Parents- please help me find some safeties and matches?

Parents Forum
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<p>I'll try to make this as brief as possible- I'm looking for a school in the Northeast with a student body size of at least 4,000 and preferably no bigger than 10,000 (the lower limit is more important to me, I don't want a tiny school...even though I love a lot of the LACs, they're just too small for me.) City or college town, not rural. Students who care about learning- so I guess no schools that are heavily pre-professional. Curriculum- as flexible as possible (so nothing like Columbia's 2 year core.) I think that about covers my preferences...</p>

<p>And here are my objective stats,
SATI: 2360
SATII: Lit (750), MathII (710)
ACT: 34
GPA: 3.85 UW
Senior Courseload: Full IB diploma</p>

<p>Brown is my dream school, but of course I need some matches and safeties as well. This is the (very tentative) list I have so far on CommonApp. I'd really, really appreciate it if you could tell me which schools on my list shouldn't be there (based on my preferences and stats), and if you could recommend some more matches and safeties (pretty sure I have enough reaches already!) Thank you so much!!!</p>

<p>Boston University
Brown University
Carnegie Mellon University
Cornell University
Duke University
Harvard College
New York University
Northwestern University
Princeton University
Skidmore College
Stanford University
University of Michigan
University of Rochester
Washington University in St. Louis
Wesleyan University
Yale University</p>

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<p>You can pick up a used copy of the Fiske guide to colleges on Amazon for less than $10 (or find one at your library for free) and spend some time really investigating the range of colleges yourself. By investing yourself in the process you will learn what you value, what you like, what you find interesting. Spend some time on different college websites and look at curriculum, current research opportunities, and other things that interest you. There should be a reasons why you would want to attend each of these colleges/universities beyond whether they are a theoretical safety, match, reach.</p>

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<p>Any idea what you might be planning to study?</p>

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<p>Boston University- Student population is MUCH larger than what you specified…but I think you would get accepted there and possibly with some merit aid.</p>

<p>Brown University- an Ivy…chances are as good as anyone else who applies with excellent stats.</p>

<p>Carnegie Mellon University- nice choice…I personally love Pittsburgh</p>

<p>Cornell University- not in a city…rather rural but a great school.</p>

<p>Duke University- another fine place</p>

<p>Harvard College - Ivies…see comment above re: Brown.</p>

<p>New York University- Another BIG school.</p>

<p>Northwestern University- Good choice.</p>

<p>Princeton University- Ivy…see comment re: Brown.</p>

<p>Skidmore College- I would venture this is a safety school for you.</p>

<p>Stanford University- See comment about Brown.</p>

<p>University of Michigan- HUGE university…doesn’t fit your size criteria.</p>

<p>University of Rochester- another one that I believe would be a safety for you.</p>

<p>Washington University in St. Louis- Very nice school in a great city…I believe this one fits all your criteria.</p>

<p>Wesleyan University- much more liberal than the others on your list…</p>

<p>Yale University- See comment about Brown.</p>

<p>Right now, it is my opinion that your list is a bit top heavy. But that’s my opinion.</p>

<p>What about Swarthmore? </p>

<p>Are finances going to be an issue…above schools are pricey and financial aid policies vary.</p>

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<p>camomof3- I have a recent copy of the Fiske guide, and the problem is that a lot of the schools just seem to blend together…it’s hard to see what’s unique about each school when they’re all basically saying they have the same research & study abroad opportunities, etc. I’ve done a few college visits (realized I don’t like Tufts, and that I LOVE Brown) and that’s the best way to tell what the vibe is, obviously, but since I’m not able to do more visits right now, I figured I’d try asking informed people online.</p>

<p>Emaheevul07- I like Cognitive/Behavioral Science. Like neuro, but more of the psych end than the bio end. UMich is on my list because they have the perfect major for me (Brain, Behavior, and Cognitive Science.) Most of the other schools only have neuroscience, but I’d be hesitant to put that as an intended concentration because of my relatively weak Math II score. So I’m not really sure. </p>

<p>thumper1- Thanks for the comments on each school! I completely agree that it is top-heavy. I definitely need more safeties and targets. Swarthmore is too small for me, but otherwise I really like it. Just curious, in what way is Wesleyan more liberal than the other schools? And the large schools (BU and UMich) are on my list because of majors they offer and the potential for merit aid.</p>

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<p>Michigan and Wesleyan feel like the outliers to me. Michigan is huge and expensive for OSS and Wesleyan culturally is different. Chicago might be an add since you’ve already got Northwestern in Chicago and Michigan and WashU and have pushed out of the NE, but I don’t know if Chicago is a good safety with a top heavy, reachy list like you’ve got. </p>

<p>Try to kernalize what you like about Brown. Harvard, Stanford, Yale and Princeton are different than Brown as are many of the schools that are on your list? Separate out what characteristics made you put this list together. What do you love about the LACs? I can’t think of much about Michigan that is “like an LAC” unless you’re in the Res College. So think of the reasons that you put these colleges on this list then find a safety that meets those reasons. Remember it’s best to build a list from the bottom up - where can you be admitted that you can afford that you are willing to attend. It’s awful easy to have a “dream” list.</p>

