<p>I could use input on safety school considerations for my second daughter, a rising HS senior. Her older sister is a soph at Harvard; D #2 has visited on several occasions and loves it. In addition to the academic goodness-of-fit for a liberal arts / humanities generalist, she particularly values:
- the cozy urban feel of the Harvard Square area in Cambridge, in which there are groups of students strolling the streets at all hours of the day to visit and shop;
- the sophistication level and diversity of the student body; and
- the moderate size (6700 undergrads), which allows a student to constantly bump into current friends while meeting new people on a daily basis.</p>
<p>D #2's resume is much like her sister's which could make Harvard possible, though as with any applicant, a longshot. She just visited Georgetown, which seems to be a viable target school, and loved it too. The Georgetown and Harvard Square neighborhoods have a similar feel. Penn was too urban for her, without much charm outside the campus. Brown, she thought, was too much of a bubble and the city didn't seem happening. Prior to our visits, I thought Wake Forest could serve as a good safety academically, but I now understand that she'll think it's too preppy, too Greek, and too bubble-ized (set apart from the local community).</p>
<p>So . . . what do you think of the Univ. of Miami as a safety that fits the three criteria above? And what others come to mind?</p>
<p>When you visited Georgetown, did you also visit GW? I believe that selectivity-wise it's not at Georgetown's level, but the immediate area around the campus is quite lively during the day and really it is also only a couple of blocks from Georgetown (the neighborhood) as well. Several years ago, the knock on the school from friends who attended there was that they focused too much on their graduate and professional programs and their institutes, and neglected undergrads. I personally took some courses there myself and agreed with that assessment for the sciences, however the social science/humanities courses I took were quite good and I was impressed with the professors I had in those areas. On the other hand I would say that GW is sorta similar location-wise to BU (urban, edge-of-downtown surroundings) and I am assuming your D doesn't care for that, since you didn't mention it.</p>
<p>Thanks Weldon - that's right, D wants a campus feel with the urban or college-town bustle nearby; she didn't like NYU for the non-campus type of environment.</p>
<p>I know a guy... an international student!!... who wanted to go to princeton and whose safety was harvard!!!... and thats all the places he applied to... harvard EA for safety and Princeton.... and got into both and finally went to princeton.... Oh did I mention the guy was a genius... he never studied... only partied all day and night and got all A+ for everything (did an IB diploma with an extra subject and got 45/45 and 7/7 in extra subject)... said if he read smth onces... u know just looked at smth once he remembered it forever... he was an amazing guy hands down!</p>
<p>So basically it comes down to how strong an applicant u are... If u are like him then well u can keep Princeton or Yale for safety</p>
<p>Interesting, chocolatelover - I'd asked this question on the Harvard site and then decided to expand the audience here. I notice from your link that our discussion from the Harvard site has already been added onto the thread you cited. I didn't know the moderators would do that.</p>
<p>Some other schools you may want to consider: Emory University. Atlanta is a cosmopolitan city even though it is located in the South. The campus is located in a very nice part of the city with a suburban, park-like feel to it. One of my daugher's classmates decided on Emory over Harvard but I believe she was chosen as an Emory Scholar. Rice, from what I have read may have some of the features you are looking for. NYU -perhaps too urban for your daughter but may interest her. </p>
<p>I would also consider Univ. of Toronto and McGill. Their undergraduate class size is bigger than Harvard's but have a very diverse international student body with the top Canadian students choosing between these two schools. Both are located in great cities with little crime compared to U.S. cities. Extra bonus; Tuition is much cheaper than comparable private U.S. universities even for non-Canadians. My son visited McGill during his college search and is enamored with the idea of going there for his graduate/professional school training as he was charmed by Montreal.</p>
<p>northwestern - i always thought that evanston was the "cambridge of the midwest," including its proximity to chicago, and the type of town it is. also where northwestern is located in the town, it has the same proximity to the downtown area as harvard does to harvard square. it's also a top school, i don't know if it would be a "safety" unless you were an applicant with already a very good shot at harvard, but certainly easier to get into than harvard.</p>
<p>georgetown - same deal; proximity to a major city, very nice downtown area that the campus is close to. also a top school so similarly might not be a "safety" unless you are an applicant with already a very good shot at harvard, but again, certainly easier to get into than harvard.</p>
<p>both are also approximately the same size as harvard.</p>
<p>Berkeley might fit the bill. (It's hard to think of it as a safety, but it's distinctly easier to get into than Harvard.) The campus has boundaries that set it off as a space, but it's located in a distinctly urban neighborhood that might remind her of Cambridge. </p>
<p>UCLA might also work for her. Its neighborhood (Westwood, in L.A.) is a more upscale than Berkeley's, but still urban.</p>
<p>Syracuse University (which would probably be more of a true safety) has an urban feel to the campus.</p>