<p>Interesting that you find Wheaton and Hampshire to be similar in terms of student bodies. Having visited both, I can't imagine two schools that are more different in many respects! But everyone sees things differently. :)</p>
<p>Well by some extent, not all of Wheaton's are the Hampshire type. There are a lot of kids who go to Wheaton to play d3 sports, and some that come from local ritzy private high schools (a lot from Moses Brown in Providence). Besides those kids, there are the kids that resemble Hampshire students. You know, that listen to Sonic Youth, smoke a lot of pot and so on. They might not have been out and about when you visited, but trust me, a substantial amount go to Wheaton. I personally know a few.</p>
<p>I'd like to thank everyone for their input thus far. </p>
<p>Fitting in at a place like Hampshire is one of my biggest concerns. I don't smoke pot and have no desire to. I wouldn't exactly consider myself to be some sort of neo-hippie like it appears might be a prerequisite for some of these schools. At a place like Hampshire, is drug use really that widespread or is it really one of those 'the people that do use drugs are just more vocal than those that don't' kind of things? </p>
<p>Also, the U.S. News rankings are used heavily by people on this site. If a college is ranked as a third tier by U.S. News but is ranked much higher in, for instance, the Washington Monthly rankings, what does that mean? This is the case with Marlboro (a place I've been looking into for a while) although to a lesser extent than Hiram College in my home state which is a third tier in the U.S. News but is ranked 74th in the Washington Post.</p>
<p>lol well I don't think being a neo-hippie is a requirement. it just happens to be more common at these schools. even at wesleyan, you'll find jocks and "normal" people. to me, diverse schools are great because you're almost guaranteed to find someone that matches your interests while at the same time you are able to broaden your horizons a bit.</p>
<p>Another thing--I've been debating whether or not I should take the SAT/ACT. A lot of the schools I'm looking at don't require the standardized tests for transfers although this would certainly limit my range of possibilities. I'm just worried that I will either do poorly or I'll just stress out over it with everything else going on right now. That could lead to a total meltdown or it could very well ruin my grades. I took the PLAN test in high school and did fairly well (99th percentile in everything but math). My projected ACT score from that was a 32 but I'm not sure how accurate that prediction was, not to mention the fact that I took it like 5 or 6 years ago. Any thoughts on that?</p>
<p>My suggestion: buy a book. Take a day on the weekend to study it (preferably the weekend before the test) and crack that book open the morning of the test. You don't have to send your score. If you're projecting 32s, it's worth it.</p>
<p>Good point on broadening horizons brand. That was probably the main factor in my decision to live on campus and get more of the full college experience than I would if I had decided to stay at home and go to the local state school (Wright State). I don't know if I'm ready to go clear across the country for the next 2-3 years for lessons in Culture Shock 101. To be honest, it's really scary and I can't talk to anyone about it because no one in my family went to college. They're also the ones constantly asking me what kind of job I can get and why I'm not majoring in business even though every dime of tuition money is coming out of my pockets and not theirs. <strong><em>End of huff and puff rant</em></strong></p>
<p>lol I like that sentence about Culture Shock. FWIW, my family is the same way. I'm first-gen, was gonna be a Finance major at UT (cheaper and great job prospects) but opted for the OOS liberal arts exprience and haven't looked back. If you're paying, I don't see how it's any business of theirs really. I took this as my one big shot to get out of Texas. I may return one day, but I had the feeling that if I didn't leave now I might never. It may not be the same for you, but I'm ready for culture shock.</p>
<p>That's something that's really affecting my decision here though. I like the idea of transferring somewhere fairly close (say the University of Miami-Oxford) for the whole safety net effect. But I would probably just come home every chance I got and wouldn't really get anything new out of the experience.</p>
<p>My list so far looks something like this:</p>
<p>Oberlin <a href="probably%20a%20bit%20of%20a%20reach%20I%20know">/B</a>
**Hampshire
Marlboro
Reed <a href="maybe">/B</a>
**Hiram College<a href="yeah%20it's%20third%20tier%20but%20they've%20been%20really%20awesome%20so%20far%20and%20%20%20%20%20this%20would%20be%20more%20of%20a%20safety">/B</a>
**Miami-Oxford as a backup option (pretty sure I'd get in plus they have rolling admissions)</p>
<p>Everything I've seen on Oberlin has put it at the top of my wish list. They have a creative writing program that looks pretty good, although maybe a little too competitive. Their law and society program also looks like a lot of fun if I decide to bail on the writing. There's also the fact that I've always gotten along best with the musician types and Oberlin has its own conservatory. Last but not least, they accepted something like 30% of transfer apps according to U.S. News so I might have a chance of getting in.</p>
<p>Don't make excuses for applying to a "third-tier" college. If it's a good match for you, that's all that counts. :)</p>
<p>If it's ranked at one level by USNews and higher by Washington Post, that just shows you how subjective rankings are. The USNews formula takes a lot of things into account that might not even matter to you. USN&WR has spent the most money over the most years touting their rankings. And we've all bought into them ;), to one extent or another.</p>
<p>But, I agree with RoughWinds... there are a lot of gems and hidden gems out there, USN&WR be da**ed.</p>
<p>"even at wesleyan, you'll find jocks and "normal" people."</p>
<p>That's a good point, Brand. I actually know a conservative kid who went to Wes to play a sport. He ended up getting injured, but as far as I know fits in fine.</p>
<p>At Hampshire, more specifically, I think you will need to make a campus visit. I am pretty liberal and the student body was a bit too liberal for me. Drug use is VERY prevelent (the school actually brags about having a laizzes faire attitude towards drug use) but I doubt it is necessary to fit in. There were also a few more "normal" students there, and another thing to keep in mind is that it is right next door to UMass, Holyoke, Smith and Amherst. These schools are all part of a consortium, so not only could you hang out with kids at these schools, but if you go to Hampshire, I would recommend you take classes at them.</p>