<p>It's recently come to my attention that I have very few safety schools that I like, and would potentially be thrilled to go to.</p>
<p>My Reaches: Williams, Bowdoin, Brown, Georgetown
Targets: Bates, Davidson, Wesleyan
Safeties:...??? Trinity maybe?, Rhodes? </p>
<p>based on the reaches and targets that I have visited and liked, any suggestions for possible back-ups?</p>
<p>Thanks!</p>
<p>Do you need a financial safety or do you just need academic safeties?</p>
<p>Perhaps St. Lawrence University…</p>
<p>Lafayette, Holy Cross.</p>
<p>Your list is an interesting mix: You don’t usually see Wesleyan and Davidson on the same list. And where you find Bates and Bowdoin, Colby is usually lurking as well.</p>
<p>Take a look at the midwestern LACs-you’ll have less competition (assuming you are applying from the east coast): Oberlin, Grinnell and Macalester are worth considering-comparable to, but less selective than Brown and Wesleyan.</p>
<p>What are your stats?</p>
<p>How much will your parents pay each year?</p>
<p>Yes, I’m from the east coast, New York to be specific. The payment situation is fine, but i still might put a few state schools on my list just in case, Geneseo maybe?</p>
<p>The basics on my stats:
SAT I 2130, 650 CR, 730 M, 750 W (waiting to hear back for my Oct scores)
SAT II’s: 800 Math 2 , 770 Bio-E, 740 Spanish
GPA: 3.73, has risen steadily since freshman year. My school is small, private, and very tough on grades. For example average GPA accepted to Upenn is about 3.6.</p>
<p>EC’s: Swim (4 years), Cross Country (2 years), Ceramics (3 years), And several leadership conferences I’ve been attending since 10th grade.</p>
<p>Teacher Rec’s probably excellent
Counselor Rec, good to excellent, as the counselor is also my advisor
Essay: hopefully excellent, I’m a good personal writer</p>
<p>The reason there’s a wide range of schools on my list is that I am pretty liberal, and I love New england, but I think it might be healthy for me to be somewhere with a different type of people, if only for four years. (Hence Rhodes and Davidson)</p>
<p>Consider Denison.</p>
<p>UMASS Amherst</p>
<p>If you plan to continue swimming, and you want to see a different part of the country, then I highly recommend Grinnell. The athletic facilities generally, and the swimming facilities in particular, are brand new and palatial. The swim team is highly ranked. I also notice your math and bio scores: If you are interested in sciences, Grinnell’s are outstanding. They have the smallest class sizes of any LAC in the county (into bio and chem, for example, are 25 students max), a huge endowment that supports student research and internships, generous financial and merit aid, and all the activities on campus are free. My S especially loves the understated, unpretentious, friendly mid-western vibe, as well as the intellectual but independent and quirky student body. Where it differs culturally from most of the schools on your list is that lack of frat and preppy culture. That can be a plus or a minus depending on who you are.</p>