<p>I'm trying to choose my last 3 schools and really can't decide. So far, I know I'll be applying to:
Amherst College
Dartmouth College
New York University - Abu Dhabi
Princeton University (SCEA)
Swarthmore College
Williams College</p>
<p>However, I want to choose 3 more from the following:
Brown University
Carleton College
Colgate University
Hamilton College
Haverford College
Kenyon College
St. John's College
Wesleyan University</p>
<p>I have a 2360 SAT and similar stats/ECs. I prefer smaller (<5000 student) schools. I'll probably be majoring in Economics or Computer Science.</p>
<p>You need a safety which you will definitely be admitted to and which you will definitely be able to afford to attend. (Some people use community college with intent to transfer to the state flagship or other state university as their safety.)</p>
<p>Have you actually checked the courses and curricula in economics and computer science at each of the schools you are considering? For example, the computer science offerings at Amherst are very limited. Kenyon does not even have a computer science major. St. John’s College curriculum is based on readings of great books for a general liberal arts program of study, rather than a major or concentration.</p>
<p>Do you have financial constraints, and what is your state of residency? Some of the top schools for economics and computer science are state universities.</p>
Based on the school I currently attend, I would definitely be accepted to Hamilton or Kenyon with a substantial scholarship.</p>
<p>
Yes, I’m aware of the curriculum options in general. However, I didn’t realize that Amherst was so limited. Do you have something to substantiate this?</p>
<p>
We can afford to pay $30,000 a year, though our EFC is substantially below that. Additionally, my current high school offers significant scholarships which mean most LACs are quite affordable for graduates. I have no interest in attending state university, though I am from Vermont.</p>
<p>You may want to add University of Minnesota, Twin Cities to your application list (deadline December 15). It has a good reputation for economics and computer science (and math, which is related to both). And its full list price for out of state students is under $30,000 per year.</p>
Good point, but isn’t that mostly a virtue of Amherst being smaller? I realize there are certain sacrifices about going to an LAC, but think it’s worth it.</p>
<p>I don’t particularly want to go to a school which is significantly below my statistics. As I said, my college counselor (who has significant experience) thinks most of the schools on my second list are reasonable safeties, with strong potential for merit money.</p>
<p>I don’t think a safety is worth applying to if I have absolutely zero desire to attend it. I’d be much happier studying English at Kenyon than studying Computer Science at University of Minnesota.</p>
<p>You wrote you
“Based on the school I currently attend, I would definitely be accepted to Hamilton or Kenyon with a substantial scholarship.”</p>
<p>Hamilton no longer gives merit scholarships from what I can tell. I agree you’d be admitted assuming your essay shows you really want to go there and is not generic.</p>
You’re correct: in general, they have no merit scholarships. However, my school has special relationships which include merit scholarships (even to British universities, which are renowned for not having scholarships).</p>
<p>Hamilton and Brown are more similar to Amherst in terms of an open curriculum. I’d probably go with those. Kenyon’s a nice school, but logistically tough to get to from Vermont. Carleton would be easier in that respect.</p>
<p>In any case, especially with smaller schools, check the course offerings to be sure that they have enough breadth and depth in the subjects that you are interested in. You do not want to be back here asking about transfer options after finding that the school you are attending does not have enough breadth and depth of courses in your major.</p>
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<p>Remember that big schools tend to be a broader range of student abilities. While the low end of student ability at UMN may be far below your ability, the high end of student ability there will likely be similar to you, and may be as numerous as an entire small LAC.</p>
<p>Of course, at a small LAC, being among a group of students with similar academic abilities is more important, since if you are an outlier at either end, the small LAC probably won’t be catering to you like a big school will, and you may find too few other outliers at the small LAC. (So that means that small LACs that are “safety” level might not be very satisfying.)</p>
Thanks for the help! I’m definitely intrigued by Hamilton, but Brown at least seems a little big for me. Does anyone know if it has lots of huge classes?</p>
<p>I think Kenyon is probably off the table, though Carleton still looks interesting.</p>
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I don’t understand why you’re trying to convince me that I want to go to a bigger school. I don’t and have considered numerous reasons why. That’s why I would genuinely go to Williams over Harvard and why most Ivies don’t even appear on my list.</p>
<p>To clarify, I am very flexible in terms of academic curriculum—I have a few vague interests, but would be perfectly happy studying something else if that’s what the school I attend excels in. I’m much more interested in studying the general liberal arts in a high-caliber community environment than narrowly focusing at some state university.</p>
<p>I really don’t have any need or interest in expanding my list at this point. The reason I started this thread was for help in narrowing it. That’s what I’m interested in. So, if you have feedback on the schools <em>within</em> this list, please give it:
Brown University
Carleton College
Hamilton College
Haverford College
Wesleyan University</p>
<p>You may want to look carefully at the course offerings. It appears that Haverford is lacking compared to Swarthmore in both economics and computer science. However, there is a cross registration agreement between the two schools. But unless you get into Haverford but not Swarthmore, it may be better to be a “native” Swarthmore student if you want to take a lot of courses there.</p>
<p>But then if course and major offerings are not that important to you, then that may not matter to much.</p>