Not to big, not to small, Help!

<p>I'm a rising junior who is just starting to seriously look at colleges. I'm having a hard time figuring out a good balance of too big and too small for me. I love how LAC's offer a variety of study but some of them seem really small and just kind of too isolated. However, I find universities with enormous campuses and many students living off campus too large and overwhelming. Do you know of any colleges in the 2000-5000ish range that have a strong sense of community and a strong bio program? I also prefer colleges in the northern part of the US and colleges that are somewhat to very selective. Thanks!</p>

<p>could you provide us with your gpa, broken down ACT or SAT, and a list of ECs?</p>

<p>Also let us know if you need financial aid etc.</p>

<p>I’ll give you what I’ve got.
Right now I’m at a 4.0 uw but I expect it’ll be more like a 3.9 after 5 AP’s this year.
AP- US History 5
PLAN- Projected ACT 32-35, I haven’t taken the ACT or SAT yet but I think I’ll do well, I’m a good test taker.
EC’s- I will have- 4 seasons of Varsity Cross country, 4 seasons of Varsity Nordic Skiing, 1 season Varsity Track, 3 seasons Ultimate Frisbee, 4 years in schools top band, 6 years in community girls chorus, private voice, flute and piano lessons, volunteer weekly at a children’s hospital, just got back from a language/home stay/service learning month in Guatemala
Financial Aid would be very appreciated, especially merit based as my family is just on the cusp of receiving vs not receiving Need Based Aid.
Thanks for your help, feel free to ask me any more relevant questions.</p>

<p>My S liked the mid-sized universities in urban areas. We found that a number of the Catholic/Jesuit schools happen to fit that bill such as Georgetown, Boston College, Holy Cross, Villanova, Fordham (you may get merit aid at Fordham). You can also look at schools like Brown, Carnegie Mellon, Brandeis, Tufts, Johns Hopkins, URocheter, Barnard (if female) to name some offhand, . I’d look through the USNWR list of schools not so much for the rankings, but it is a good list of schools which shows enrollment and setting (ex. urban, rural, suburban) and you should be able to pick out some that match your wish list.
<a href=“http://colleges.usnews.rankingsandreviews.com/best-colleges/rankings/national-universities”>http://colleges.usnews.rankingsandreviews.com/best-colleges/rankings/national-universities&lt;/a&gt;
Here is the LAC list which is worth looking at as well because a few will be large enough for you.
<a href=“http://colleges.usnews.rankingsandreviews.com/best-colleges/rankings/national-liberal-arts-colleges”>http://colleges.usnews.rankingsandreviews.com/best-colleges/rankings/national-liberal-arts-colleges&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

<p>The list is so long (bio is strong in many many places) that I suggest you go to the SuperMatch function on the left side of this page. Play around with the prefs and see what comes up. then get to us with a list of 5 or 6 schools you like, and we can use that to make some other suggestions.</p>

<p>look at William and Mary and University of Rochester. both have 5,000, very strong academics, and strong community feel. URoc has a very highly esteemed science/bio program and is known for the wealth of undergraduate research opportunities. </p>

<p>Not in the north, but what about Rice? Definitely a strong sense of community with the residential college system there.</p>

<p>National universities: Tufts, Boston College, Emory, Case Western, Rochester
LACs: Bowdoin, Carleton, Haverford (smaller than what you like to have, with1,200 students, but with good location and strong academics). Check Washington and Lee for scholarships (<a href=“The Johnson Scholarship | Washington and Lee”>The Johnson Scholarship | Washington and Lee).</p>

<p>And Brandeis,</p>

<p>Aside from Brandeis, Wake Forest was the school that first came to my mind. Very good biology offerings, the friendliest student body I’ve ever come across, a beautiful campus, good weather, and a very strong sense of community and school spirit. It’s criminally overlooked on these forums. </p>

<p>With over 9000 undergrads, BC is a good bit bigger than the OP is looking for.</p>

<p>Well, it’s not in the Northeast, but just putting in another good word for Wake Forest. My son is going to be a freshman this fall. Wake has around 4500 undergrads but it plays D1 sports. There is a strong academic culture there and students take their studies seriously. The university requires that students live on campus for at least 3 years which I think helps build a sense of community. Wake Forest very generously gave my son both a merit scholarship and financial aid even though I would have considered our family “on the cusp”. </p>

<p>These admissions stats for the class of 2018 recently came across my email:</p>

<p>The top 10 states represented (in order of incoming students) are North Carolina, Florida, New Jersey, New York, Virginia, Massachusetts, Connecticut, Pennsylvania, Georgia, and California.</p>

<p>(My son’s roommate is from CT… we are from CO)</p>

<p>10% are international students</p>

<p>28 foreign countries are represented in the Class of 2018: Bahrain, Bermuda, Bolivia, Brazil, Canada, China, Germany, Honduras, Hong Kong, India, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Korea, Lebanon, Mexico, Nigeria, Norway, Palestine, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Russia, Singapore, Sweden, Switzerland, Taiwan, and the United Kingdom.</p>

<p>29% are students of color</p>

<p>9% are first generation college students</p>

<p>Carleton and St. Olaf are both located in Northfield MN–about 40 minutes south of Minneapolis Int’l Airport. Both have excellent science programs and good community feel.</p>

<p>Another vote for Wake Forest! S2 is going to be a junior this fall and we have been SO impressed with everything about that school. Great academics, wonderful student body and a very strong sense of community. </p>

<p>Both of my kids also wanted a student body in the 5k-15k range, strong academics and rah-rah. Some of the other options were: Vanderbilt (S1 is a 2013 grad), BC, Georgetown, Univ. Richmond (a bit smaller), Tulane (may be too south for you), Elon, Duke. </p>

<p>Women’s Colleges? Wellesley (free application) + can take courses at MIT. Its undergraduate population is 2500? . Mt. Holyoke and Smith give out merit aid and are part of a great consortium with UMass Amherst, Hampshire, and Amherst. Bryn Mawr also gives out aid (though not to the extent Mt. Holyoke and Smith do, I hear), and are part of a consortium with Haverford and Swarthmore. </p>

<p>If you’re catholic (or not), you may enjoy some of the colleges the others have suggested; BC/Georgetown/Villanova etc, although BC is quite large.</p>

<p>I think you’d really enjoy Tufts and JHU, like someone else suggested.</p>

<p>Colgate comes to mind immediately.</p>

<p>I agree that you should look at Mount Holyoke. You will constantly hear from students and parents that it has an incredible, strong sense of community and is very welcoming and supportive. Also has a strong biology program. I think it is about 2350 -all undergraduates. Very dedicated and accessible professors. It’s part of the 5-college consortium with Amherst College, Smith, Hampshire, and UMass Amherst, with a free bus connecting all campuses, so you can cross-register for classes and take advantage of a rich and diverse social/cultural scene. For my daughter, whose criteria mirrored yours, she walked onto campus and said, “This is the place!”</p>

<p>Colgate, Lehigh, Bucknell, Tufts, and Rochester are a few that come to mind. If you are willing to go South, I agree with other posters that Wake Forest is an excellent choice. </p>

<p>Give Dartmouth and gander.</p>

<p>U Dayton. A little larger than what you’re looking for but if your ACT comes in where you forecast you would get good merit aid.</p>