Please Help Me Select Schools to Apply to!

College Search & Selection
1

<p>It seems really difficult for me to find schools that I really want to attend because I don't really have a passion for one thing. Like, I'm not a person who really knows she wants to go to Caltech because she wants to be an engineer or to Wharton for business school.</p>

<p>Right now, I just have a list of generic schools I will probably apply to (HYP, Duke, UVA (instate), U of R, etc).</p>

<p>My interests are really broad - I'm not really a math/science person; I enjoy reading, writing, debating, I like law but am not sure if I want to be a lawyer, I'm interested in international relations (maybe international law???), I like studying the interactions between people, cultures, (sociology?), I love music- but am not good enough to major in it, and I do really care about environmental issues.</p>

<p>Yeah. I don't know if one school can encompass all of that, and even if it can, I don't know how I can manage to put all my interests into a four year path.</p>

<p>I like schools that aren't too big (one reason I don't really like UVA) and aren't too small. I would prefer schools that aren't on the west coast and aren't geographically isolated. I would like schools that have an actual campus. I don't care about Greek life or sports all that much. Partying is not really high on my list of priorities. I don't want a too conservative school, but not a extremely liberal one either. Financial aid isn't too much of a problem, though it would be nice to receive some merit scholarships.</p>

<p>It's so hard to choose because whenever I look an info for schools they all sort of say the same things: they have low teacher/student rations, a bazillion clubs, diversity, nobel prize winners, etc. It's just overwhelming sometimes to know exactly what is unique about a particular school.</p>

<p>Whew! Okay, let's see if you guys can come up with anything. Lol.</p>

2

<p>First, take a deep breath. Realize that most kids (contrary to these boards) don't go into college knowing what they want to do for the rest of their lives, and even among those who do, most of them will change their minds at least once if not more times before they graduate.</p>

<p>You don't need to decide right now what you want to do with your life. Nor do you need to decide how to "put all [your] interests into a four year path." All you need to do is find schools that have most of what you want, that will allow you to switch your interests as they develop.</p>

<p>The schools already on your list seem pretty good. They're smaller schools that offer excellent liberal arts educations. Of course, for anyone, HYP schools are reaches, as are any schools that accept fewer than 25% of applicants. </p>

<p>The Fiske Guide lists schools that are considered "competitors" of the school you research - these schools have a lot of the same applicants. So if you look up Duke, for example, it will tell you who Duke's competitors are. Then you can research those schools, and so on.</p>

<p>It's really hard to distinguish these schools from each other - that's where visiting comes in handy. If you can't visit, go to whatever "dog & pony" show the schools put on in your area. As you research more, you'll begin to see differences in atmosphere and student body, and you'll be able to narrow your search.</p>

<p>It's early yet; keep reading, keep researching, and you'll find something you like.</p>

3

<p>Tufts might be good for you. It's liberal but not radical. It has a nice campus, not overly big, but not tiny either (4500). Also, it is the best for international relations. Just my two sense.</p>

4

<p>OK, your interests are broad and you're not really sure what you want to study. Perfect. I had the same problem when looking for a college. On the surface there isn't much separating these colleges. However, as you dig deeper you see that they have different personalities, offerings, and appeals.</p>

<p>You want a medium sized school on the east coast that aren't in the middle of nowhere and don't have huge to tiny student bodies.</p>

<p>Here are some questions to ask yourself:
1. Do you want to be located in a city or the suburbs?
2. Do you want a school that is very undergraduate focused or would you prefer a school that has large grad programs that will allow you to pursue research?
3. Are there any cities you would love to live in for college or hate to live in?
4. Do you want to be able to come home easily or would you not mind if your school iis 8 or more hours away driving?
5. Do you want a strict core curriculum, no curriculum, or something in between?
6. Is it important to you (or your parents) to go to a school with great recruiting by Wall Street or other top business firms?
7. At the end of the day does it matter if you go to a big name school or would you be happy if no one you know has ever heard of your school? (this seems shallow, but is still a factor)</p>

<p>After answering those questions you might have a better idea of what you are looking for in a college.</p>

5

<p>As a Virginia resident, it looks like William and Mary would be great for you! It's smaller than UVA, not known for being a 'party school', fairly socially/politically active, and there are a lot of opportunities and great academic departments, including Social Sciences (for your international relations / psychology interest) and English (for your reading/writing interest). I was surprised that it wasn't on your list, and I suggest you look into it further!</p>

6

<p>Thanks everyone for the reassurance and suggestions. I'll answer the questions from Venkat.</p>

