Please help me in my college search!!

Parents Forum
1

<p>Hi everyone. I really need help in my college search. I have been searching all day, originally thinking it to be a simple process, but I am overwhelmed. I have had no idea where to start all day long.</p>

<p>Most people reccomend applying to prestigious universities and the like, and that is the direction I have been heading. But also, I realize that their admission rates are quite low and that they may not be the best choices for me. And though I will probably apply to such schools, I also need to have other schools on my list.</p>

<p>I've heard from all over that I should make a list of answers to questions like "What area would I like to go?" and "What campus size is best for me?" and questions like that, however, a lot of these questions I don't have much preference for, I could live with anything I suppose. It's hard to force myself to answer these questions when I don't know the answers myself. </p>

<p>However, I am sure of one thing. The college I go to must be strong in the mathematics and science fields, especially in computer science and chemistry. I was thinking about possibly going to a college that is a liberal arts college but with strong math and science departments. But for now, let me list some info about myself.</p>

<p>Junior
Top of class
Several awards/nominations
Math team, science olympiad, track (indoor and outdoor), cross country,
many others that I have done in earlier years (freshman and sophmore)
Work at a Library (both for job and volunteering when I don't put in my time
sheet)
Volunteered as a tutor, at a soup kitchen
Total Volunteering Time acquired thus far: about 25 hours (I know it's
not much)
SAT (not the new one):
Best math ~ 790
Best verbal ~780</p>

<p>Also, possible majors that I have been looking towards include the following:</p>

<p>Computer science, Computer programming, Computer graphics, (basically anything with computers), chemistry, mathematics, physics, engineering, psychology</p>

<p>One of the reasons that I am having so much trouble is that my limiting of majors is so difficult. I know that I am definitely going to do SOMETHING in college with computer, but may either major in that or one of the other majors above or may double major. Thus, my indecision led me to suspect my possibility at going to a liberal arts college with strong math/science departments.</p>

<p>Finally, some factors I've decided on I think are these:
1) I'd like a small to medium college, no larger than 10000 students
2) I'd like to go to a college in either a rural, suburban, town, or very small city area, but preferably suburban/town.
3) Coed
4) I THINK that I want to go to a college in the northeast, about as far west as Illinois and as far south as Virginia, but anywhere inside that territory is fair game. However, I am not going to let location limit my choice. If I find a college that I like that is outside that area, so be it. </p>

<p>The point of this thread is this: I need help in my college search. Can someone please suggest some colleges that, considering the above material, will be good for me to look into and add to my list of possible colleges. Thank you a lot for your help and time, it is greatly appreciated!</p>

2

<p>Jabber,</p>

<p>with stats like that, you should be considering some of the top programs. The following come to mind, but I'm really not all that familiar on how their math/computer programs stack up.</p>

<p>Amherst, Bard, Bowdoin, Bryn Mawr, Bucknell, Colby, Colgate, Cornell, Dartmouth, Denison, De Pauw, Hamilton, Haverford, Hobart, Ithaca, Kenyon, Middlebury, Mount Holyoke, Northwestern, Oberlin, Skidmore, Swarthmore, Tufts, Vassar, Wellesley, Wheaton, William & Mary, Williams.</p>

<p>A few of these are not LAC's, but I think you may want to check them out anyway, because they fit most of your other criteria. I'm sure other CC'ers will have some good suggestions that go beyond the obvious.</p>

3

<p>A couple more non-LAC's that came to mind:</p>

<p>Princeton, Rochester</p>

4

<p>I think there is a pretty good list going. To get into the "Ivies" you're really going to need a "hook"--something pretty unique as just about everyone has all your qualifications who is applying to those schools. It's really a catch-22. Your child spends all her/his time volunteering, sports, leadership activities, etc only to find out that everyone has been doing the same thing! The kicker is you then have to do what you love for 4 years to show consistency. This has been a bit tricky for my daughter who is venhemently(sp?) undecided and does well in everything. "How can I focus on one thing when everyone is expecting me to do well in everything?" We used a outside GC for D#1 which was $$ well spent. We fired the same person for D#2 and tried a little test. I went on to the "counselor o-matic" through princetonreview.com and played with the variables and lo and behold, it gave me the same list our high $$ GC gave us. As a matter of fact, it has been spot on.</p>

