need help narrowing schools

College Search & Selection
1

<p>I want to go to a prestigious university with a social life, nice campus, and lots of opportunities.
My current list is as follows in no particular order:
Stanford
UPenn
Williams
Amherst
Columbia
Dartmouth
UChicago
USC
Swarthmore
Pomona
Claremont McKenna
Northwestern
Cornell
Rice
UCLA
Berkeley
UCSD
UC Irvine</p>

<p>These seems like a ridiculous amount to me but I'm worried that I'll get rejected by half of these just b/c the admissions process is so competitive. Help. Thanks!</p>

2

<p>How'd Irvine get on that list?</p>

3

<p>UCSD and UCI are the closest thing you have to safeties (and if you're justified in believing you have a place at any of the other schools, then you're a good enough student to legitimately call those two "safeties", which is in no way a dig at them), so definitely keep them on the list. Also, depending on your interests, they both have incredible programs in certain departments.</p>

<p>Other than that, there are a few easy ways to narrow down your list:</p>

<p>-- You're all over the map. Is geography not an issue at all?</p>

<p>-- You're also covering a lot of VERY different schools. LAC, research university, tiny, huge, in between, and so forth. If prestige is very important to you, a LAC is probably not going to give you what you want in that department. </p>

<p>You're facing around $900 in application fees, so it's definitely a list that can be trimmed. You might have better luck if you post some more specific stats, interests, and concerns. Good luck!</p>

4

<p>I'm looking for a prestigious school with a good education and high grad school acceptance rate, good social life, preferably suburban but its not THAT big of a deal, mild weather though I could appreciate snow because I haven't really seen it being from California. I'm in the top 4% of my class, 2190 SATs which I'm going to retake, 300+ hours of community service, 2 varsity sports and a bunch of awards for them, leadership positions in 4 things, 3 at school and 1 outside of it, band, and 12 years of piano. Aaaand I have no idea what I'm going to major in which makes this even harder..</p>

5

<p>Unfortunately, if you're not a URM or recruited athlete, you could be rejected by a lot more than half of these schools. If you don't love the UCs, add something inbetween.</p>

6

<p>like.........</p>

7

<p>The school isn't going to get you in a grad school, so dump that criterion. I'm guessing "suburban" would include everything that isn't hardcore urban or hardcore isolated. Brutally cold winters can really take the fun out of a school year for those who aren't used to it, so somewhat mild weather isn't an unreasonable request. Prestige and a decent social life are also reasonable requests. So, 4 criteria: prestige, social, moderate weather, "suburban." </p>

<p>The colleges that lack at least 2 of these criteria:
Penn, Columbia, Chicago, (all cold and urban) & Swarthmore (cold and not so social). Dump UCI too (you can do better than that). The rest look reasonable, considering your criteria. Have you considered Duke, Vanderbilt, Wake Forest, or U of Miami?</p>

<p>I know someone will say Swarthmore is very social and that Dartmouth and Williams are very isolated. But there seems to be no shortage of people saying Swarthmore is a grind, and both Williamstown MA and Hanover NH are towns that are not even close to being typical snoozy small towns.</p>

8

<p>i guess i'm taking columbia and penn for the prestige according the the us news rankings and chicago for its high acceptance rate. Maybe I'm clueless but what's so good about Vandy, Wake Forest or Miami? I kinda can't see myself living in TN or the Carolinas though... Why aren't they ranked high? i'm worried that if i dump the other ones that i'll get rejected by the ones i apply to and possibly could've been accepted by those.</p>

9

<p>All of the UCs are likely, USC should be good, CMC should be good, and Pomona is also likely. The rest, I really don't know enough to make solid judgment calls. I know people with less impressive stats who have gotten into Cornell, but it really doesn't seem like a place that matches your interests location-wise.</p>

<p>You might open yourself up to looking at honors programs at less highly ranked schools, for these programs are often highly respected AND are probably more likely to offer you scholarship money. If you're female, Scripps (Claremont) will afford you opportunities very comparable to both Pomona and CMC, but will be a surer bet for acceptance.</p>

