<p>Right, but if you like GWU so much and think you'll get in, why take the chance of getting a smaller ED package when you can do regular admission and possibly get a much larger one?</p>
<p>Richmond is a reach. <a href="http://www.richmond.edu/prospective/profile/scores.htm%5B/url%5D">http://www.richmond.edu/prospective/profile/scores.htm</a>
Students with your ACTs were accepted at the 48% rate. There is debate about the meaning of match schools but in my mind they are where you are in the top quartile, and matches even then are not schools swamped with equally qualified applicants in high numbers. You also must sell yourself as a fit for each school to their adcoms. In my mind NE not good use of your energy unless you would actually attend...and you ought to be willing to give well-endowed LACs a shot, especially for Poli Sci, if you are considering law or international relations. The GW financing picture does not look good to me, and that school has a reputation for outpricing its product without being able to offer generous need money. Don't hyperfocus on GW without a plan for paying for it. I know you are friendly with a staffer, but open up your eyes to other options as well. DC is fun but also distracting, disjointed, and all about working people...and sometimes doesn't produce the ideal grounds for undergrad academics. You can intern there from any reputable school. Why not look at Franklin and Marshall or Dickinson, two schools famous for prelaw results or foreign language placements in foreign countries. Dickinson grads often drift to work later in the DC area. Shop around. Did you take a look at the leadership school at University of Richmond? Your debate skills might be a tipping factor in your favor. Richmond is no Boston, but they are very generous and it is a personal education in a capitol city. Their grads are very successful adults in many fields.</p>
<p>Matches are generally interchangable with 50/50, if you have a ~50% chance of getting in, then I'd say its a match, you're in the ball park.</p>
<p>I emailed GW's Financial Aid office to see what they say about my being locked in, so I may or may not do ED. Faline, I think Richmond looks great, I'm definitely planning on applying to the School of Leadership. I think I'm pretty much set with schools now that I think about it. The only problem with LAC's, is that they tend to be at least an hour outside of cities, and honestly, I can't deal with that.</p>
<p>What? Look at schools like Trinity, Smith, Amherst, Mount Holyoke, Holy Cross, Wellesley, Conn College, Wesleyan, Ithaca, Macalester, Vassar, Barnard, Bates, NCF, Providence, Sarah Lawrence, Pitzer, Pomona, Scripps, Simmons, Swarthmore, and all the others that aren't exactly "rural."</p>
<p>I've looked at most of them, and the ones that are matches for me: Holy Cross, etc are still in towns I don't particularly want to live in. I'm a person who has to live in the middle of everything. Another thing is, a lot of the LAC's I've looked at are in Pennsylvania, and I have no desire to move there, ever. I appreciate the input, and honestly, if I could get into places like Williams, Vasser, or Amherst, I would probably apply despite the location, but the LAC's that I like, are all either reaches or in areas I don't particularly want to live in.</p>
<p>Town, Holy Cross is in Worcester a.k.a a city, along with other great schools like Clark, and it's also only a T ride away from Boston.</p>
<p>I don't understand how you can hate the entire state of Pennsylvania, that's everything from Philly, to Amish country, to Steel City. Amherst is in great location btw!</p>
<p>I think Duffman wants cities like Boston, New York, Philadelphia, and D.C.</p>
<p>Yep, Wistah/Framingham is the last stop on the T. I've had a couple friends go to college up there, however, namingly at Holy Cross and Clark, and they rarely felt the need to leave the city for anything. If they did, they went to Springfield or Northampton!</p>
<p>Heh, I just don't really like Penn, I like Philly mind you, and I think Amherst is great, but I just can't get in, unfortunately. I was thinking of Clark and Holy Cross, but decided against them for now, but I did chose Brandeis, and it's not IN Boston so I'm not crazy as long as it's relatively close.</p>
<p>I was thinking again about another high reach to throw on my list, but I don't know if I have much of a chance at any schools ranked higher than Brandeis....</p>
<p>What do you guys think ^ about that....I mean, I guess I should be satisfied if I ever have a CHANCE at Brandeis and BC considering my low GPA and lack of amazing activities, etc. :</p>
<p>I don't agee with Creative on his views about matches...being "in the ball park" is only an invitation to consider a school your Reach school, although I am all for you reaching for what you want-- but a 50/50 shot is nothing to bank on. Not at all.<br>
Are you in the top quartile of stats at your personal favorite urban schools? My S just graduated and was waitlisted at a Reach school where he was on the bottom edge of the top quartile, and we expected that! He tried. He was also admitted to a Reach school where he was almost into the top quartile, and we did not expect that admission at all, predicted waitlist.<br>
He was admitted to all Match Schools chosen based his personal preferences, top quartile test scores and a 4.0 plus GPR. But he also visited them, hung out with students going there, and got emotionally attached to his Match Schools.
