<p>I was hoping this group would have some college suggestions for one of my junior daughters (yes twins). She is a passionate, brutally hardworking young lady, with a wide range of interests. She swims, plays soccer, pole vaults and runs track, but will not pursue these activities in college (except on an intramural level). She is a lifeguard and is getting certified in scuba. She loves the water, wants to pursue a career in marine biology/ocean engineering and save the world's oceans. I expect she will pursue an advanced degree. Her unweighted GPA is 3.75 and weighted GPA is 3.99. The school does not rank, but is a very good public high school. Her courses are all honors or AP.</p>
<p>She recently took the SAT for the first time, cold with no prep. Her scores were 600M, 600CR. She will be studying for the next few months, as she wants to improve her scores. She is not the best test taker, but feels her scores should be better. Candidly, I would not expect them to get beyond 650/650 and I am worried she will burn the candle at both ends to get her scores higher (which would be her tendency). She will also be taking the ACT and is insistent she prepare equally for both tests. Yet, she is more than a little miffed at the importance some schools place on the test results. </p>
<p>She has been looking primarily at large schools (BU, UMASS, UCONN, UCSD, UCLA, UC Santa Cruz, Uinversity of Washington, University of Oregon). Note the proximity (mostly) to the water. She can absolutely handle and navigate a large school. She wants school spirit, and the chance to go to football/basketball games. She wants to be challenged and be around smart people, but would not consider herself an intellectual. She wants the option to go to parties, but is not a partier. She wants to be engaged in community service. She definitely wants to travel abroad.</p>
<p>She does not want a small school where everybody knows each other. She would like to meet new people and new groups of people "all the time".</p>
<p>We would also like her to at least visit a couple of medium sized schools (5,000 to 10,000) so she can see something a little different. While I have a personal preference for smaller, liberal arts undergraduate schools, I want to be respectful of her choices.</p>
<p>Any thoughts out there (small, medium or large) for her to consider? We can afford to send her to whatever school is the best fit. She is appalled at the thought of us paying $50K+ for school, and she has a strong desire to be able to get merit scholarships, though she realizes that many of the schools on her list will not offer merit to an out of state student. We have encouraged her to look for the best fit possible, without regard to cost or location (though I have drawn the line at Hawaii). (We live in NJ, and her preference is to not stay in state, though she will look at Rutgers).</p>
<p>I appreciate your ideas and I would respectfully request folks not wear out their keyboard to tell us that there is little future in marine biology. I encourage my children to pursue their passion, wherever it may lead them. She is, after all, 16 and may change her mind. She will, most definitely, make a difference in whatever area she ultimately pursues.</p>
<p>Merry Christmas.</p>