Please suggest a safety for me.

[hevydevy]

<p>Will totally look into Lewis and Clark. I was thinking about Rutgers too. Thanks for all the help.</p>

[kenzie1992]

<p>Oh, one note about Reed - the reason I crossed it off after visiting is that when I did, I was told that it is very difficult to double major there, whereas at Lewis and Clark it is fairly easy to do so if you’re organized and proactive in planning your schedule. Although I guess Reed did say that if you can combine your majors in your thesis it does make it easier. Just something to keep in mind, maybe you’ve already thought about this. I can’t speak for any of the other schools, I didn’t look into them. </p>

<p>Best of luck! :)</p>

[emmacat1234]

<p>Have you thought about McGill? It’s in canada, but the bright side is that in Canada, they don’t really consider EC’s. They have a cut off GPA for applying and then they take the highest gpa’s until the program is full.</p>

[Ivyt]

<p>I wouldn’t call McGill a safety for an international</p>

[emmacat1234]

<p>It’s Canada. My friend, an American, got into McGill with a 3.7 gpa. It’s not hard to get into, but respected. Safety to me.</p>

[hevydevy]

<p>Kenzie:</p>

<p>I do know about how hard it is to double major at Reed. I have looked into it, and there are some avenues to do what I want. For example, I could a) seriously double major which is nearly impossible considering I’d have to write two senior theses, b) try to turn political science and philosophy into an “ad-hoc interdisciplinary” major, but that is very hard to do - often only one to five students graduate every year with an ad-hoc major or c) actually major in political science and spend most of my time in political philosophy classes - the great thing about Reed’s political philosophy dept. is that it spans so many sub-fields. I’d probably go with the last one. </p>

<p>As for McGill, I looked into it, but from what I’ve seen, applying to international schools is a major pain. I, for a time, thought I wanted to apply to either Oxford or the University of Edinburgh, but it was way too complicated for me to put my efforts in it. Although as a side, if all goes well, a D. Phil from Oxford is my dream degree, so here’s to hoping in the future…</p>

[Longhaul]

<p>I second Lewis & Clark and American.</p>

<p>Depending on finances, Oxy may be good, though not NE.</p>

<p>Rutgers - Careful if price is a concern. OOS is not cheap. With your stats, you’d most likely be better at a private with merit.</p>

<p>Ursinus? I wouldn’t say it is liberal, but it is more laid back compared to many Philly region LACs.</p>

<p>Just keep in mind, Pitt is tops in Philosophy. I know you want options, but Pitt will be hard to beat.</p>

[RisingChemist]

<p>Pitt is in a lame city full of rednecks and is pretty conservative.</p>

[hevydevy]

<p>What causes you to say this? You live in Pittsburgh? Friends? Personal experience with the school?</p>

[mathmomvt]

<p>

A safety meets these four criteria:…You are guaranteed admission.

</p>

<p>What schools offer guarantees of admission for given stats? I’ve honestly never seen this. I suppose you could assume you’d be guaranteed admission at a school where you’d qualify for guaranteed merit. </p>

<p>My S1 had several schools that we considered “safeties” for admission but nowhere that he was “guaranteed” admission (or “guaranteed” sufficient merit to make it affordable, which is why there were several). Our HS also doesn’t keep (or at least share) stats like that. I think a lot of people have no way of meeting happymom’s 4 criteria for a true safety, and have to settle for having a few schools where they are well above average, and the school has a fairly high acceptance rate. Obviously if you don’t have a guaranteed safety, there’s a chance you won’t have anywhere to attend, but taking a gap year and re-applying would not be the end of the world, nor would starting at a local community college.</p>

<p>

Rutgers - Careful if price is a concern. OOS is not cheap. With your stats, you’d most likely be better at a private with merit.

