I want the community feel of a small school with the opportunities and social scene of a large school. I plan on majoring in communications, but if I’m also interested in interdisciplinary studies, international relations, political science, and theology. I’d prefer to be in an urban environment, (the middle of a city would be great, although I know that’s not easy to come by) and I want challenging academics without constantly struggling to keep my head above water. If the school is known to be generous with academic scholarships, that’s even better. Here are my stats:
If you’re female, Barnard has lots of opportunities because it’s a liberal arts college within Columbia, so you can take Columbia classes. I don’t know how they are with academic scholarships, but they do meet 100% of demonstrated need. You should include more information, as stated above.
What you said about wanting both the community of a small school and the opportunities of a large one reminded me of the Claremont College Consortium (5 small liberal arts colleges outside of LA with a lot of interaction that lends itself to a university-like environment), as well as the Gallatin School at NYU (sort of like a small liberal arts college within NYU).
Northeastern and Clark both come to mind for merit scholarships in urban environments.
Northeastern University, Boston University, Brandeis University, Boston College, Tufts University (perhaps a good reach), Santa Clara University, University of Southern California, your state flagship, University of Rochester.
@frontpage has suggestions (other than perhaps your state flagship) that without aid/merit money would be way over your $30.000 limit. You need to run the net price calculator for each school to see if it is a viable option.