need help narrowing down/sorting colleges

<p>Hi :)</p>

<p>My name is Samantha and Im currently a junior in a really well known, highly thought of private catholic school in my area. Which unfortunatly seems to sometimes work to my disadvantage - being labeled as rich white private school girl to colleges.</p>

<p>Im really outgoing and talkative. I have really great grades. So far my cumulative weighted GPA is a 4.4 - I do lots of extracurriculars:</p>

<p>Newspaper
Peace and Justice Team (community outreach and social issues)
Yearbook
Basketball team (school and club)
soccer team (school and club)
swim team (school and club)
NHS
Xaverian Leader
Coach of freshman basketball
and I was one of 2 students asked to work at my school in the tech. dept </p>

<p>I have only taken the SAT once and scored a 1990 and I am positive I can break 2000 when I take it again. </p>

<p>Im looking for a school that is medium sized (2000-10,000) - has a good study abroad program - has a pretty campus - and has a great college town (suburban school in a cool city)</p>

<p>nice dorms would be a plus</p>

<p>so far schools im interested in are:</p>

<p>Georgetown
Emory
Elon
Wake Forest
William and Mary
Boston College
Villanova
Union
Tufts
Gettysburg
NYU
Hofstra
Fordham
Holy Cross</p>

<p>any opinions would be REALLLLLY appreciated. Thanks!</p>

<p>intended major?</p>

<p>Holy Cross is #10 on Most Beautiful Campus College Rankings on Princeton Review</p>

<p>Loyola College in Baltimore could be a low match/safety for you. It's kinda in a college town and the dorms are supposedly awesome. As a Jesuit school, of course it has no Greek life. But, with Georgetown and Villanova on your list, you probably figured that out already.</p>

<p>I grew up in Rockville so I know what Montgomery Countians think of Baltimore. If you are reluctant to consider Loyola (or JHU for that matter) because of location, I think you should reconsider.</p>

<p>University Of Pittsburgh, in Pittsburgh a great city, it's a little bit bigger than what you're looking for but I don't think you'll find a big difference between 10,000 and 16,000 people</p>

<p>One of the main things that drew me to Pitt was their study abroad program. It's very cheap and it's very well run.</p>

<p>Elon should stay on your list, definitely. Great study abroad program, attractive campus, 5000 students -- the "great college town" is a little iffy, but it's still got a lot of what you're looking for. You would be a good candidate for their Fellows program, particularly if you get the SAT above 2000</p>

<p>thanks a ton!</p>

<p>dain3265:
not 100% sure on my major but I am interested in polysci, journalism, communications, business - that general area. Althought I love Bio I kind of axed sciences and premed because I hate physics and chem and most these threads scared me away from it.</p>

<p>DougBetsy:
I live in Rockville, I went to public school (Sequoyah & Redland) before entering Good Counsel as a freshman. I am a little wary of going south of MD. Lots of kids that went south complained about the schools being 'too southern'. Girls dressing up for 8AM class and such. Any insight?</p>

<p>lderochi:
youve been super helpful - Ive read what you have written on some Elon threads. Elon is deffinately on my list. I know it doesnt have a great college town but you wouldnt say students at Elon are bored right? There is deffinately alot to do? I have also heard things about ELon having hard partyers. Although I love to go out and socialize and such, I deffinately dont consider myself a hard partyer. (hence my interest in schools with a good college town so when I am not in the mood for a party, I can find things to do)</p>

<p>Thanks everyone!</p>

<p>popp, I attended Georgetown Prep in Rockville...back in 1987-1989, before you were born! LOL! </p>

<p>Anyway, your list looks good. I am not sure Fordham or NYU really fit your campus description though.</p>

<p>
[quote]
DougBetsy:
I live in Rockville, I went to public school (Sequoyah & Redland) before entering Good Counsel as a freshman. I am a little wary of going south of MD. Lots of kids that went south complained about the schools being 'too southern'. Girls dressing up for 8AM class and such. Any insight?

