Need help finding colleges to apply to!

College Search & Selection
1

<p>Hello!</p>

<p>I'm a female student from Pennsylvania trying to find a few colleges to apply to for Fall '09. My interests are on (what seems to me) opposite ends of the spectrum, with English/History on one side, and Chemistry/Biology on the other. I'm really not sure on what I would like to do after college, and am looking for an institution that will give me the opportunity to develop and discover my strengths so that I can be successful in the major/career that I eventually choose.</p>

<p>So far, I admit that I have been looking at schools primarily based on what they look like and where they are located. I do want to go to a college or university with a lovely campus, and one that is in the northern half of the country. Southern Pennsylvania is about as far south as I can handle, as I love cold weather, clouds, and rain. Distance from home is not an issue. Also, a strong academic curriculum is important, as well as small class sizes.</p>

<p>My grades and standardized test scores are as follows:
G.P.A - 4.0
P.P.A. - 99.97
S.A.T. Verbal - 700
S.A.T. Math - 580
S.A.T. Writing - 630</p>

<p>I have taken 8 honors and A.P. classes thus far in my high school career, and have accumulated several college credits from the dual enrollment program between a local community college and my high school. I plan on re-taking the S.A.T. I, as well as the A.C.T.s this October.</p>

<p>Furthermore, I have participated in Drama Club, Band, Spanish Club, Academic Quiz Team, and SADD Club, and have held down a part-time job at a health food store for over a year.</p>

<p>Any suggestions or recommendations are much appreciated!</p>

2

<p>Are you considering applying to U penn seeing as how you live in pittsburgh. Since you like english/history/chem, i don’t know how good a fit CMU would be. JHU is good for chem/bio and it’s in the north. Do you like Boston? You could consider applying to Boston U or BC. Sorry i can’t be of much help. GL!</p>

3

<p>dd09, there are dozens of colleges and universities that would fit your description. In fact, the study of a wide range of academic disciplines from humanities to sciences to social studies is the definition of a liberal arts education. And you can get a solid liberal arts eduation at many, many colleges and universities north of Pennsylvania.</p>

<p>You have excellent grades and a good extracurricular base. Do take the SAT again or try the ACT, but don’t obsess – your grades and class standing (rank) will be the primary factors. </p>

<p>The first step is to determine your family’s financial situation. Many private colleges in the Northeast offer substantial NEED based financial aid, but what you think you need may not align with what they think you need. Settle this first before you go any further.</p>

<p>Once you know what your financial guidelines are then you should think about what you want in a college. Geography, small classes and rigorous academics are a very good start, but still cover too wide a range.</p>

<p>Think about do you want urban/rural/suburban? very liberal/politicaly active/middle road? sporty/artsy/nerdy? all women/coed? sororities?</p>

<p>Once you understand the general personality that appeals to you, then you can build a list that includes varying levels of selectivity, or reach/match/safety. If there’s one school that particular appeals to you then use that as a starting place and go up or down from there.</p>

<p>The best way to get a feel for the difference among individual colleges is to visit. The distinctions become a lot clearer once you’re on campus. If you’ve already visited, let us know what you liked and what you didn’t like and we can go from there.</p>

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

4

<p>Thank you for the kind advice! Momrath, thanks for pointing out that I should have been more specific in my request! Honestly, this is the first time I have ever looked at or participated in a message board/forum community, so I’m still a little hesitant, but so glad to have gotten replies!</p>

<p>To further clarify my post from above, I am interested in a suburban campus and a small school, preferably with less than 10,000 undergraduate students. </p>

<p>My family’s financial situation is very middle class. My parents are not divorced, and make about $80,000 a year. They will probably contribute around $20,000 per year to my college education, and I will cover the rest through loans and (hopefully) scholarships.</p>

<p>I’m definitely looking for more of an artsy/nerdy campus environment, and have little interest in sports after a bad knee accident last year. </p>

<p>While not seeking out women’s colleges, I am not opposed to them. Earlier this year I visited Bryn Mawr College, and was very taken with the campus and curriculum. Although I consider it a reach school, I do plan on applying there. All of the representatives and students I spoke with were very welcoming, and the campus was in a great proximity to Philadelphia to offer the cultural highlights of the area without being directly in the city. Also, I was fond of the lawns and trees around the campus. While I don’t aspire to go anywhere in the countryside, I do like the peaceful, natural environment at Bryn Mawr.</p>

<p>One thing I did not like while visiting Bryn Mawr was the proximity of the other colleges. For some reason, it just bothered me that there were a line of colleges when entering area. I know that seems peculiar, but it was just a point of annoyance.</p>

<p>I would like to attend a college with some form of a Student-Exchange program, and a community service program. Politically, I’m neither liberal nor conservative, so politics on campus aren’t an important factor.</p>

<p>Thank you yet again!</p>

5

<p>I would encourage you to look into these schools:</p>

<p>Amherst
Carleton
Grinnell
Haverford
Kenyon
Macalester
Reed
Smith
Swarthmore
Williams</p>

<p>But, not to be rude, but your chances would be better if you could bring up your math SAT score up. But you have time to do so.</p>

6

<p>Thank you for the list of colleges. I will certainly be looking into them!</p>

<p>Yes, I am studying and working on bringing up my math score in particular on the upcoming S.A.Ts. Hopefully the extra practice will increase my score to a more commendable level.</p>

7

<p>Since you mentioned that distance from home is not an issue, check out Whitman College.</p>

8

<p>I think you should definitely look at Bucknell. It’s a top 50 LAC (USNews) and seems to fit you perfectly.</p>

9

<p>SAT is kind of low for Penn, especially math given you’d be angling for a major in the sciences.</p>

<p>The nice thing about that “line” of colleges around Bryn Mawr is that you can actually enroll in classes at all of them, through the Tri-College agreement (Bryn Mawr + Haverford + Swarthmore) and the Quaker Consortium (+ Penn)</p>

10

<p>dd, my suggestions would be:
Haverford, Colby, Bates, Skidmore, Smith, Holyoke, Macalester.</p>

11

<p>Since your grades are a lot better than your SAT score, look at Bowdoin. It’s a terrific college that is SAT-optional.</p>

12

<p>for other sat-optional schools (there are some fantastic ones), look at [The</a> National Center for Fair & Open Testing | FairTest](<a href=“http://www.fairtest.org%5DThe”>http://www.fairtest.org)</p>

13

<p>Agree with the suggestions of Smith College. Smith has an open curriculum and is known for academic excellence, small classes, terrific advising and mentoring, and available, committed professors. It has great study abroad opportunities, community service, and a beautiful campus.</p>

<p>Smith no longer requires SAT or ACT scores for US applicants.</p>

14

<p>Schools to look at that are suburban, good at the liberal arts and a bit larger than the LACs others are recommending: University of Rochester, Rensselear Polytech, Brandeis, Tufts, Clark University, Worcester Polytech, Lehigh, and UVM (but it is very cold). Temple, SUNY Buffalo and SUNY Albany are larger than what you are looking for and SUNY Binhamton, SuNY Geneseo, And SUNY New Paltz are not suburban, but might better meet your financial constraints.</p>

15

<p>oh wow! thank you all so much! </p>

<p>I’m currently researching all of the great colleges mentioned on their websites, but i’m very optimistic that many of those colleges will interest me enough to visit! </p>

<p>thank you!!!</p>