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<p>If you like medium size universities Brandeis and Tufts should be on your list. Brandeis is easier to get into than most of the schools on your list. Both have distribution requirements, I don’t know how onerous you would find them. For a safety American might be worth a look - if its strengths match up with yours, also George Washington if you don’t mind the lack of a campus. U of Vermont is a possible safety, Syracuse too though it’s a bit big than what you are looking for, U of Rochester is a good choice and should be a safety.</p>

<p>My older son did Comp Sci at Carnegie Mellon and we really liked it and liked Pittsburgh. </p>

<p>Took me so long to post this I see you don’t like Tufts. So what don’t you like about it, since it appears to meet your criteria?</p>

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<p>have you thought about Vanderbilt or Emory?</p>

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<p>Your list is similar to my son’s, who will also apply this year. He did not really like Tufts - there seemed to be a lack of energy or excitement, and it suffers when compared with nearby Harvard and MIT. My D is a student at Brown, and perhaps I’m an outlier, but my impression is that it is similar to Harvard in that for undergraduates, it is like a large LAC. Both Brown and Harvard offer a liberal education, diversity, and a superlative student body. Just my impressions and I’m sure that others won’t agree, especially regarding specific areas of study. My D had a very negative impression of Wesleyan, yet many consider it similar to Brown - not sure why. What is your area of study? This will help us to offer better advice.</p>

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<p>consider Johns Hopkins University</p>

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<p>Skidmore and Wesleyan are considerably smaller than the others. Both under 3000 I believe. Other suggestions, but not in the NE would be Chicago and Rice. Rice also has a house system. JHU is also a good suggestion.</p>

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<p>Did you take the PSAT and are you going to be a NMF? If so, you might want to check out Northeastern University in Boston as they offer excellent merit aid to NMFs.</p>

<p>I would recommend Brandeis but they got hit very hard in the recession. My son’s stats were very similar to yours and he was offered no merit aid from them. I see someone suggest American and George Washington and I was going to as well. Both offered very generous merit aid to my son and I would think they would to you as well.</p>

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<p>wait, is stanford in the northeast??? lol</p>

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<p>You mentioned you didn’t want a school with rigid core requirements (which I presume is one of the reasons you find Brown appealing). Have you considered UVA? It’s quite possible you’d receive an invite into the Echols scholars program which would exempt you from distribution requirements among other things (priority registration, honors housing, special advisors, etc.). Also, there’s always a chance (albeit statistically very slim for anyone) that you might qualify to be a Jefferson scholar. These students typically have multiple ivy acceptances but often choose this program for the many, many opportunities it offers:</p>

<p>[Jefferson</a> Scholars Foundation](<a href=“http://www.jeffersonscholars.org/]Jefferson”>http://www.jeffersonscholars.org/)</p>

<p>Of the publics, UVA (ranked #2 behind Berkeley) seems to meet your criteria better than UMich (smaller and closer to NE).</p>

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<p>Are finances a consideration? All of the schools on your list are approaching or at the $50,000 per year mark…and their financial aid policies vary. Some offer merit aid and some offer only need based aid. If finances are NOT a concern…then no problems…but if they are…some schools on your list may not be possible depending on your family income and their policies.</p>

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<p>Colgate
Bucknell
William & Mary
Davidson</p>

<p>…seem like good schools that you could get some aid at.</p>

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<p>What’s the problem with the honors program at your state university? In many cases, the stats of the entering students are similar to those at the Ivies (the students just tend to be less well-heeled), and many of the state universities have very extensive research programs, and honors program students get first crack at them.</p>

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<p>The University of Rochester is an excellent safety for you, and judging by other kids I know who have been accepted there you may get some merit money, although not necessarily a huge amount. (Two kids with similar stats each received about 7K per year.)</p>

<p>JHU and U VA would seem to make sense as probably matches. What about William & Mary?</p>

<p>If you are looking for another safety, I’d suggest considering Pitt. You would, I believe, get into their honors college, which is reputedly good, and might well get some money also. It is a school that does give money to OOS students, or so I’m told. To me, with Rochester, Pitt, and BU on the list you would have plenty of safeties–assuming, that is, that they would also be financial safeties for you. If they aren’t, you should consider your state flagship honors college, just in case. (I can understand reluctance to do so, depending on your state. Mini speaks from the perspective of a person who lives in a state with a great flagship. If you live in ME or SD, for example, the picture isn’t as rosy.)</p>

<p>I assume that the U of C is not under consideration because you don’t want a core. Some of the schools on your list are, AFAIK, strongly pre-professional, such as Northwestern, WUSTL, and Duke. But they are all great schools with very bright student bodies. If you want a strongly intellectual environment, you should reconsider the U of C.</p>

<p>NYU is not only bigger than you want, it is expensive and known for poor FA.</p>