<p>If you truly have NO, no idea what you want to major in, then make sure you do some research regarding <em>possible</em> majors. I didn't know if I wanted to do engineering or humanities so I was very turned off by schools that forced me into a "College of ____" (one or the other). Some of these schools make it very difficult to transfer departments, too, so that may be something to consider. Also, if you ARE interested in something like engineering, some of those schools will require 3-2 programs. If you have a possible interest in something like architecture, marine biology, anthropology, I-don't-know-what-else, not all of them will offer all of those, either. You shouldn't have many problems with your list, but try and make sure you're not closing yourself off from any likely interests (engineering is the only big thing that jumps to mind).</p>

<p>You should really try hard to add a few TRUE safeties (ideally, ones that you could actually stand going to). If nothing else, they're very likely to offer you money (which can be a morale boost, if nothing else). Also, I'd keep UCI on your list. It IS a safety for you, it IS a well-respected school, it does have EXCELLENT reputations in certain departments, it's as suburban as things get (with easy urban access), it has a great climate, it may offer you merit aid. Yes, with your stats, you will likely wind up elsewhere, but I think it makes a lot of sense to keep on your list.</p>

10

<p>thanks a lot. I'm probably going to major in law, med, business, or polisci/international relatiosn. yea. its a wide range.</p>

11

<p>You're too bright to waste your undergrad years majoring in a pre-professional program (premed, prelaw, predogcatching). If you really want to study business, wait a while and go for an MBA. That leaves political science and international relations. See? You DID know what you wanted to study.</p>

<p>I think you have a nice list, and as an Irvine alum, thank you for not lumping my alma mater in with cereal box top colleges (you know, send in 100 box tops and get a degree).</p>

12

<p>Dartmouth and Columbia? Williams and Cal? Your list is very irregular. At any rate, given what you say, I would remove Chicago and Columbia from your list as they aren't known for being fun or social.</p>

<p>I would probably add Georgetown and Michigan-Ann Arbor. </p>

<p>But you really need to decide what sort of environment you like. Rural or urban/suburban? Small and intimate or large and diverse? Spirited and wild or subdued and quiet?</p>

13

<p>I actually think that the diversity of schools on your list has some merit (which is not too helpful for someone looking to cut down, I know). I applied to lots of big schools, ended up choosing between three, and went with the 800 student, all female LAC (over USC and Berkeley). I was glad to have it in the mix. I have another friend who applied to all east coast schools except one, but by the time she actually had to select a school, she realized she wanted to be close to home and she went with the one CA school.</p>

<p>Your opinions about size, location, etc. will likely change between applying and accepting. If you're really interested in such a variety of schools, then you might just have to have a longer-than-average list. I would advise you to make sure you keep it as diverse as you think could be necessary. However, if you really DON'T think you'd like a school if not for its prestige, then rest assured that you have plenty of great schools on your list and the stats to get you into somewhere great that you WILL like.</p>

<p>Note that I'm not saying your list can't be trimmed and polished, nor that it's not valuable to really think about size (beyond that, the consequences of size...attentiveness of faculty and staff, availability of classes, diversity of classes, research opportunities, social opportunities, housing, etc.), location, and so forth. I'm just going to dissent a bit and say that it can be okay (and even quite good) to have a few less than obvious choices on your list. You may surprise yourself come spring.</p>

14

<p>Why won't you trim down the list but include Harvard. Who knows...you might get lucky. </p>

<p>Stanford
UPenn
Columbia
UChicago
Northwestern
Cornell
Rice
UCLA
Berkeley</p>

<p>If you make it to UC Berkeley or UPenn, amke them your top 2 choices except when you get admitted to Harvard.</p>

15

<p>I also prefer chill, fun schools with awesome academics and great open minded students. Here's where I would apply if I were you. </p>

<p>Stanford
UPenn
Dartmouth
Williams
Amherst
Brown
Georgetown
Middlebury
Pomona
Northwestern
Rice
UCLA
Berkeley
UCSD
UC Irvine</p>

<p>Apply to Brown and dump Columbia at the least. Columbia is intense and not fun at all.</p>

16

<p>I decided I"m not going to apply to Harvard because they require 3 SAT 2s. That and the fact that the last 4 years only 1 person has gotten into Stanford each year from our school (the #1) and nobody has gotten into Harvard and the fact that this year the 1 is applying to Harvard kinda kills my chances. And is Columbia really that bad?</p>