Not the typical CC'er. Chancing will be worth your while, I promise!

College Search & Selection
1

<p>Hey everyone, I'm a senior in an extremely competitive public school in New Jersey (sends many to top colleges every year) and I'm looking at some schools that I think would be a good fit for me and I've started to narrow it down a bit, but would still like to find new schools and narrow down the list even more.
Here's what I want in a college:
-- Good academics (a given)
-- Not too worried about reputation, but I do want it to have a good job placement program
-- Cross Country/Track and Field Teams (Distance) - I intend to run in college and might have a chance of getting recruited (4:46/10:34 last year in Spring but I put in over 500 quality miles this summer and am looking to break 16 minutes on a tough course in XC this year)
-- A location close to nature (close to mountains, lakes, rivers, TRAILS, etc.). Just don't want suburbia again. </p>

<p>Here's what I can offer a college (from an admissions standpoint):
-- 3.4 UW/4.0 W GPA
-- 10 Honors Courses, 7 AP Courses (toughest schedule)
-- 2350 SAT (800 CR, 780 M, 770 W)
-- 35 ACT
-- School doesn't rank, but probably top 20-25% or so
-- College Recs: Should be good.
-- Essay: Working on it, coming along well, but can't say anything until I get an unbiased opinion.
-- National AP Scholar</p>

<p>EC's
-- Varsity Cross Country 10th, 11th, 12th *Member of State Championship Team 11th Grade
-- Varsity Indoor Track 10th, 11th, 12th
-- Varsity Outdoor Track 10th, 11th, 12th
-- NHD 10th, 11th, 12th
Not much more than that; XC/Track takes up a lot of my time and I love the sport. </p>

<p>Right now some of the schools I'm shooting for are:
-- Rice U.
-- Yale College</p>

<h2>-- Davidson College</h2>

<p>-- Amherst College
-- Tufts U.
-- Colorado College
-- Whitman College </p>

<h2>-- The College of New Jersey</h2>

<p>-- U of Minnesota - Twin Cities
-- Rutgers U.
-- U of Pittsburgh.
-- Knox College (heard they give good merit $$)</p>

<p>So yeah, I need some schools that would be considered matches and I really need safeties where I would get good merit $$ (OOS Public, Private, whatever). </p>

<h2>Thanks so much!</h2>

2

<p>Are any of the colleges on your list possible recruiters based on your X-Country and track credentials? Also, how important is the quality of the track program at the college in your decision process?</p>

3

<p>your test scores are good but you’re lacking in GPA and the “well-roundedness” of EC’s for the top universities (unless of course you are recruited to run)</p>

4

<p>Wait…you’re looking for…more schools? You have a large number as it is. In your first tier, all three are pretty high reaches. All but the college of new jersey are also very competitive. And the last list looks good. </p>

<p>If you are looking anywhere in the US…Washington State University, as well as Western Washington University, are both essentially in the center of nature. You would have a pretty good chance at getting into the honors program for both of them (the honors part is probably a match, otherwise they’d be safeties). WWU is about an hour from one of the US’s best ski resorts…3-4 from the best in north America…really close to the San Juan islands…and I’d presume there’s other nearby lakes/rivers. The city it is in is famous for their “ski to sea”, so I’d look that up. And just an hour or two away from Seattle.</p>

<p>Also check out some schools in Colorado. Colorado College is fairly competitive, but the Colorado states and University of Colorados might be up your ally (with some decent money, I think). </p>

<p>You’ll probably want to focus on schools in the west, if having a very outdoorsy-school is what you are looking for. Not to say that the east coast doesn’t have that…but, I don’t think it’s a question that the outdoor qualities of the west coast trump the east coast.</p>

5

<p>I’d definitely look towards getting recruited with those times. Talk to coaches at schools you’re interested in, especially those at more selective schools.</p>

6

<p>College of New Jersey is a pretty competitive school, actually.</p>

7

<p>You have the beginnings of a good list. You need to start gathering as much information as you can on each school’s XC and track. Find out what you need to for athletic supplements and make contact with coaches if possible. Often these are due way ahead of the actual application deadlines, so get an excel sheet started and get busy :). I have a nephew who was recruited by U of Chicago and Northwestern for track (he’s now a 2nd yr. at UC). I pasted the CC athletic recruit threads link at bottom of your list.</p>

<p>Right now some of the schools I’m shooting for are:
– Rice U.
– Yale College
– Davidson College</p>

