Need to narrow down my list!

College Search & Selection
1

<p>Hey guys. I'm a new user of CC and I'll be a senior this coming school year. I live in MA and I've got this list of colleges to apply to that started out long and has slowly been shrinking. That said, I've got some more cuts to make.</p>

<p>I don't want to bog you down with too much about myself. I'm a good student; I get mostly A's and this year I'll be taking entirely AP courses. I got a 2290 on my SAT and I'm in my school's Ultimate Frisbee team, Photography Club, and National Honor Society. Oh and I'm White.</p>

<p>I might want to major in Physics or Environmental Studies, but I'm really not too sure, so the school I choose needs to be pretty well rounded. I tend to like schools of medium size, but other than that I have few specific preferences.</p>

<p>Here's the list as it stands:
Stanford (dream school, but I doubt I'd ever get in)
UPenn (both parents went here; I visited and liked it, might apply early decision)
Cornell
Wesleyan
Rice
Johns Hopkins
Colgate
Tufts
Washington University in St. Louis
University of Maryland - College Park
University of Wisconsin - Madison
University of Rochester
UPitt or UMass (fallback schools, in case I dont get it anywhere else!)</p>

<p>From everything I've read about Stanford, it sounds incredible. My absolute dream school. Sadly, I'm considering cutting it because I really dont think I can get in. Anyway, I need your help! What should I cut? I want to end up applying to around 9 schools. If you're still reading... thanks! If you reply... thanks again!</p>

2

<p>“Oh and I’m White.”</p>

<p>Thats bad, colleges don’t like that, you should change that.</p>

<p>Your SAT is awesome so if you really like Penn, considering you are a double legacy then maybe you should apply early like you said. </p>

<p>Do you have any community service??? leadership??? passion??? if you dont, make one up. you will need it.</p>

<p>UW madison is a great school, you should definitely apply there. also thing about UMichigan ann arbor, that is even better.</p>

<p>good luck at stanford! no shame with getting denied by a place like that.</p>

3

<p>Colgate and Wesleyan are smaller than medium. Pitt and Maryland are fine schools, but I don’t know if they are your best options if you have to pay the out-of-state tuition. Wisconsin is really big, so that goes against your desire for a medium-size university…though it is a great safety. How about Lehigh?</p>

4

<p>Add Miami as a safety. If your GPA is as good as your SAT’s you should be offered a lot of merit aid. They have an ultimate frisbee team too.</p>

5

<p>Bucknell, Holy Cross.</p>

6

<p>I’d go for U Penn but, I’m a senior in Florida thinking about Florida State University, University of Florida, University of Central Florida, and University of South Florida…so i know exactly how you feel.Goodluck to you :)</p>

7

<p>my advice would be to look at the schools on your list you like the most and figure out what it is you like about them. ideally there should be some common theme to your list (e.g. size, location, programs offered etc.) For example with your current list you have a bunch of larger universities and then Colgate, which has <3,000 students. I’m not saying you should cut Colgate but rather that it would be helpful to choose between this type of school and, say, UW-Madison. Once you have a criteria like that, it is easier to choose schools to cut.</p>