Refining my application list

College Search & Selection
1

<p>Here's my (so far) list - I'm trying to narrow it down and expand it at the same time. I need more information on the respective Biology/Ecology departments on the schools. I'm looking for an education rather than prestige, so please don't give me any Ivies. I wouldn't be able to get in anyways. :-) </p>

<p>*side note - Anywhere around Ohio works, as does NY/MA/CN area.</p>

<p>Ohio State University
Notes: Somewhat of a safety – It’s good in everything, so I’ll use this as a fall-back quite happily. </p>

<p>University of Dayton
Notes: My mom’s a professor here – 80% off tuition is pretty nice! Otherwise, I don’t like it too much, but it does have a pretty good biology/ecology program. </p>

<p>Earlham College
Notes: From what I’ve heard about the student body, it’s probably the most supportive college ever, and the majority wild-campus is appealing to me. Their biology department is good at churning out future PhDs, which is something I'd like eventually.</p>

<p>Miami University of Ohio
Notes: The campus is absolutely gorgeous, and the academics are pretty good. I’m unsure about the quality of their biology/ecology department, however. </p>

<p>Oberlin College
Notes: Bit of a reach here, but my ideal college. Good in everything I’d be interested in – Bio/eco and music. </p>

<p>Ohio Wesleyan
Seems like a strong college overall, does anyone know about their bio/eco department? </p>

<p>College of Wooster
Notes: Their Independent Study program sounds really cool, does anyone have any information besides the 1 on 1 treatment? Info on their bio/eco program would be nice too.</p>

<p>GPA 3.15 Weighted 3.6 ish
SAT 2040
ACT 32
SAT Biology E 780
SAT US History 720
Plenty of ECs and leadership.</p>

<p>Any advice is greatly appreciated. :-)</p>

2

<p>scalding, I sent a PM to you. You might want to look at Juniata in PA. This is a small school in a rural part of PA, but is very strong in the sciences. Lots of individual attention there.</p>

3

<p>Hm... as far as Biology/Ecology goes you might wanna try checking out Case Western Reserve in Cleveland as well? I know their Biology program is pretty strong, though I'm not sure about Ecology. If you're interested in music as well, Case has a joint program with the Cleveland Institute of Music which is supposed to be very good.</p>

<p>I also live in Dayton but I'm not really sure about the strength of the programs in the schools you've listed :/ (I didn't college search in Dayton).</p>

<p>Also, if Oberlin is your top choice you might want to consider looking into other liberal arts colleges as well. If you're a girl you might want to look at some of the Seven Sister Schools (Smith, Barnard, Wellesley, Mount Holyoke, Bryn Mawr). If you're not a girl you can still check out Vassar (which is co-ed). All the schools have strong programs in both biology and music to my knowledge.</p>

<p>Hope that helps :D</p>

4

<p>Case Western would be mega-reach for me. :-/ And I'm male. But hey! I'll check out Vassar, thanks.</p>

5

<p>Look at Denison. DD1 loves it. Pretty good but not great bio. Very involved student body for eco.</p>

6

<p>Denison also reach, about as much as Oberlin. I'll put it on the list of "Reach - maybe apply?".</p>

7

<p>I don't think Oberlin is as huge a reach as you make it out to be - I think you've got a decent chance of getting in. Your SAT score falls within their averages, your ACT is above their 75th percentile as reported on CollegeBoard, and assuming your EC's are stellar, the only minor problem would be GPA. Good senior grades could clinch a spot for you at Oberlin; I think you've definitely got a shot. :)</p>

8

<p>Right. Buckle down and study time.</p>

9

<p>Check out Rutgers's School of Environmental and Biological Sciences (formerly Cook College of Rutgers University). My cousins went there for environmental engineering (I know, very different from ecology) and say it's a great school. </p>

<p>Bowling Green might be worth looking into as well.</p>

10

<p>Hmm, is this like the NJ Rutgers? I was like o.o when I saw mail from Cornell... until I realized it was postmarked from Wisconsin.</p>

11

<p>I don't think Case Western is a reach for you. Your stats are only slightly lower than mine, and I was planning on Case Western for possible merit aid. I may be off my rocker for thinking that, but you should have no problem getting admitted there.</p>

<p>You might also want to take a look at Kenyon (all the other Ohio Five colleges have been discussed here), and perhaps University of Pittsburgh. Just give yourself a little more credit, and have some confidence in your applications. A little confidence in yourself goes a long way.</p>

12

<p>"GPA 3.15" Wouldn't this really kill me if I applied there?</p>

13

<p>Not necessarily. It depends on the rigor of your courses. Since your weighted GPA is much higher, I assume you took many honors/AP courses.</p>

14

<p>Mostly Honors/AP, yes. For some courses my school only offered "Scholarship", and I dropped out of Honors Math because I was doing badly. I'm picking it back up this year, though. I'll probably talk to my school counselor about the GPA stuff.</p>