<hr>

<p>– Amherst College
– Tufts U.
– Colorado College
– Whitman College-great choice
– The College of New Jersey
-Kenyon?</p>

<hr>

<p>– U of Minnesota - Twin Cities (OOS tuition?)
– Rutgers U.
– U of Pittsburgh.
– Knox College (heard they give good merit $$)probably won’t need this safety, but good pick.</p>

<p>[Athletic</a> Recruits - College Confidential](<a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/athletic-recruits/]Athletic”>Athletic Recruits - College Confidential Forums)</p>

8

<p>Whitman is holistic in judging applications, your GPA is a bit low for them, but they will take the competitiveness of your school into account. You’ve got great test scores and certainly show depth in your sport, I’d contact the coaches. If you’re looking for nature, Whitman is terrific! It’s close to mountains, lakes, rivers, and trails. The outdoor program is superb and the student body is active and friendly.</p>

9

<p>"I really need safeties where I would get good merit $$ (OOS Public, Private, whatever).</p>

<p>There are a number of threads on that topic in Financial Aid, Parents, and scattered throughout this website. Start here:
<a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/financial-aid-scholarships/848226-important-links-automatic-guaranteed-merit-scholarships.html[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/financial-aid-scholarships/848226-important-links-automatic-guaranteed-merit-scholarships.html&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

<p>If you are willing to do more research, excellent strategies for that can be found in these two threads:
<a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/parents-forum/148852-what-ive-learned-about-full-ride-scholarships.html[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/parents-forum/148852-what-ive-learned-about-full-ride-scholarships.html&lt;/a&gt;
<a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/parents-forum/291483-update-what-i-learned-about-free-ride-scholarships.html[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/parents-forum/291483-update-what-i-learned-about-free-ride-scholarships.html&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

10

<p>@bopambo: Yes, whitman is holistic, but only to a point. One of my very good friends who…</p>

<p>-plays volleyball competitively (she was looking at D3 schools)
-was just outside the decile of our class
-mostly IB classes, only exception being science (though, she didn’t test because of financial stuff)
-excellent and outgoing student
-lower-middle income (I don’t think whitman is needblind, so this might have been an issue)
-applied ED</p>

<p>And she got rejected. And our school is fairly competitive (my class=3 Stanford, 1 Harvard), and one of the top IB programs (public OR private) in the US based on test scores.</p>

<p>Yes, circumstances will be different for TC. But, it’s still a pretty hefty shot, unless he’s recruited.</p>

11

<p>Rutgers is not near mountains, streams and lakes, it is in a city. A small, urban area.</p>

12

<p>Yale is also in a city, and not a very pretty one…sorry to say. No nature trails there…</p>

13

<p>For a place that’s supposed to be really, really beautiful and have lots of hiking trails, I’ve heard that the University of the South (Sewanee) is great. Washington and Lee and the University of Richmond also give out large numbers of free tuition scholarships, and they’re both very good. U Richmond is more geared to the NY/PA/NJ set and Washington and Lee is as southern as grits, but they’re both lovely in their separate ways.</p>

14

<p>cloakandstagger, I’m sorry that your friend wasn’t successful with her ED application at Whitman. It’s impossible for us to know why the school didn’t see her as a fit, but in general I’d caution anyone looking for significant merit aid (this also means the OP) to apply regular decision at a full range of reach, match and safety schools to get the maximum range of financial aid offers. Since most Div III schools don’t usually offer athletic scholarships, when looking for merit the applicants need to position themselves so their grades and test scores are in the top quartile of attending students for that school. It gets much trickier when, like the OP, the GPA and test scores are somewhat unbalanced. In cases like this it may come down to the coach, the interview, the essay or some intangible that’s important to the admissions office.</p>

15

<p>@bopambo:</p>

<p>Haha, I know, but she’s happily at George Fox now. And ya, I know none of us are adcoms, and can truly evaluate/chance…well, anyone (I don’t see too much of a use for the chance thread…seems like most people can state the obvious of their qualifications, and it just seems like most use it to stroke/calm their ego). </p>

<p>But I forgot the most important part. This friend’s very good friend also applied to Whitman (I think ED also), slightly lower grades (but not insanely out there), slightly lower test scores, same classes (though, senior year she did running start at CC, instead of classes at highschool), and she also played volleyball competitively. So, ya, I guess the coach played a big role.</p>

16

<p>Dartmouth has great academics, great job placement, and is set in a wonderful bucolic environment. You’ll have plenty of nature to enjoy on your runs. However, if you don’t like the cold, you might not like Dartmouth in the winter months.</p>