<p>Hey guys! Well I need help in refining my college list, especially for my "matches"
Basically I'm looking for a college which is:
-relatively large
-play hard, work hard
-decent enough party scene
-big city
-liberal arts but strong in science
-plenty of research opportunities
Well, here is the list of the candidates (I plan to cut it to 5):</p>
<p>Johns Hopkins
Carnegie-Mellon
Tufts
George Washington
Emory
U Michigan
Northwestern
Wisconsin-Madison
U Chicago </p>
<p>I posted my stats before but here it is again:</p>
<p>nationality: Indonesian
school: acs (independent)
predicted IB grades:
Chem, Bio, Math Higher Level (7,7,7)
English A1, Chinese B, History SL (7,7,7)
Bonus: 3
Total: 45
Class Rank: 100th percentile
sats 1: 2010 (this sucks. SHOULD be mid 2200 by October testing)</p>
<p>extracurriculars and achievements:
basketball (vice captain for 2 years, 1 year captain for school. Represented club in other competitions. 1 quarters, 1 silver, 1 semi-finalist)
national chemistry olympiad silver medallist (sigh, can't represent for international olympiad)
school dean's list for biology and chemistry
world scholar's cup (decathlon-like academic competition) - regional 3rd, world 3rd
good community service
great recommendations</p>
<p>I don't think UChicago is a good choice if your priority is fun. Exhaustive academics... "Where fun goes to die" XD Tufts also doesn't strike me as particularly good in Science. UWMadison and UMich - I would stay away, personally, because there are a lot of insanely muggy AStar scholars there - the Singaporean peers definitely won't be into partying... XD Plus, I don't think Madison and Ann Arbor are particularly exciting. I've also heard nothing about GWU.</p>
<p>I would definitely suggest Rice U as a viable option. Located in Houston, TX, pretty famous (IMO) for science. UCLA also, but I don't know about the liberal arts bit.</p>
<p>Btw, what's your prospective major and is there any particular area outside your major that you're interested in? Creative writing or dance (hehe)?</p>
<p>Based on all the criteria you mentioned, U Chicago doesn't fit at all. Its really really intense. Hopkins, Tufts and CMU don't have great party scenes.</p>
<p>Ann Arbor is the perfect college town, actually. Its a very liberal, artsy, diverse place and blends in great with U of M. IMO, you would definitely get into Michigan and its atleast worth a try.</p>
<p>I agree with Post #4. Wisconsin at Madison will be the most social school & probably the easiest for admission. Michigan is also a huge school with strong academics and a great social environment. Northwestern University may be the third best choice based on your posted criteria.
Eliminate George Washington Univ. even though it may be your "safety school", as Wisconsin offers more in every respect unless you want to be in D.C.
In my opinion, Wisconsin, Michigan & Northwestern satisfy all of your criteria. Northwestern University will have the smallest classes and will be more intense academically than either Wisc. or Michigan. Best location also as Wisc. & Michigan are great college towns, while Evanston is an upscale town on Lake Michigan & adjacent to Chicago.</p>
<p>Take out UChicago (just doesn't fit your needs), Tufts and CMU (not a big party scence). I think UMichigan and UWM (maybe northwestern) would be the best matches out of your list. Have you looked at U of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign (strong science, tons of research opportunities, party hard)? Although it's in a small city, the size is large (approx 29,000 undergraduates/38,000total).</p>
<p>Berkeley, UCLA, Northwestern, and Wisconsin (Madison isn't a big city but it's not small either). Michigan if Ann Arbor is big enough for you; I heard good things about it.</p>