Please Help a Naive Junior!

College Search & Selection
1

<p>I am a junior who is very, very inexperienced in college searching. My parents both went to state universities and never considered going to a private or out-of-state college. Therefore, when I started my searching, I had no idea where to begin (and still don't.) If anyone could give me an idea of which colleges would "fit" me, I would be extremely grateful.</p>

<p>Here are my stats:
Small public WI high school - best place anyone has ever went to from there is UW-Madison
3.9 GPA
33 ACT (just retook today, hopefully it will be better!)
200 PSAT, no idea if I made commended
WI State Honors Choir 2009
Lots of State Solo-Ensemble
West Point Summer Leaders Seminar 2010
8th grade won state-level vocab competition, advanced to nationals (top 54 out of about 2 million)
7 years volunteering at local Theraputic Riding organization (>100 hours per year)
Various school clubs</p>

<p>My college criteria:
Small-ish college
Good for pre-med
Choral programs (I'd like to minor/take classes in vocal music)
Equestrian team if possible (not super-important)</p>

<p>Colleges I'm interested in:
Juniata College
Smith College
Tufts University
UW-Madison
Oberlin College/Consevatory (Double Degree if possible)
Sweet Briar College
Macalaster College</p>

<p>Could you please tell me which are reaches, matches, and safeties? Any suggestions or honest advice would be greatly appreciated. </p>

<p>Thank you!</p>

2

<p>Have you discovered the website Collegeboard.com? It has a nice search engine for college match making that you might find helpful. You can do it again and again, adjusting your criteria. And it will tell you “reach, fit, or safety” based on the info you put in. Best wishes. It is an exciting time.</p>

3

<p>Take a look at Rhodes. It’s a peer to several you mentioned. Great for pre-med, and the Rhodes Singers are a wonderful choral group. If I remember right I think that every other year they travel domestically (usually to Carnegie Hall) and every other year they travel abroad (usually England/Europe). </p>

<p>There used to be an equestrian club, but there isn’t one at the moment. There are, however, some great places to ride. Shelby Farms is the largest urban park in the country, and Meeman Shelby Forrest is another spot with a ton of riding trails. One of the Memphis suburbs, Germantown, also has an annual equestrian festival/competition that’s apparently a pretty big deal.</p>

4

<p>Emory is mid sized and is great for pre med… it would maybe be a low reach but check it out.</p>