[/quote]
</p>

<p>Ha! I went to Redland, too! At the time, there was no Sequoyoh, so Cashell was my elementary. </p>

<p>Sorry, no. I don't have any insight into customs at southern schools. The only thing I've heard is that at one school (I forget which one) girls dress up for football games. Now, you realize that the schools I suggested are not in the South, right? Loyola College of Maryland and Johns Hopkins University are in Baltimore, Maryland.</p>

<p>According to my son, Elon does do a lot of on-campus things to compensate for the fact that the surrounding area, while quite nice, is not a big, great college town. Movies on the green, etc. If you click the News/Info tab at their home page, and then look over to the right hand side, there is a list of current events/activities that might give you a feel for what's going on (you might want to wait until Spring Semester starts, though -- pretty lean activities right now). </p>

<p>It is a party school, there is no getting over that. But students who don't party hard all the time still find things to do. My son is not a real hard partier, nor are two of his suitemates. One other suitemate ties one on now and then, and another suitemate (who is surprisingly not in the Greek system) parties much too hard for his own good. But they all get along quite well and are probably going to continue rooming together their Junior year. So it's not like you're a social pariah if you don't drink all the time. </p>

<p>Also, I'm sure you probably already know this, but if you do end up majoring in either business or communications, Elon has outstanding programs, including incredible facilities in both schools. Political Science, not as much -- pretty good instructors and some interesting extracuriculars, but nothing like the Business or Journalism/Communication schools.</p>

<p>You should consider Tulane. It is likely a match for your statistically and New Orleans is an incredibly interesting city with a lot of different sides and flavors. Tulane's beautiful campus is located about 4 miles from downtown and is in a very nice neighborhood. Academically, Tulane is vastly underrated as the students come out of there very well prepared and having enjoyed a very balanced undergraduate life. The student body is national in scope and you will find Tulane grads across a great breadth of industries. Study Abroad is a big part of their program with many offerings in more than 35 countries. Finally, they have been known to be aggressive with merit aid and used it effectively to attract a high quality student body.</p>

<p>Alexandre:
Prep is a beautiful campus and a great school, you were very lucky! And I think youre right. Im pretty wary of NYU because I dont consider myself an artsy creative person at all.</p>

<p>DougBetsy:
Unfortunately my last year at Redland appears to be the last 'good year', its a mess now from what I hear. Thanks for the help and yes I realize Loyola and Hopkins arent southern I was just wondering. Loyola is my safety school as of now. and Hopkins I havent really looked into. Thanks!</p>

<p>lderochi: you're unbelievably helpful!</p>

<p>hawkette: thanks! great suggestion but I think that would be too far from home for me.</p>

<p>popp,
New Orleans is about 1000 miles from DC so I can see what you're thinking, but Southwest flies non-stop from BWI for about $300 round-trip. If you change your mind and get so inclined, give Tulane a look. Even if you don't like the school, I think you'll still have a good time in New Orleans. At a minimum, check out their website and get one of those free DVDs that they send out about the school.</p>

<p>Thanks hawkette, I'll be sure to check it out and see if its worth the visit!</p>

<p>I second Hawkette's recommendation to at least take a look at Tulane. You might also want to check out University of Richmond.</p>

<p>NYU doesn't fit your campus criteria at all, although Fordham Rose Hill probably does.</p>

<p>I think you will find that the advantages of having the extra attention that typically goes along with private school--lower guidance ratio, teachers and guidance routinely required to read application essays, etc--outweighs any perceived disadvantage.</p>

<p>What is the breakdown of your SAT? </p>

<p>One thing--I would suggest you be more cautious about giving personal details--your real name, your schools, etc--on the internet. If you want to chat with someone about schools in common, you can always PM them. :)</p>

<p>Thanks Consolation</p>

<p>cr- 660 math- 650 writing 680</p>

<p>math was unusually low for me, I take it again in 2 weeks and I expect my score to improve.</p>

<p>OP - there is nothing wrong with being labeled a rich white girl, or actually being a rich white girl. You had no choice in your skin color or your socioeconomic status.</p>

<p>As you get older, you'll learn to be comfortable with who your parents are, and who you are. You are only responsible for your <em>own</em> choices, not those of others. Just enjoy your path and remember give of your time and resources to those less advantaged when you have the opportunity to do so.</p>

<p>I have no problem with my label personally, I just mean that I am a dime-a-dozen in my area in which if I happened to have any ethnicity I would be much more unique/valuable to a college</p>

<p>Everyone has an ethnicity.</p>