches. Colgate is more of a reach.
Based on what the OP has said Macalester and Grinnell may be too liberal and intellectual for her. I don’t think of Bates as all that off- beat. I’m not that familiar with the Bucknell and Lehigh, but I think they’re a bit more politically moderate and preppy.</p>