</p>

<p>Rutgers offers merit up to 24K/year and OOS students are eligible:<br>
[Rutgers</a> | Rutgers Admissions](<a href=“http://admissions.rutgers.edu/costs/scholarships/firstyearscholarships.aspx]Rutgers”>http://admissions.rutgers.edu/costs/scholarships/firstyearscholarships.aspx)</p>

<p>

Presidential Scholarship
The Presidential Scholarship is the most prestigious scholarship award Rutgers offers undergraduates. Awards are $24,000 per year, and include a $11,500 credit for on-campus housing and dining. For those who choose not to live on campus, the award will be $12,500. Students are guaranteed on-campus housing for four years and admission to the Honors Program. To be considered, students must have at least 2250 combined SAT or an ACT score of 35 and an A grade point average.

</p>

<p>This leaves about $15K in residual direct costs, plus books, travel, personal expenses, etc.</p>

[Ivyt]

<p>

What schools offer guarantees of admission for given stats? I’ve honestly never seen this. I suppose you could assume you’d be guaranteed admission at a school where you’d qualify for guaranteed merit

</p>

<p>UT-Austin (top 8% of class)
UT-Dallas (top 15% of class)
Texas A&M (Top 10% of class)
Texas Tech (Class rank + ACT/SAT)
Iowa schools (Formulas)</p>

[mathmomvt]

<p>Are those all in-state only? (Texas A&M’s looks to be)</p>

[ucbalumnus]

<p>

@mathmomvt

What schools offer guarantees of admission for given stats? I’ve honestly never seen this.

</p>

<p>Texas public universities fill part of their class with a guarantee based on class rank only (top 10%, except Austin which is usually 9% or 8%) or class rank and test scores.</p>

<p>Non-impacted California State Universities admit applicants to non-impacted majors who meet the stated minimum admission requirements (GPA and test score formula).</p>

<p>Iowa public schools also use a formula; freshman applicants exceeding a published minimum are admitted.</p>

<p>The <a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/financial-aid-scholarships/1348012-automatic-full-tuition-full-ride-scholarships.html[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/financial-aid-scholarships/1348012-automatic-full-tuition-full-ride-scholarships.html&lt;/a&gt; presumably come with admission offers.</p>

<p>Open admission community colleges trivially meet the criteria of guaranteeing admission for any given level of applicant stats.</p>

[memake]

<p>re McGill:
I don’t know if international applications in general are ‘a major pain’, but applying to McGill in particular is a piece of cake. No essays, no lists of EC’s, just an on-line application which you can fill out in about 10 minutes, and a credit card number for the application fee. It was undoubtedly the quickest and easiest application from the list of 11 schools that my kid applied to.</p>

<p>Montreal is a great place to be a college student.</p>

<p>I don’t know much about their depts of poli sci and philosophy - so researching that is up to you.</p>

[PolarBearVsShark]

<p>The idea of Haverford as a safety.</p>

<p>Oh, Lordy.</p>

<p>Gettysburg College as a “reach safety” based on your SATs.</p>

[ClassicRockerDad]

<p>Great list. You know Pittsburgh is one of the highest ranked schools in Philosophy. </p>

<p>American might be a let down for an academic stud like yourself. </p>

<p>Pittsburgh is a great safety for you. I agree with having two safeties. </p>

<p>I would go with Boston College early action. It’s a safety if you get in, which you will no doubt. I also think McGill or Toronto will appeal to you. McGill is a lot like NYU. </p>

<p>George Washington waitlists overqualified applicants. They will wait list you. They are the worst offender of Tufts syndrome.</p>

[BobWallace]

<p>Lots of schools have automatic admissions for in-state only. Here are some examples that have it for OOS:</p>

<p>

Automatic Admission
To be admitted to the University of Arkansas, applicants must have at least a 3.00 grade point average (on a 4.00 scale), a 20 or higher on the ACT (930 SAT, combined critical reading/ verbal and math scores only), and must have completed or be in the process of completing the 16-unit preparatory core. Students not meeting these criteria are still encouraged to apply and will be reviewed for possible admission by the U of A’s admission committee.

</p>

<p>

Slippery Rock
For automatic admission, a combined score of a 950 on the SAT (critical reading and math only) or 20 (composite) on the ACT and a 3.0 QPA is required. Applicants who do not meet the automatic admission guidelines are still encouraged to apply for admission.