Duffman, it doesn't bother/offend me if you prefer large NE cities--I spent our spring break roaming Boston (my life was mainly in the south and midAtlantic states and UR for instance is quite Mid Atlantic), but with your test scores and money issues coupled with your stated preference for schools with strong academic reputations and your stated goal of international relations and politics, you are making a mistake in your priorities/criteria for undergrad years. Unless your heart is simply at BC and if so end of story if they take you. Have you looked into Fordham? Maybe you have the internal structure to weather the lack of coherence of the GW scene and you can deal with paying back basically a car payment a month to GW on a gov't salary? (I am not being sarcastic...we actually did this for a decade (yes, 10 years!) and took city buses, shared one old car later... while paying off the college loans.) There is not magic money out there for GW for instance, but are you truly looking at schools that would meet 100% of your need if admitted? That is where you should be focusing. If you need the tuition paid for, then you must be a shrewd person. This is not your whole life..just 4 yrs. Some of our best students with foresight are in Colby in Maine or in Lancaster, PA or in less urban areas. They are thinking ahead and know the worth of strong smaller tighter campuses, and resultant internships and close relations with teachers. Some schools like Bowdoin (Poli Sci dept there is top of the line in national rankings), don't give five cents for merit money and give 100% to need.<br>
I certainly hope you are admitted to your top schools in preferred cities. But adding names to a reach list is not your issue. Making a list of heavily endowed match schools is your task, with say...two Reaches thrown in. And since you are not going to do SATII tests or submit SATs, then you should be working for an ACT that might really help you more. There are free ACT exams online you know. </p>
<p>best of course</p>
<p>I just wish there were more match schools that were smaller and closer to urban areas. I've looked at Clark, Holy Cross, but I'm not sure that they're right for me. Any other suggestions for schools that commit to need-aid and are smaller schools near big cities? BTW, I do appreciate all the insight.</p>
<p>~Ben</p>
<p>BUMP, any final opinions on a well-endowed LAC to add that is close to an urban area on the east coast and has strong Poli Sci?</p>
<p>Would it be easier for me to get into UVA, Washington and Lee, or William and Mary. I know all are reaches, but which is the most realistic for me?</p>
<p>OOS at UVa and Wm and Mary requires 4.0 plus to be in the running and very high test scores, usually bolstered with high AP scores and high SATIIs. OOS applicants at these schools are going to be in the top quartile only. Instate kids get a break (unless you live in DC where competition is ridiculous for these spots) and if you have a major hook, you might get a break. Go to the window and put in "common data set" and see what comes up. Go to Flathat and to Cavalier Daily and read what comes up with Class of 2009, and SAT score in search windows. Washington and Lee is another animal altogether. They do have merit money which is highly sought..kids invited to come to the college to interview and compete with panels of teachers and older students making choices. There are pages about this on the website. But you have to get there. It is possible that they pay for qualifying applicant's transportation. Their student body is close to 90% in frats, and has more parents paying full price than most other schools like it. They do have excellent outcomes for grad schools and excellent access to teachers, internships and poli sci tracks. Being a Catholic student from Boston...if you would reverse the factors and try going to a region where you would add geographic and religious factors in diversity..might be to your advantage. If you are not able to get to visit colleges, then read their newspapers online.</p>
<p>
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BUMP, any final opinions on a well-endowed LAC to add that is close to an urban area on the east coast and has strong Poli Sci?
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</p>
<p>That would be the exact description of Swarthmore...definite reach reach!</p>
<p>I'm trying to think, you're options:
Swarthmore (8 mintute train ride from on campus to Philly & UPenn)
Haverford (Suburb of Philidephia)
Drew University (PolySci heaven and not much else)
Bentley (suburb of Boston)
Connecticut College (within an hour of Hartford & Providence)
St. John's College ( It's in Annapolis, MD)
Sarah Lawrence (15 miles from NYC)
Arcadia (8 miles north of Philly)
Ursinus (near Philly)
Wheaton College (suburb of Boston)</p>
<p>Now of those, what would I recommend, Drew and Sarah Lawrence are probably the best for you that are also in your range, Drew has a top ranked undergrad PolySci program, if only the rest of the college could be up at that level. Sarah Lawrence is beautiful, great school, I think you could do better, for polysci that is, but if location is a key factor you can't beat being a stone hop form NYC.</p>
<p>I live in Florida btw, I'm not sure if that's understood, hehe. I live in a small town named "Jupiter" in Palm Beach County. </p>
<p>^ So, do you think Drew or Sarah Lawrence would be good for me? I mean, Poli Sci is what I want, but if the rest of the school is bad, I don't know if I'd want that. Swarthmore I'd love, but it's more of a reach than even William and Mary or Washington and Lee I'd think.</p>
<p>Trinity for poli sci, absolutely.</p>
<p>^ Hmm, thanks for the suggestion.</p>