<p>Hi all. I'm looking to apply to some LACs across the country. I am now unsure/undecided about location and what specifically I want so I am trying to apply to a wide range of schools. </p>
<p>I want a school that is more diverse, has a strong study abroad and focus on global perspectives, some political diversity; the school should be relatively balanced or lean towards the conservative. I am not into cutthroat academics--I am somewhat burned out from the competitiveness of my high school. Hopefully I would like to got a school that is still competitive, but the emphasis isnt solely on grades/class rank. I also tend to shy away from the completely intellectual schools--I definitely want a more laid back school that is still highly regarded and has challenging academics. Community is really important as well--I want a college I can call home and get to know students.</p>
<p>I would prefer a non-Greek school, but there are some great schools with the Greek system I don't want to cut off simply because they are greek like Davidson. I also am not into partying, but there is a party scene at every school so I've come to terms with that. I also love the 4-1-4 calendar system, but I don't think I should select schools based on calendar.</p>
<p>I also will most likely need financial aid so I'm trying to at least have some safeties where I can be guaranteed help. I have tried researching and googling, but I'm still really unsure about how to narrow this list down. Please please please help!!! Any suggestions at all would be really appreciated!</p>
<p>ACT: 32
GPA: 3.8-3.9 range unweighted
Female, black
Top 5% at public high school
Possible majors: looking to Poli Sci/Government, maybe biochem/history, undecided</p>
<p>Schools for sure..St Olaf, Williams, Kenyon, Middlebury (all matches except for Williams & Middlebury, reaches)</p>
<p>Bates C
Bowdoin C
Carleton C
Claremont McKenna C
Colby C
C Holy Cross
Columbia U
Connecticut C
Davidson C
Earlham C
Eckerd C
Franklin/Marshall C
Franklin C Switzrlnd
Goucher C
Hamilton C (NY)
Haverford C
Kalamazoo C
Kenyon C
Lehigh U (for the IDEAS/IBE program)
Middlebury C
Muhlenberg C
Pomona C
Princeton U
St Olaf C
Swarthmore C
U Pennsylvania
Ursinus C
Vanderbilt U
Villanova U
Washington & Lee U
Williams C
Tufts University
George Washington University
Grinnell College</p>
<p>You may want to remove some based on remoteness of their location. Many students don’t like to be stranded on a campus hours from civilization with nothing to do outside of school activities. Being within an hour to a cosmopolitan city is important for mental health breaks.</p>
<p>These schools have a liberal bent. Others may too.</p>
<p>Bates C
Bowdoin C
Carleton C
Colby C
Middlebury C</p>
<p>I’d use location (part of country, city/town/rural), and size to narrow things down.
I found ***** website helpful in getting more of an idea of the feel of different schools.</p>
<p>When the list is this big, I suggest you revisit your criteria and try to apply some weights to them. If a small LAC experience is really important, then drop the non-LACs. Does having a conservative population visible on campus matter a lot? That would drop about half of the schools on this list. If money - financial aid - is critical, that would also result an a number of these schools dropping off the list.</p>
<p>You say you’ll need financial aid but do you know what you’ll qualify for? What is your EFC? Many parents are very surprised at what their expected minimum contribution will be for college.</p>
<p>My parent’s wont tell me; I don’t believe we required for much if any financial aid for my older sibling last year. however, our financial situation has changed so I am sure that we will qualify for a significant amount this year.</p>
<p>A lot of those schools are “no loan.” No reason to keep Vandy over Davidson or Swarthmore for example. With a list that big, with all others being equal, I think it’s OK to arbitrarily pick schools based on calendar, greek system, “too intellectual”, not intellectual enough, too rural, or too urban. I’ll disagree with 1980collegegrad. Remote schools have lots of outdoor and often nearby cultural activities for distraction that may be better for one’s mental health than the city. But, if that doesn’t sound like fun for you, eliminate those schools</p>
