<p>Yeah, I just added Pomona just now.</p>
<p>(numbered by my preferences)
Upper schools:
1. Stanford (ca)
2. Columbia
3. Princeton (ca)
4. Northwestern (ca)
5. UPenn (ca)
6. Cornell (ca)
7. UChicago
8. Wash U (ca)
9. Brown</p>
<p>Middle:
1. Pomona (ca)
2. UC Berkeley</p>
<p>Lower/safeties:
1. UCLA
2. USC
3. UC San Diego</p>
<p>Maybe?: Duke, Williams, Amhert, U Mich, Harvard</p>
<p>What about Duke?</p>
<p>
[quote]
But no LACs at all... Maybe I should apply to Williams, Amherst (those 2 are near Boston right?), or Pomona (California!)?
[/quote]
</p>
<p>Williams is VERY rural, and Amherst is in a small college town. While they might not be that far a drive from Boston (I don't know), neither are urban. I do think Pomona was a good one to add, since it's not that far from LA (though it is definitely suburban, NOT urban. I seem to recall LA being 20 min-half and hour away). </p>
<p>You might also want to check out Wesleyan if you are looking at LACs—we have a small grad program in psych, which is really good for undergrads since graduate funding+not that many grad students=lots of opportunities for undergrads. We're definitely a suburban school, though (about ½ an hour away from New Haven, 2 hours away from Boston and NYC). Reed is another LAC that's near a city, and it's well regarded by those in the know (I don't know specifically about its psych program, though I would assume it's good).</p>
<p>I know you like an urban environments but be aware that NYC is far more urban than most cities. It can be culture shock for many.</p>
<p>I love NYC!</p>
<p>And I live in the suburbs of LA, so it's not that big of a difference.</p>
<p>Thanks for the info about Wesleyan, I'll definitely look into it.</p>
<p>But Duke's Neuroscience/Psychology department seemed to be just what I was looking for.</p>
<p><a href="http://pn.aas.duke.edu/%5B/url%5D">http://pn.aas.duke.edu/</a></p>
<p>Except it's in NC, which would be a problem.</p>
<p>You might want to take a look at an interdisciplinary major offered at WashU: Philosophy-Neuroscience-Philosophy (PNP). An introduction to the major is available as a two-course freshman seminar called Mind, Brain, and Behavior.<br>
The major has two tracks --- Cognitive Neuroscience or Language, Cognition and Culture. see: <a href="http://artsci.wustl.edu/%7Epnp/undergrad/index.html%5B/url%5D">http://artsci.wustl.edu/~pnp/undergrad/index.html</a></p>
<p>I don't know if Chicago will best serve your academic interests (I feel I can say this-- I'm a student there). First, you mentioned that you had been interested in engineering, and Chicago doesn't offer engineering or anything close to it. Keep in mind that your academic interests are subject to change even after you get to college. I chose Chicago not because of its strength in the field I was interested in and am still interested in (English lit), but because I liked the feel of the school and I felt it would help amplify my strengths as a person and downplay my weaknesses.</p>
<p>Chicago is a place for students who truly love to do work. The uncommon application helps to winnow the applicant pool to students who want to do the extra work to come up with new essays, and the core curriculum is offputting to those who want to study one subject or two and float by with regards to gen ed. Chicagoans love to do other things, too (whether it's downing PBR, going to see a movie, exploring the city, watching Grey's Anatomy, etc.) but academics is almost always a priority to a Chicagoan. Chicago is also not a place for people who want a prestigious school-- I always get the impression that the students who attend would still come here even if the school wasn't on the US News rank and that many of my friends are miffed, in fact, that the school is so highly ranked (they're afraid it won't attract the kind of student they want to be with in classes).</p>
<p>That said, there are some impressive programs here with regards to psych. We have not only a psych major, but also a Human Development major (think: a crazy, happy mixture of psych, bio, and anthropology). Additionally a lot of my friends have taken classes or research with hotshot professor Susan Goldin-Meadow, who has made considerable headway in researching language acquisition.</p>
<p>Typo above. Meant Philosophy-Neuroscience-Psychology.</p>