<p>I'm looking for a school around 5,000 students or so..</p>
<p>I have about a 3.2 UW GPA for HS, and probably like a 3.7 W, with a rigorous courseload (I'll have 5 APs by the time I graduate with at least a 3 on all), Varisty Lacrosse, community service, good essay and recs, and as of right now a 29 on ACT.</p>
<p>My sister went to SMU and it's a really nice school, but I want something a little less conservative and probably a little more academic. I like the beautiful campus, beautiful girls, and good social life.</p>
<p>Any Suggestions?
Right now I'm thinking; UofDenver, Washington and Lee, Charleston?, maybe SMU, and I'm really not sure of anything else.</p>
<p>well W&L might be a little small for you. it only has 1700 undergrad and it has a reputation for being conservative. however, it does have good academics and it is beautiful.</p>
<p>I don’t know if you’re familiar with SMU but your UW gpa is kind of low for them. Also SMU is a lot bigger than 5,000. I believe total number of students enrolled is over 11,000 and they’re kind of the opposite of a LAC. You’re right about the beautiful campus and beautiful girls though. </p>
<p>I don’t know where you’re from, but if you’re from North Texas you’d probably hate to go to college at SMU. Your parents will be sooo proud to say you go to SMU and they will hang around like flies, which I assume is the case if you (the little bro of an SMU student) were around SMU much.</p>
<p>Here’s a good school for you: Check out William Jewell College in KC. They were one of my main contenders, mostly because they have really good financial aid. They have a beautiful semi-rural campus 15/30 minutes north of Downtown KCMO (which rocks) depending on traffic, and they’re also a nationally ranked LAC. They’re more tempered than SMU politically because not everyone is from the upper-upper class. For instance, they used to be affiliated with the Missouri Baptist Convention until a disagreement over teaching evolution and homosexuality. Time called them the Liberal Arts College of the Year in '01. </p>
<p>Oh alright then. Yeah I would go for SMU then. It might be a reach and you may not get so much finaid, but if your parents could afford it for your sister, they can afford it for you and you will qualify for a legacy scholarship at least. SMU likes it when members of the family keep coming to them.</p>
<p>W&L is quite small and conservative-ish and will likely be a reach for you with your GPA - it is extremely competitive to get into. Also, it’s kind of in the middle of nowhere. The kids we know that go there love it though. </p>
<p>Elon is about the size you mentioned. My son and I liked our visit there - the campus is lovely with great facilities, and they seem very forward thinking and student-focused in their programming. We were impressed. Their communications dept. is very good. The location, however, is a bit isolated - not much right there, but lots happening on campus and not too far from Greensboro or even Chapel Hill/Raleigh area. Might be worth considering further.</p>
<p>College of Charleston is larger, but not huge (around 10,000 undergrads, I think). It is in a larger setting. And, according to son’s best friend who almost chose to go there, has tons of incredibly beautiful girls (NOT that I think that should be a major factor in your decision). This also could be a good fit for you.</p>
<p>If you are not sure about a large university setting and are from Florida, you may want to take a look at UGA. They use a weighted GPA formula (as does Elon, I think) which would help you. They are supposed to have a good journalism program. Athens is an amazing college town with lots of vibe and a great music scene. Out of the 10-12 schools we visited, my son thought the girls at Georgia were most gorgeous (again, shallow and should not play a real role in finding the perfect fit, but I’d be lying if I said he didn’t notice). Actually, even more than that, folks there were quite friendly. I know this suggestion is neither private nor small nor a LAC, but since you mentioned UCSB and seem unsure at this point, it might be good to visit a variety of settings - as you visit, you’ll start to get a feel for what fits you best. </p>
<p>A little smaller (more like W&L in size?) and I don’t much about it, but maybe Rhodes? It sounds like a really cool LAC and is in Memphis so kind of a happening setting. </p>
<p>I hope this helps a little. Good luck with your search.</p>
<p>OK, I am going to throw out a random mix to see if anything sticks. I don’t know that any of these match with all of your criteria (strength in particular academic area, size - some are larger than SMU and some smaller, but none other than my UGA idea is larger than 18,000 or so, setting, public and private, etc…). Hopefullly some folks with more knowledge and experience can add additional comments, especially if I am totally off-base in a suggestion. Still, given that it is early in your seach, you may want to “try on” some different things. Last year at this time my son was really not sure at all… so, we checked out some larger and smaller schools, urban and more rural, LAC and public. He did not end up where he started, but a few visits to various places really helped us see towards what sort of place he gravitated. We’ve only visited 2 or 3 of those I listed. </p>
<p>What about…</p>
<p>Furman, Dickinson, James Madison University, U of Mary Washington, American University, Miami U of Ohio, Clemson, U of Vermont, Tulane, Lehigh, UNC-Wilmington…</p>
<p>looks like a good list to me, Furman seems like an awesome school as well as many of the others you listed.</p>
<p>I’ve visited American and wasn’t to sold on it. Both my parents went to Tulane so that may help my admissions.</p>
<p>UGA seems awesome but I always thought it was sort of a reach, and I’ve heard Elon is amazing as well.</p>
<p>It’ll probably come down to visits, the thing that I did like about SMU was that it seemed like there were endless areas/things to do in a city like Dallas which is why I’m looking for more than an isolated school.</p>
<p>UGA might be tough, but not necessarily out of reach with a 3.7 W. How competitive is your high school? What is your rank or approximate decile in your class? Your GPA is actually gonna be tough for a number of schools - definitely try to have a stong finish this year and a really strong Fall of senior year to see if you can get that 3.2 up a bit. </p>
<p>If you like the sound of UGA, you might want to look further at Clemson and U of SC (which also seems to be good with merit aid). They may be good matches and are a bit smaller than UGA. I hear Clemson has a beautiful campus. </p>
<p>Some of the ones I mentioned are a bit isolated. Dickinson is fairly small and in a pretty small city. Miami Ohio is quite isolated, but there are about 15,000 students so there is a lot going on on campus. </p>
<p>What didn’t you like about American as you learn as much from what you don’t like as what you do? U of Pittsburgh?? But, that is a pretty urban campus - not ugly, but not beautiful.</p>
<p>I like the idea of UGA solely because of Athens/the music scene. While I would prefer a smaller school I think the experience at Georgia would make up for the size. The only state universities outside of UF I’d even think of going too would probably be UCSB, UGA, or Colorado.</p>
<p>Ideally I’d want to go to a school around 5,000 (similar to SMU, but possibly smaller) with a great social life, green campus, and in a cool town/city. Alot of kids from SMU tell me that University of Denver is a similar school just out west so it has a more open minded student body.</p>
<p>oh and my HS is nationally ranked top 10 and is “for the gifted”, thus the reason for the steep GPA increase from UW to Weighted, every class offered is either honors or an AP.</p>
<p>Travelfun, I wish my mom was as cool as you are about your son wanting to go to a school with beautiful girls…instead of ugly Bryn Mawr ones (not that guys can go there anyway).</p>
This also could be a good fit for you.</p>