<p>My school only allows us to apply to 8 private schools, and I'm having trouble narrowing my list. Unfortunately, I wasn't able to visit all my potential choices because they're really widespread geographically. I have really varied academic interests, and even though my passion lies in the sciences, I love English, Humanities (esp. policy studies), and learning languages. I want to study natural sciences and/or engineering along environmental and (global) health policy. I come from a very competitive and respected NYC public school, with competitive stats/ECs. </p>
<p>My Wish-list:
-Openly intellectual atmosphere
-Great study abroad
-Research opportunities
-Strong student/prof interaction
-Sports/school spirit (intramural is cool too)
-Don't really care about geographic location
-Social activism/some type of intl. awareness or engagement
-Diversity
-Interdisciplinary philosophy/course offerings
-Interesting traditions
-Campus cohesion/bonding</p>
<p>So these are my favorite PRIVATE schools: </p>
<p>Stanford (#1)
Rice (#2)
Yale
Pomona
Grinnell
Williams
Bowdoin
Duke
WashU
UChicago
Penn
Brown</p>
<p>Thoughts? Any other recommendations? I know these are really all reach schools but I have match public schools that I would be more than happy to attend if it came down to it so that isn't really a huge issue. </p>
<p>Many LACs and maybe UChicago don’t have engineering, so you might want to think how important that part of the equation is and that could help you narrow down. When I saw languages, global health and environmental policy I thought of Middlebury (but I have a bias as a parent.) Even if you’re happy enough with your public school safety/matches, you might want to add an LAC or other private school in the match category. Colby or Bates, for example, depending on your stats.</p>
<p>I think your wish list screams Brown. Take all the different courses you are interested in, without the constraints of formal course/distribution requirements. No separate engineering school to apply to. Social activism. Diversity. School is like a large LAC.</p>
<p>All the schools on your list are pretty awesome though - any 8 of those would be great.</p>
<p>Agree re Brown. Rice and Stanford are very pre-professional and neither is known for being a hot bed of political activism(rather they are schools for the bourgeoisie in training). So, not sure why they are ##1 and 2 on your list. In addition to Brown, in my view Yale, Bowdoin, and Pomona would best fit your needs</p>
<p>Agree that Yale, Pomona and Brown stand out as good fits for your reach schools. </p>
<p>Stanford, Rice, Duke, Wash U, and Penn can all come off – while you would find people who share your priorities and interests there, that is not the overall feel of the place. If engineering is a must for you, then Chicago off as well. </p>
<p>Grinnell fits the feel of what you are looking for, with excellent sciences and lots of funding opportunities, but the rural (1 hour from Iowa City) may be a consideration. Also, you may find the small size of Grinnell as a constraint. Although Pomona is small, it has the advantage of the college consortium to expand the campus experience. </p>
<p>We didn’t investigate Williams and Bowdoin for my now-college freshman, so no insight there. </p>
<p>Can you afford all of the schools on your list after you fill out the EFC calculator?
You might want to consider Hampshire College. It’s much less selective than Brown, but is still a hyper intellectual school. I’d take Duke off the list</p>
<p>I would take the listing of Stanford and Rice as first and second as more information regarding the OP’s desired atmosphere and requirements, so I am flummoxed by suggestions that Stanford and Rice be taken off the list. Stanford and Rice are very strong in science and engineering (Stanford the strongest on the list), school spirit, diversity, and interesting traditions and meet some of the other criteria very well (Rice particularly in campus cohesion and student/prof interaction). The criteria that they may do less well on than some of the other schools listed are “openly intellectual atmosphere” and “social activism,” but the fact of the OP labeling Stanford and Rice as one and two implies that these criteria are probably no more important than the others.</p>
<p>As for recommendations regarding removing schools, if you (OP) think you may want to do engineering, you probably should remove the schools that do not offer it.</p>
<p>Could have been totally wrong, but was guessing from the NYC location and the statement that was not able to visit all of these, than OP probably did not visit Stanford and Rice so that the response to those schools was based on websites rather than visits.</p>
Duke meets every single one of those criteria except possibly the first, and that is rapidly changing. With the new house system and numerous student-faculty interaction opportunities, Duke is taking an interesting turn. The administration is actively aiming for a more intellectual student body, and I think it’s working pretty well. </p>
<p>Last I checked, Duke had a higher study abroad rate than any other top university except Dartmouth, and research opportunities actually outnumber undergrads and often go unclaimed. School spirit and athletics are obviously present. Social activism is pretty popular, and numerous student groups devoted to both local and international activism have popped up in recent years. DukeEngage is designed to foster this sense of activism and service. Duke is quite diverse – about 25% Asian(-American) and persistently one of the highest black enrollments among elite schools (~10%). </p>
<p>In terms of academic offerings, no school on your list except possibly Stanford compares favorably with Duke’s environmental policy program – or its undergrad public policy program, for that matter. Global health is also a huge focus, and there’s a certificate offered in the subject.</p>
<p>I would be surprised that so many people are calling for its removal, except that I’m used to people having little first-hand knowledge of the university.</p>
<p>Of the others on your list, I would keep Bowdoin, Pomona, Stanford, and either Yale or WUStL. That gives you a nice diversity in size and location.</p>
<p>Rice is good, but its environmental science program is comparatively weak; poster Slik Nik transferred from Rice to Duke for that reason and has given very fair and balanced posts comparing the two. Brown is also a bit light in environmental offerings, but I think it could replace Yale or WUStL if you really like it. The others on your list are all excellent colleges, but (in my opinion) do not stick out as much as the above colleges given your interests and wants.</p>