<p>I ordered Don Asher's Cool Colleges book from Amazon a few weeks ago, and fell in love with Deep Springs. I also thought the profile on the Merchant Marine Academy was interesting where kids spend their summers on sea. So, I'll be applying to go to school on a ranch and on the ocean this fall. Do any other out-of-the-box programs come to mind that are life-changing? Do you guys have any suggestions for back-up schools, because I understand admissions to both schools are extremely competitive. So far I have Swarthmore because I like the intellectual atmosphere, University of Chicago, because I like the Great Books program, and RPI, because I received a medal for math and science achievement for $15,000 per year. My parents want me to apply to all of the Ivys, and MIT as well, so that makes a total of 14 schools. Thanks for any help. If you need information about my academics/activities, let me know.</p>
<p>If you like the Great Books program, St. John’s College might be a good fit.</p>
<p>kameronsmith: I heard Columbia has a similar intellectual core curriculum. Do you know anything about that?</p>
<p>Nope, I don’t. Sorry… no interest in Columbia myself.</p>
<p>Are you applying to college in the fall then? If so, where? Why not Columbia?</p>
<p>Yes, I’ll be applying to some variation of:
Amherst College
Brown University
Claremont McKenna College
Colgate University
Connecticut College
Dartmouth College
Hamilton College
Haverford College
New York University - Abu Dhabi
Pomona College
Swarthmore College
Wesleyan University
Williams College
Princeton University</p>
<p>I’m not applying to Columbia because I have no interest in an urban school where postgrads outnumber undergrads 2:1.</p>
<p>I can see why you’re applying to Princeton as opposed to Columbia because of the undergraduate focus. Why are you applying to NYU-Abu Dhabi instead of just NYU? Do you know where I can get more information about it? It sounds fascinating…</p>
<p>I’m really not interested in NYU proper (not particularly stellar, poor FA). On the other hand, Abu Dhabi is an excellent program with amazing resources. It’s also a <em>very</em> small program (<1000 students), which appeals to me, especially because of studying at UWCs.</p>
<p>You can find info on their website: [NYU</a> Abu Dhabi University & College in UAE, New York University](<a href=“http://nyuad.nyu.edu/index.html]NYU”>NYU Abu Dhabi)</p>
<p>Thanks a lot! I’ll look into it. I have a few other questions if you don’t mind. Why are you applying to Connecticut College? Is that a back-up school for you, or do you live in Connecticut where you can get good in-state aid? Also, I was also looking at Swarthmore and Williams too. I know Haverford is less than half an hour away from the former and Amherst is close-by to the latter. Is it worth adding these two schools to my list (are they as good as Swarthmore and Williams?)? Thanks man!</p>
<p>
Connecticut College is not a state university. It’s a private LAC which is probably a bit of a backup for me. More info here: [Connecticut</a> College: Home Page](<a href=“http://www.conncoll.edu/]Connecticut”>http://www.conncoll.edu/)</p>
<p>Swarthmore and Haverford are basically equal, as are Amherst and Williams. I would definitely recommend looking into both.</p>
<p>Will do! Thanks</p>
<p>My biggest concern is that you really have a very top heavy list with virtually no match or safety schools. With a 2150, you stand a great chance of getting shut out at over half the schools on your list unless you have some really compelling hook. I think that you need to go back to the drawing board and come up with a more balanced list of schools.</p>
<p>I do have some back-ups sybbie719, don’t worry, but SATs aren’t one’s only measure of intelligence…</p>