Please help personality-match a lost and confused searcher!

Applying to College
1

<p>Hey. I had a post up that got lost but I had some great responses that were really helping me narrow down my choices & think about the schools I could fall in love with & apply to. So I’m re-writing!</p>

<p>I’m a sophomore at a university in the northeast majoring in English Lit (minors in History & Classical Civilization). While I don’t hate it I definitely feel it’s not the school for me, somewhat in terms of academics but definitely in terms of atmosphere & student body.</p>

<p>I’m not a big partyer/drinker & this school is! I’d love a school where the students’ interests vary, they attend on-campus events in high numbers, and also like going to the movies/day trip/hanging out with friends. I would also love to meet more people like me: non-apathetic, interested in learning & friendly. </p>

<p>I’d love to be heavily involved in 2-3 EC’s (esp. student events). I feel that this school not only has few EC’s to choose from but they’re not varied or well-attended. I’m not bothered about sports.</p>

<p>While academics come first for me, I don’t want to go crazy & spend 10 hrs a night on homework! I do want small classes (generally), great class discussions & personal attention from professors, although this doesn’t mean I’d like a school with only 1000 students. I’d also like to take classes outside my major such as Marketing, Design (Graphic, web etc.), Philosophy etc. However I know a lot of schools I’m interested in don’t offer Marketing; I’d sacrifice that for the ‘perfect’ school & just take summer classes.</p>

<p>The schools I’m researching right now are: Dartmouth (great transfer program but too much partying?), Haverford (great academics but too small?), Middlebury (great English dept. but too outdoorsy?), Brown (can design own curriculum, first choice at the moment), Trinity College (don’t know enough about it but has been recommended to me), Williams (good academics, friendly students, don’t know much else), Amherst (good academics, but not sure it’s a fit for me), Boston University (has Marketing classes, good location for travel & internships, not sure about student-body), Wesleyan (sounds a bit like Brown). Yes, it sounds like I'm Goldilocks.</p>

<p>My stats, if it’ll help:
HS-
Full IB program in England. 6, 5, 5, in highers
1200 old SAT- did very well on Verbal, terribly on Math cos I’m beyond bad at it
Lit and Writing SAT II- 700 & 640
Some EC’s but not a great deal but it was a non-American school in England</p>

<p>College-
3.81 GPA. Dean’s List all 3 semesters. 4.0 GPA in major
In honors program
In honors English
Heavily involved in 2 EC’s, in a couple more
Great teacher recs</p>

<p>If anyone could offer any insight on the schools, comments or suggestions I would appreciate it so much. Thanks!!</p>

2

<p>Have you looked at Bowdoin?</p>

3

<p>No I haven't. I think I've only ever heard it mentioned once. What's it like & where is it?</p>

4

<p>Bowdoin is an ecellent LAC in Maine with great English and classics/classical archaeology programs. The transfer acceptance rate is very small, though.</p>

<p>Dartmouth has the programs you're looking for, but I'm not sure about the atmosphere. I'm generalizing, but you may be jumping out of a frying pan into the fire. The same goes for BU. I have a friend there who confirmed that it's a party school, although surprisingly not as much as BC. </p>

<p>Tufts, Haverford (note that U Penn/Wharton is nearby), and Vassar might also be worth looking into.</p>

5

<p>Thanks for the info on Bowdoin, I'll check it out. I had a friend who transferred from the school I'm at now to Vassar then back again after one semester. She didn't hate it at all but it wasn't for her, and I don't think it would be for me either. I am looking into Haverford. From everything I've read (here, campusdirt.com, students etc.) it seems like every school has big drinking/party scenes, even Brown. Just as long as students are interested in much more and are very friendly I'd be happier.</p>