<p>Here are some questions to ask yourself:</p>

<ol>
<li><p>Do you want to be located in a city or the suburbs?
Doesn't matter</p></li>
<li><p>Do you want a school that is very undergraduate focused or would you prefer a school that has large grad programs that will allow you to pursue research?
More undergrad focused</p></li>
<li><p>Are there any cities you would love to live in for college or hate to live in?
Nope</p></li>
<li><p>Do you want to be able to come home easily or would you not mind if your school iis 8 or more hours away driving?
Don't mind distance</p></li>
<li><p>Do you want a strict core curriculum, no curriculum, or something in between?
Um...not sure?</p></li>
<li><p>Is it important to you (or your parents) to go to a school with great recruiting by Wall Street or other top business firms?
Not extremely important because I want to go to grad school afterwards, but it might be nice for internships.</p></li>
<li><p>At the end of the day does it matter if you go to a big name school or would you be happy if no one you know has ever heard of your school? (this seems shallow, but is still a factor)
I have to admit that it would be nice to go to a prestigious school. I wouldn't want to go to a school that no one has ever heard of, though.</p></li>
</ol>

7

<p>Are you opposed to a rural school like Dartmouth or Cornell?</p>

<p>Do you want your college to be in the nice area of the city or would you be fine being in a soso/bad neighborhood like at Penn or Columbia?</p>

<p>When I asked about the curriculum I was trying to see if you would love something like Columbia's core where all undergrads take the same set of classes or something like Brown's freedom to choose anything you want. You have inbetweens like at Penn and Cornell where you need to take science and history classes, but you have more freedom choosing which ones you want to take.</p>

<p>Really, you would probably be happy at most any college. You just need to try and narrow down what you are looking for so you don't end up applying to 20 schools because you're not sure which will offer you what you really want.</p>

8

<p>Others to possibly look at are Georgetown, Emory and Michigan. Good luck!</p>

9

<p>^^ If UVA is too big, you can forget about Michigan!</p>

<p>On your current list, is "U of R" Rochester or Richmond? Whichever one it is, you may want to take a look at the other.</p>

10

<p>It's U of Richmond.</p>

<p>I don't think I would like schools in a completely rural location or schools that are in a "bad" neighborhood - or at least my parents wouldn't.</p>

11

<p>Georgetown might be a good fit for you if you are probably going into International law, and it has 6000-7000 undergrads.</p>

12

<p>You couldnt describe W&M any better than in your description of what you want. Since you are instate, it couldnt be a better fit. Go visit and see for yourself. good luck</p>

13

<p>Okay, so, schools to check out:</p>

<p>W&M
Georgetown
Tufts</p>

<p>any more?</p>

14

<p>Quick plug for my own school, Rice, although it's on the small side.</p>

15

<p>I would check out: HYPS, Brown, Dartmouth, Duke, Northwestern, Georgetown, Tufts, Rice, WashU, and Emory. All seem to fit the bill.</p>

16

<p>Okay...sooo</p>

<p>W&M
Georgetown
Tufts
Rice
HYPS (lol, they don't deserve their own line)
Brown
Dartmouth
Duke
Northwestern
Tufts
WashU
Emory
UVA
U of R</p>

<p>Haha. Now I just need to narrow it down and throw in a few safeties. By the way, in what ways are UChicago and Northwestern different?</p>

17

<p>Uchicago and Northwestern are like polar opposites. The only similarity is that they are in the same city. Obviously the following are broad generalizations but:</p>

<p>Chicago is considered the more intellectual, academic school. It has a very elaborate core curriculum where you will get a liberal arts education for the first two years. Sports and greek life are very low-key.</p>

<p>Northwestern, while still attracting top of the line students, is considered less intellectual and academic. It has historically had a more pre-professional lean to it. NW is also a member of the Big Ten so it has D1 athletics if that interests you as well as more prominent greek life.</p>

<p>Most people could read a basic description of each and decide immediately which they would prefer.</p>

18

<p>Hm...I wonder why people were recommending Northwestern to me then? Though the campus is gorgeous.</p>

19

<p>My take: Chicago is urban with an incredibly intense student body. The local area, while nice, isn't warm or welcoming. Those who like Chicago love it for its intensity, personally I prefer more intimate and friendly campuses.</p>

<p>Northwestern is a far more "normal" school. Its beautiful, with a more happy-go-lucky student body. While there are parties and a greek scene, its hardly dominant.</p>

20

<p>UChicago is in a dangerous area compared to most college campuses. My friend who goes there says many people don't walk around campus late at night. You said you wanted to avoid a dangerous area. If Chicago is on your list you might as well add Penn and Columbia too.</p>

<p>Could JMU be a safety for you?</p>