5

<p>jabber,
have you had a chance to visit yet?</p>

<p>Have you looked into finances yet and discussed the cost factors with your parents?</p>

6

<p>jabber - Where do you live? Can you visit a few colleges to help you get a better idea of the type of atmosphere you like?</p>

<p>Have you met with the GC at your school? Is he/she helpful? If you have a good guidance office, they can help you begin to narrow down the list of possible schools.</p>

<p>I would start with identifying schools of the size/location you want who have strong reputations in math, phsyical sciences and which also have strong engineering programs. Since you are thinking you might major in engineering, and not all LACs have such programs, that would help you narrow down.</p>

<p>You will get some suggestions for schools which meet the above criteria here on cc - as BassDad has already provided, and you can consult some of the guidebooks such as USNews, Fiske etc. for programs highly ranked in the above fields. Besides rankings provided in the guidebooks, you will usually find information on "most popular majors" which can be an indication of fields in which the school is strong.</p>

<p>Good luck and keep us posted. The more you consult folks here on cc, the more assistance you will get.</p>

7

<p>Out of curiousity, what's an LAC? I've never really heard of it outside this site before. Also, a few questions for the people who replied (and thanks a lot for doing so):</p>

<p>Yermom: Can you give me a good example or two of good "hooks" that would be beneficial and make me look good to Ivies? If I could get something like that that I like and that might even benefit me in the future, I'd be set. I wish I had opportunities for things like that where I live.</p>

<p>Ohio_mom: Unfortunately I haven't been able to visit just yet. However, I am planning to go to a college or two this wednesday, and more as time goes on. Also, I am from I think the lower to lower middle of the middle class, and I have discussed some finances with my parents, though a lot of it has been hopeful towards scholarships and the like. </p>

<p>jmmom: I'm from NY and I was planning on visiting a few colleges, just wanted to get a list going of good colleges as I had no idea where to start originally and thus visiting colleges that I wasn't sure about didn't make too much sense other than the fact that I would learn what to look for in a college. </p>

<p>I recently checked out a few college books from my library that I plan to look through. But I think an area that I really need some help in is improving my resum</p>

8

<p>LAC is just an abbreviation for liberal arts college.</p>

<p>You are on the right track, imo, about not doing things "artificially" to make your college application look good. So keeping that in mind, a "hook" is something which is unusual about you in comparison to other applicants with outstanding stats, as you may have. It can be that you are an URM (under-represented minority), a legacy (parent went to the school), possibly geography (if you are from an area where kids rarely apply to a given school), but usually it is something you are involved in/have done that relates to your interests, talents and passion.</p>

<p>Since you mentioned that you are definitely going to do something in college with computers, have you done anything in that area that might be a hook?
Do you have summer plans? Could you come up with a project/job that builds on your interests in that area that would be unique?</p>

<p>Again, how is the Guidance office at your school? Have you met at all with your Guidance Counselor?</p>

<p>Others on this board will have better advice on whether to "try" to get a hook; not sure you can really do that. But it's certainly worth brainstorming here and with yourself and those around you.</p>

9

<p>Because, like many other students your age, you are relatively uncertain of your major, I would suggest you steer away from LAC's. Very few offer engineering and at most, their departments like computer science are very small, with minimal faculty resources, course elective options and meager lab facilities.</p>

<p>That is not the case for the physical/biological sciences, psych and the humanities. There the LAC's can shine in my opinion.</p>

<p>I would recommend focusing your attention on small univerisites where your choices one or two years will be unfettered. these would include most of the Ivy League uni's, Rochester, CMU, Case(where you might get a full tuition scholarship), JHU, and N'western among a number of others.</p>

<p>All these are great universities which would offer you a world of options and opportunities. Any you could pursue engineering if that bug bits you.</p>