Northeast Schools

College Search & Selection
1

I’m a current high school junior in New England who would like to stay in the northeastern section of the country for college. D.C. is probably the furthest south I would go, and Ohio the furthest west.

I’m here to get some basic reach/match/safety picks for my stats.

GPA: 4.0 (unweighted)
PSAT: 1510/1520 (will take the SAT in April)
APs: 5 on the AP US exam, will take the Euro, English Lang and Comp, Physics 1, and Calculus BC exams this year, and the Comp Sci, English Lit and Comp, Physics 2, Chemistry, Latin, and Music Theory exams next year
Activities: High school concert band and jazz band for 4 years, freshman class president, student council representative for three years, FIRST Robotics for 4 years, including Co-Head Programmer sophomore year and Head Programmer junior year, Model UN for three years, Math Team for three years, track and cross-country freshman year, two years on a statewide youth ministry leadership and planning committee. I am also taking Calc 2 (due to a BC scheduling conflict) at a local college right now, and plan to take Calc 3 and Linear Algebra next year.

In terms of interests and majors, I want to go to a school where I won’t be tied down. I am very interested in math/science fields, but I also love history, Latin, and writing, so I want a chance to either double major or take a variety of classes. This rules out specialized schools, such as WPI, RIT, etc.

2

Knowing the state probably will help people pick safety matches in particular. For most students, the public universities in their states tend to be good choices but some are better than others.

3

Maine. I’m interested in Bowdoin and Colby, and I think I would qualify for UMaine’s National Merit Award (full tuition).

4

Academically, you would like the open curricula at Smith (if female), Hamilton (very strong for writing, but also has a high percentage of math majors), Amherst (offers consortium options) and Brown. Based on some of your other criteria, Swarthmore (also in a consortium) may have significant appeal for you.

5

Agree with Bates, Bowdoin, Colby and Brown. Williams may be of interest as well.

6

The big question is affordability. You are likely to get into many schools but will you be able to afford them?

Carnegie Mellon would be worth exploring.

7

EFC is probably between $15,000 and $25,000, which (at least at the low end) would be fairly reasonable to pay, if the school meets most or all demonstrated aid.

8

You should specify whether you are male or female so that any suggestions will be appropriate for you.

9

Male, so Smith is unfortunately out.

10

Colgate

11

Hampshire would be a safety and lets you make your own major.

12

Maybe Case Western in Ohio?

13

Being male might give you an admissions advantage at schools such as Vassar or Wesleyan

14

Also:
-Boston College
-Connecticut College
-Dartmouth College
-Franklin & Marshall College
-Georgetown University
-Haverford College
-Oberlin College
-Tufts University

15

BU, UMass Amherst for a safety

16

Williams
Amherst
Middlebury
Bowdoin
Bates
Colby
Hamilton
Dartmouth
Colgate
Bucknell
Cornell
Tufts
Vassar
Haverford
Princeton