Good thoughts from @mamaedefamilia (especially Case). It has EA, too, but I think the date has passed.
@culaccino, regarding the test prep people’s assessment of what’s a match, my experience is that a) they’re usually way off and b) they use that sort of thing as a marketing tool. I don’t think they INTEND to mislead (at least I hope not), but they do have a tendency to suggest to people that maybe with a little more test prep, School X could be in reach. (When they did that with my son I had to giggle … the school they ventured was so far out of reach, even though kid’s high schores hit their middle 50 … which totally meaningless such a selective school… something I have to keep explaining over and over to relatives…)
You won’t ant MoHo then, it’s not even IN Amherst but a much smaller town (though it’s close and there’s free bus service). UMass Amherst is in the same town as Amherst College (which makes the town a much busier college town than it would be otherwise - UMass has 30K-ish students). I mentioned MoHo (and Smith) because they are in the consortium (tho not coed being in the group means more coed courses and activities) and more like matches than reaches.
Until recently, the term social justice warrior wasn’t used pejoratively but as a laudatory complement.
The legendary student social justice warriors of the 60’s and 70s whose activism decrying a corrupt president and administration, racism, sexisim, homophobia, bigtory, the needless slaughter and maiming of servicemen and women and the unconscionable horrors bestowed on the civilians of Vietnam and Cambodia, inarguably instituted significant positive changes in societal attitudes and actions and prevented countless deaths in a meaningless war.
I’d argue that not since the 60’s and 70’s has it been more imperative for students to voice their concern regarding governmental malpractice and societal injustices that are rampant within our borders and abroad.
The vast majority of Vassar’s students strive to effect positive change and universal acceptance of others during their college years as well as long past graduation. They are to be admired.
Having aid that, there is a small percentage of Vassar students who at times may be overzealous, disingenuous or intolerant when criticizing what they perceive to be inequities and prejudices.
Vassar has its flaws. However, I believe that the flaws are inconsequential when you consider all that Vassar has to offer you as a pre-med. The experience of attending a college as diverse as Vassar, and many of your prospective colleges, will serve you well when you’re a physician and have to relate to individuals of various diversities and socioeconomic backgrounds.
Trinity University meets most of your requirements. There is a full tuition science scholarship awarded to a few students each year called the Semmes Science Scholarship. Deadline to apply is January 1.
I don’t think anyone’s saying social justice is a bad thing, @Dustyfeathers.
Look up the term SJW in Urban Dictionary and you’ll see the type/mindset OP is looking to avoid.
Not, imho, nearly as common or pervasive as some media outlets would have us all believe, but there are certainly environments where one might, say, feel harshly judged for wearing leather or having a conventional appearance, and I suspect that sort of judgyness is what OP hopes to avoid.
Honestly, I think it’s overblown as an issue, but there are some places where it feels more fostered/supported than others.
I would definitely put Oberlin, Swarthmore, Vassar, and Wesleyan on the list as great LAC’s that are also known as SJW schools. For uni’s, its Brown by a lot - IMHO.
Just FYI, Pomona is not located near a city. It’s in a very nice suburban college town and it shares a large campus with the 5Cs so that may be enough for you. If, however, you really want proximity to a city, LA is pretty far from the campus and even though you will be told that there’s a train that runs from Claremont to LA, it’s not frequent and it’s a long haul, roughly an hour. Driving is unpredictable because of the massive and ever present traffic jams. We loved the 5C campuses but it was very clear during our visit that LA was not around the corner. For many students, that’s not an issue. It’s just something to bear in mind.
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Los Angeles isn’t the only city in the area. There are several with over 100,000 people neighboring Claremont or within a 10 mile radius. I searched it and there are about a million people in a ten mile circle around Claremont, 8 million in 30 miles, and 15.5 million within 50 miles. You can get to several large malls, movie theaters, most national retailers, dentists, hospitals, most banks, restaurants, and the like without having to go all the way to LA (Claremont alone has a ton of them, more than most LAC college towns).
SoCal is a dense canopy of many cities/town all in close proximity to one another. In most other places, you’ll see city, suburb, rural as you drive, but in SoCal it’s city-suburb-town-city-suburb in no organized fashion.
The train perspective is subjective, but in my experience, it was reliable (ran hourly on a consistent schedule, and almost always got to LA within an hour) and a manageable commute time. Would it be better if it were faster or closer? Absolutely. But having talked to friends at Swarthmore and Pomona, those at Pomona went out to museums, entertainment, internships, natural parks, etc. more frequently than those at Swarthmore did. Swarthmore is a more insulated experience, whereas Pomona has several clubs and groups devoted to outside excursions for all the area has to offer. This is despite Swarthmore’s SEPTA train being half the commute time.
As someone who has visited several of these colleges (and admittedly has a child at one of them), I will chime in and agree with the PP who said that the Claremonts are really not close to the city (and I don’t count suburbs as the city). When we visited the PA consortium we stayed in downtown Philadelphia and visited the colleges without a car - they were a quick Septa ride away. The kids I know there go to into Philadelphia whenever they feel like it, for lectures, concerts, museum visits and dining. It took us a long, long time to get from downtown LA to Claremont. We definitely didn’t feel like we could stay in our downtown LA hotel and just pop over for a visit like we did in both Boston and Philadelphia. Sure the kids there can get to LA, but the ones I know have been telling me that it’s far and inconvenient compared to the Boston and Philly colleges they visited. And many of them say they need a car or they feel stuck in the suburbs. Great colleges, by the way, but I honestly think it’s stretching it to say that you could easily get into downtown LA easily and often. So if proximity really matters to you, I suggest a visit where you see the distances for yourself and see just how convenient the transportation is and if it’s what you are looking for. As you can see, different people will have different ideas of which colleges qualify as “close to a major city.” Also, take a look and see how convenient these colleges are to a major airport that will service your home city with a direct flight if possible.
@circuitrider, some are less obvious - we were swarmed by it at Swarthmore (activist messages chalked on every sidewalk) and at Wesleyan (activist messages posted on every free bulletin board or side of bldg.).
Haverford is a great school, but its very small with only 1,300 students; when most LAC’s are around 2,000 that’s a big difference - doesn’t mean its a negative, but it is unique. Also, the campus is fairly compact. All things to consider.
agree with nostalgic. LA is a sprawling city/community. My soph always ubers to LA with friends and likes having access by train. Yes, Pomona is part of the 5Cs giving you a larger college experience and yes, LA is very much accessible.
I have a kid at Pomona who is spending this semester at Swat through a domestic exchange. She has gone to Philadelphia a lot this semester. She had already spent the summer in Philly so she was familiar and comfortable with the SEPTA trains and has some friends at Drexel. The accessibility of Philly by train is much easier than LA by Metrolink, in part because LA is so sprawling and Metrolink is more limited in where you can go. Also there is talk that the Claremont Metrolink station may be closed. http://tsl.news/news/6912/. My D prefers Pomona overall for a lot of reasons, but when it comes to accessibility of the urban core by public transit, Swat is definitely superior. I think the comment by @3girls3cats is fair.
OP, another poster suggested that if you are interested in any of the 5C schools, it would be wise to visit the school and make sure to arrange an outing to LA via public transportation. I think that’s the best advice to provide at this point rather than allowing any of us to characterize what “proximity” means for you. You can determine for yourself how far is too far and how far is just right.
Apply to your reaches. I know it’s a lot of work but what do you have to lose?! You have put in so much hard work to have amazing credentials and you have a legitimate shot. Don’t sell yourself short. You only go through the college process once! Wish you all the best.