</p>

<p>

Freshman Admission Requirements Effective Fall 2012
There are three factors that will be initially considered for admission to LSU.</p>

<p>Incoming freshman must have at least a 3.0 academic gpa calculated from academic core courses.
Students must also have completed at least 19 units of new Fall 2012 college-preparatory courses.
Applicants must have a minimum of SAT score (critical reading and math) of 1030 or at least a composite ACT score of 22.</p>

<p>As the Flagship University of Louisiana, LSU does not offer any remedial courses; therefore, students must have an ACT English sub-score of at least 18 or an SAT critical reading score of at least 450. In order to be placed into college-level math, students must have an ACT math sub-score of at least 19 or an SAT math score of 460.</p>

<p>LSU does not require completion of the writing section on the ACT or SAT for general admission. However, students interested in being considered for admission to the LSU Honors College must submit writing scores.</p>

<p>Students not meeting the above requirements for automatic admission are still encouraged to apply.

</p>

<p>

North Dakota
Automatic Admission Standards</p>

<p>Automatic Admission is granted to high school graduates entering as freshmen and transfer students with less than 24 semester hours of transferable credit, whose ACT and GPA scores correspond with our Admission Chart. In addition, you must meet the high school core requirements - English (4 units), Math (3 units of Algebra I or above), Lab Science (3 units), Social Studies (3 units).</p>

<p>Admission Chart</p>

<p>ACT & SAT Score RangeH.S. GPA Range
18-36 ACT / 860-1600 SAT3.50 — 4.00
19-36 ACT / 900-1600 SAT3.00 — 4.00
20-36 ACT / 940-1600 SAT2.75 — 4.00
21-36 ACT / 980-1600 SAT2.50 — 4.00
22-36 ACT / 1020-1600 SAT2.25 — 4.00
SAT and ACT scores considered for UND admission, consist only of the math and verbal sections. The writing section is not measured on either test.</p>

<p>You should still apply for admission even if your GPA or ACT don’t meet automatic admission standards.

</p>

[hevydevy]

<p>ClassicRockerDad:</p>

<p>First, awesome name. </p>

<p>Second, I’m curious as to what would be wrong with American? I mean, in terms of SAT/ACT, it seems to be pretty competitive, and being in the heart of DC means it would probably give a decent political science education, granted I am looking into more theoretical than applied, which could be an issue with Capitol Hill in the back ground.</p>

<p>I can’t apply to BC for reasons way too complicated to go into right now, and as for schools in Canada, I was looking into McGill and Toronto, but I couldn’t seem to find decent enough admissions stats.</p>

[RisingChemist]

<p>Disregard that comment. American will be more rigorous than Pitt. You are comparing a selective, small private school to a big state school. Pitt is okay for the right person but it is loaded with rah rah football drones like most big state schools. </p>

<p>It would be okay if you can find your place and you pick your classes carefully. A lot of these mega-mart schools have philosophy and poli sci classes in lecture halls and give multiple choice exams. You would get a much better experience at Reed, etc. if you are serious about learning. </p>

<p>I know I recommended Rutgers and some of this is true there. The difference is that Rutgers is near NYC and has arguably the best philosphy faculty of any U.S. college (NYU and Rutgers flip flop in the rankings). </p>

<p>To the person who asked me about the city of Pittsburgh, I have spent more time there than I would have liked. It is loaded with jorts-and-jersey-wearing Steelers fans. It is a great place for Nascar conversation. It reminds me of a city in Ohio. It’s better than a lot of the other rust belt cities but isn’t even close to NYC ( or Boston or even Philadelphia).</p>

[Longhaul]

<p>Rutgers is highly regarded for Philosophy, but the difference between Rutgers & Pitt is very small. Anywhere between 2-5 difference depending on the list (Philosophical Gourm; US News)</p>

<p>Rutgers OOS scholarship looks great IF the OP has the stats. OP only gave range of standardized grades.</p>

<p>American has an honors program.</p>

<p>Pitt - I have never lived there, but the students I know who attend/graduated from there are not conservative and all of them loved the city and activities. Only 2 were sports fans. You may want to do an overnight here if you receive differing opinions.</p>