I’m a senior in high school who is currently having some difficulty finding a college that has the sort of environment I’m looking for.
I want an urban school that’s more quirky, intellectual, with more politically active students. Basically, like Oberlin or Sarah Lawrence but in a large urban area. What I really don’t want are football games, frat parties, tailgating, etc. I know that most schools have these things, but it’s really not my cup of tea and I’d like a college that has as little of it as possible.
A little about me: 29 ACT (30 if superscored), 1290 SAT however I’ll probably send my ACT, 4.01 weighted GPA (my school doesn’t provide or report unweighted GPAs but I calculated and it’s something like a 3.4 which I know isn’t that great), officer in school’s literary magazine, also did school newspaper and art club, in my sophomore year I won an award only given to 2 sophomores (out of around 1000 sophomores at my school) for being an all around good student. I also did some volunteering during my sophomore year. Also, if it matters, I’m an African American female from Illinois, so I would prefer somewhere where I wouldn’t be one of a handful of racial minorities. I plan to major in international relations and possibly double major or minor in journalism.
Any suggestions?
A lot of schools that fit that criteria are going to be a reach imo. But Sarah Lawrence is super close to the city, no?
URochester? Not sure how politically active they are, but they have intellectually curious students and are not big on sports/rah rah stuff. Would likely be a reach though. Eugene Lang/New School? I’m in the northeast, so don’t have a lot of recc’s outside of this region. Good luck in your search!
Howard University?
Macalester sounds like a perfect match for your aspirations, but it will be a reach in terms of your stats. I agree with Sarah Lawrence, might be a low reach. It’s very close to NYC and is not rural. It’s suburban. Louis and Clark in Portland, Oregon would be a match or low reach and will probably have the type of students you are looking for, but I don’t know how diverse it is. Look at Temple, which is not an LAC, but will work for your other wants. Pace university might work. Close to NYC, but in the suburbs.
You are unlikely to get everything you are looking for with your stats. You have to compromise, and if the students are more important than the location, I suggest you broaden your geographical wish list. You will have more choice if you venture away from urban areas. You also should run NPCs on colleges of interest to make sure they are affordable.
From more to less selective (roughly):
Colorado College, Macalester
Occidental, Reed
Lewis & Clark
Eugene Lang
These are all small LACs, more or less urban, more or less quirky/intellectual.
Eugene Lang doesn’t get much attention on College Confidential, but if you want an urban setting you could hardly beat Greenwich Village. Their FA may not be too good, though; it doesn’t have an enclosed campus; housing options may be challenging.
I totally agree about Macalester, especially because it has an international focus.
Would you consider an all-female school? Wellesley has a stunning campus in a suburban Boston town. I think it’s moderately diverse and politically progressive. It also gives you access to classes at MIT, and I know someone who took political-type classes there.
Also you could consider Smith College, which is probably a more politically progressive school. It’s in Northampton, which is a funky sort of town. The Smith campus is immediately adjacent to the town. Smith is also part of the five-school consortium, which gives you access to resources at the four other schools (Amherst, U Mass–Amherst, Hampshire, and Mount Holyoke (also all female)). I’d think you’d be competitive at Wellesley and a match at Smith. Wellesley and Smith are really top-notch schools.
Maybe also Brandeis, also in a suburban town outside of Boston. I’m pretty sure there is a commuter train station just off campus, although I’m not sure of how long it takes to get into Boston, etc.
VCU in Richmond is less highly ranked but has a terrific reputation in pre-med, art, and communications. It’s in downtown Richmond and is very diverse. Richmond is a very hot city that is attracting lots of young people. The Fan, the nightlife district, is very close to campus. It has the bonus of very nice weather during the school year.
None of these schools is a football or Greek school. Good luck!
The academics at Brandeis are really as good as anywhere.
How much are you able to afford? Some schools that come to mind are Case Western and Wooster. Both are strong schools with Case more selective in admissions, but in an urban area, while Wooster isn’t rural but not urban. It has a nice town and from our visits diversity is present. You can read up on both on college niche. They have been described as quirky, yet collaborate. Agree to run the NPC’s to be sure they are affordable.
What about Barnard? It’s all female (not sure if you’re okay with that, but it’s part of Columbia so you have a male element there). Certainly wouldn’t be fratty or football-heavy. I’d think it’s a reach, but not out of reach.
This might be a bit out of the box but I do think that Fordham’s Lincoln Center campus might be worth considering.
What’s your EFC and how does that compare to your budget? (If you’ve not had the budget talk with your parents, run the Net Price Calculator that is mandatory for each college website to have, and bring the results for each college to your parents to start the discussion about what they can afford from income and savings).
3.4/29ACT will make it tough to find an intellectual college - but finding a school with no Greek life and no D1 spectator sports will be relatively easy. Not all criteria will be possible though, so try to figure out what is a “must have” and what is a “would like to have”.
That being said, I immediately thought of Lewis and Clark.
Also look at U Puget Sound, Beloit, Wooster, Elizabethtown, Goucher. Marist is 1h30 to NYC.
Look at University of San Francisco
Brandeis is a short walk to the commuter train line into Boston and on weekends provides (or used to when my d was a student) the Bran Van into Harvard Square and to Brookline. I am not sure about how politically active but you might want to look at Barnard.
Take a look at Guilford in Greensboro, NC. Like other Quaker schools, it has a good mix of academics and social awareness and offers several majors of potential interest.
https://www.guilford.edu/program-finder
25% of Guilford students are African-American, double or triple the percentage of the LACs suggested above (or even more – 2% of Reed students are AA, a whopping total of 30 students).
Would you consider a HBCU such as Howard in DC or Spelman in Atlanta?
A great one, beside Lewis&Clark, would be Agnes Scott!!