<p>It's hard to come up with a final list. I know I want to major in something like English/History, and generally prefer small, LAC-type schools. </p>
<p>I am also considering: Pomona, Pitzer, Swarthmore, St. John's (SF)</p>
<p>Here are my stats:</p>
<p>SAT: 2270 (790 CR 770 W 710 M)
SAT II: Projected 700+ on Lit and Math II
AP: Euro 5 US 4 ArtHist 5 English Lang 4
GPA: 3.64 UW
ECs/Awards: Editor of newspaper, editor of literary arts magazine, senate treasurer, president of Food for the Hungry Int'l, National Merit commended, High honors roll, National Outstanding (top 2 percentile) in international math modeling competition, published in literary magazine Fresh!
Job Exp: Did a commercial for Fanta and an internet broadband service, lots of freelance design/illustration gigs, now working as a marketing clerk at a clothing company</p>
<p>Good list. Is Berkeley in-state for you? Figure that it is- otherwise seems to not fit. Are you applying to any other UCs? Have you looked at U Chicago? (Northwestern is probably better for you though, since it has the journalism program.) I think that your list is fine, as long as you feel confident that one or more of the schools is a sure bet.</p>
<p>Thanks, OneMom! I'm actually not in-state. I'm studying at an international school in Hong Kong. Should I take it out entirely? Are there any other schools I could look at?</p>
<p>Well, Berkeley is pretty expensive for out of state people, and it is huge, not small. If you like small liberal arts colleges, you probably would not like it. You could delete it, or change to another school. Rice, U Chicago, Washington University in St. Louis may be worth looking into.</p>
<p>Middlebury doesn't have the same bent as Brown, Vassar, Reed. Schools of the Middlebury ilk are more like Dartmouth, Williams, Colgate, Colby, Trinity; while ones of the Brown ilk are Wesleyan, Bates, Connecticut College.</p>
<p>You'd be in the running for both... they both have small enrollments, I know hopkins is the same size as Dartmouth, around 1,140 per freshman class.</p>
<p>Thanks guys for all the suggestions, it's been infinitely helpful. I'm considering taking out Berkeley and replacing it with one of the schools you guys suggested. Is there a need to apply to a real safety?</p>
<p>Also, are there any schools where creative writing or journalism is particularly strong? I know of Sarah Lawrence, Middlebury (which is a reason why I'm applying there), and U of Iowa.</p>
<p>A safety? Yes, I'd guess one (or more) where you're well above the 75th percentile for GPA and SATs. At least three of the schools mentioned here had unexpectedly high freshman yields this summer and are overfull, which may result in somewhat smaller classes next year, increasing already increasing competition.</p>
<p>Swarthmore and Pomona sound like fantastic possibilities for you. For a more safety-type LAC, I would look at Kenyon College in Ohio. I have heard that they have an amazing english program and they are just a good LAC in general.</p>
<p>What are the main differences between the atmosphere (both academic and social) of Swarthmore, Pomona, and Wesleyan? I visited Pomona this summer, and I liked the place, but got the feeling little happened in town.</p>
<p>You might want to consider Grinnell. It has great departments in English and history. A lot happens on campus thanks to its massive endowment; though admittedly the town is a bit less of a happening place.</p>
<p>Wesleyan shares some aspects with Pomona and Swarthmore; it's a monument to the liberal arts and "learning for the sake of learning". But, in terms of size and scope you could probably fit both Pomona and Swarthmore on the Wesleyan campus comfortably. This has implications for social life as well as academics. Socially, there's room for both jocks and nerds at Wesleyan; it would be hard to imagine a successful weekend without a big frat party open to the entire campus, following closely on the heels of a discussion of Claude Chabrol's latest movie. It's that kind of place.</p>
<p>Middletown is not an upper middle class enclave. It's downtown is only a stone's throw from Wesleyan's front step and students and residents mingle freely, often living next door to each other. The number of very good restaurants in the town of 45,000 have mushroomed lately; there's a cineplex; road trips to New Haven and Providence are less and less frequent than they used to be. In fact, the day may fast be approaching when Middletown may be seen as one of Wesleyan's chief selling points rather than something to be glossed over during campus tours.</p>