Hi everyone!! As I reviewed my college list, I realized that I probably wouldn’t be very happy at the safety schools I am applying to. Based on the list of schools below, can you think of any places similar that are less selective? I truly don’t want to sound boastful but I am a very good student (4.4 GPA) with perfect test scores, lots of extracurriculars, and I do a lot of community service. I am also a national merit finalist. I am a very artsy, liberal person - I want a good education but I don’t want a cut-throat environment where the students are competitive. I’d prefer a school no more than 10,000 undergrads, and with all four seasons. My intended majors are Environmental Studies and theatre/drama. I’ll do this (s) to indicate a safety and this (s*) to indicate a kinda-safety (safety but I can’t completely rely on it).
I’m applying to/have applied to (in order of preference):
Brown (ED)
Northwestern
Yale
Tulane (s)
Tufts
WashU
UPenn
Vanderbilt
and the rest are in no particular order:
The Ohio State University (s)
UNC Chapel Hill (s/s)
Lehigh (s*)
Kenyon
Ithaca (s)
Amherst
Swarthmore
Muhlenberg (s)
The only safety on my list that I can really see myself at is Tulane - I like Reed College but I think Oregon might be too far from home for me…
Ohio State, Muhlenberg, and Ithaca are likely acceptances. Lehigh is not a safety …but they are looking for geographic diversity, and if you show strong interest you have a good chance. Tulane is not a safety.
What about the U of South Carolina Honors College? Franklin and Marshall? Do you prefer urban, rural, no preference?
@twogirls thank you for the recommendations! I think South Carolina is a bit too big for me unfortunately (I know OSY is huge, but I am mainly applying there to appease my siblings who go there); I will definitely look into Wake Forest! I had never heard of it before, although its acceptance rate is very similar to Tulane and Lehigh.
Also I do understand that Tulane is not generally a safety, but my college admissions counselors are confident that, based on my resume, it is a safety. I do still know not to rely on it though, I can’t get my hopes up!
I suggested Wake Forest but then deleted it… it’s a great school and worth investigating further. You may want to check out Emory… although it’s not a safety. Skidmore?
@twogirls my bad! I didn’t see the edit to the post! I would like a school with a campus but near a city (ex: Columbia was perfect location wise b/c of the closed campus but near NYC, unfortunately I didn’t like the school). I definitely don’t want to be rural or in the middle of a city - I would also enjoy a college town of some sort! I’ll investigate Franklin and Marshall, I don’t know much about their drama department so I’ll have to do some research. Thanks!! (p.s. a big thing for me is a school that encourages/easily lets you double major)
I am not even sure if F/M has a theater dept. I think some of the schools on your list are either in a rural area… or in a city. You may want to look at this further.
@twogirls yeah - the ones that are numbered are not; some of the ones in no particular order are. I’ve visited all of the schools except for Swarthmore.
Columbia is not near NYC… it’s in NYC. I am confused by your comment regarding the numbers. Have you looked at the University of Rochester ( not sure about drama)?
By the ones that are numbered I mean the ones that I listed in order of preference. Near was not the right word, I know it is in NYC but its a closed, gated campus vs NYU which is no campus at all.
Based on your ED choice, you should probably look into Wesleyan and Connecticut College. Though I’m not suggesting them as safeties, they might be two schools that would suit your general preferences.
USF, California. Has environmental studies and environmental science as majors, theater as a minor. They also have a performing arts/social justice major. Liberal, social justice and community service focus. You would be eligible for scholarship.
What about Case Western (match or low reach, not safety)? It has a good theater program (not sure about environmental studies), is located in a culturally vibrant area of Cleveland, is the right size, and your stats might qualify you for a merit scholarship. Demonstrated interest is important, though, and although I have no hard data to back this up, EA applicants from my area (not Ohio) tend to do better than the RD round. Check the EA deadline - it may have passed or it might be Dec 1.
Second the recommendation of Oberlin - 45 minutes from Cleveland with an active and ambitious theater community. Larger than the typical LAC with about 3K students. (Match rather than safety). Dickinson is probably a pretty safe admissions bet for you. It has it’s own working farm and lots of green initiatives as well as strengths in theater/music/dance.
I was intending to say exactly what @mamaedefamilia just said “UNC is not a safety for OOS applicants”.
I agree with another post that UVM (university of Vermont) is worth looking at. It is in a beautiful location, and I have heard it has a very good environmental studies program. It also has theater and is right on your limit with 10,000 undergrads. I have no idea what the best way is to get there from Ohio.
