<p>I just got back from a spring break trip spent visiting colleges in Texas (I'm a junior). My two favorites were TCU and SMU, which both seemed like a great fit. Unfortunately I have ruled out all other schools on my list (excluding Furman and College of Charleston, which I have yet to visit). I definitely want to have more options but I'm struggling to find more schools that seem promising.</p>
<p>So far I have considered Clemson, Baylor, UT Dallas, Sewanee, Belmont, Rice, UGA, Tulane, U of Alabama, Ole Miss, Vanderbilt, Chapel Hill, UVA, Davidson, Boston College, William and Mary, Wellesley, and a slew of other schools. None of them seemed like the right fit for me. Some were more selective than I am looking for and others were simply not for me.</p>
<p>I'm only looking at medium sized (around 5000 to 10000 undergrad) in the south. Research opportunities and small class sizes are important to me. I would like to be relatively close to a city, but at the very least I want to avoid very rural schools. I also want to avoid extremely liberal campuses.</p>
<p>Do any of y'all know of any schools that might fit my description? If it helps, I have a 31 composite on the ACT and a 3.78 weighted gpa. I plan to take the ACT again to raise my score and I'm currently waiting to receive my SAT scores.</p>
<p>Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated. I'm really at a loss for where to look next.</p>
<p>The University of Richmond seems to fit most of your criteria. It would be helpful to know why you did not like some of the other ones. But, you should get accepted to TCU and SMU.</p>
<p>Lol, TCU and SMU are known to be rich party schools in my area but a lot of people enjoy their time there. I think UT Austin has a similar party scene but its pretty liberal. University of Dallas is a private Catholic one and they have a really good travel abroad program too. St. Edwards is near Austin so you get the city life, but its also smaller and I think liberal as well. You could also look at Trinity and Baylor (although Waco is pretty much the middle of no where).
You’d probably be admitted at all of these schools. Good luck!</p>
<p>Clemson was too big, Baylor was too sports focused, UT Dallas felt too industrial and almost antisocial, Sewanee is too small, Belmont was too much like Baylor, Rice was too big of a reach, UGA is too much of a football/party school, Tulane’s location in New Orleans is not what I want, U of Alabama is too big, Ole Miss is too far from civilization (lol), Boston College is a reach and is also in too cold of a climate, Wellesley was too liberal, and William & Mary, Vanderbilt, Davidson, and Chapel Hill felt like too much of a reach. I hope that helps :)</p>
<p>I’m from Dallas (although I live elsewhere now), so I know about the stereotypes of TCU and SMU. When I visited I was pleasantly surprised, though, and sort of fell in love. I’ve considered all of the schools you’ve mentioned except Trinity, which I’ll look into UT Austin is too huge and too liberal, St Edwards is also too liberal, U of Dallas is too tiny, and I’ve already looked into Baylor (and yes, one of my problems with it is that Waco is totally out in the middle of nowhere). Thank you for the suggestions!</p>
<p>It is OK to apply to reaches. I would apply to at least a couple of those schools (but UNC will be too sports focused if Baylor was). I am not from TX, but know that UT-Austin has a reputation for being fairly liberal. What about TAMU, or is that too sports focused? You could take a look at Rhodes in Memphis. But, two that you should definitely look into are Richmond and Wake Forest. You could also try the University of Miami (although South Florida is not really the south).</p>
<p>I am very Conservative and looked into many southern schools (though I am a big sports fan), so let me know how I can help.</p>
<p>Thanks for the note about UNC. I hadn’t thought about that. A&M is one I really haven’t considered because it’s so massive (it’s the third largest university in the country, only behind Arizona state and u of central Florida). Rhodes could possibly be a good fit, although I prefer coed schools (plus, my Tennessean parents think Memphis is sketchy and dangerous lol). Richmond and Wake Forest are two that I will definitely consider. university of Miami, though is massive and too far away from my family (south Florida seems like it’s a world away).</p>
<p>I really appreciate that you took the time to comment. Thanks so much!</p>
<p>Rhodes College fits all your criteria except size (it’s about 1900 students). Small class sizes, outstanding research opportunities (especially for the natural sciences at St. Jude’s Children’s Hospital), in a lovely area of Memphis, middle-of-the-road politically, with a great mix of conservatives and liberal students. It may seem small, but the fact it’s located in a large city could help mitigate that. Definitely look into it, especially if you are interested in a science major.</p>
<p>Rhodes is co-ed, and it is in a fairly safe neighborhood. I would pick a few reaches as well. Rice and Vanderbilt have most of what you want, as does Davidson. While I do not like the school myself, you could look at Emory and see what you think (it is very artistic, which could be good or bad depending on you). What about South Carolina, or is the football going to be too big of a deal there?</p>
<p>If you’re this picky about colleges there might only be two that you apply to. At many schools, even those with center-left reputations, there’s a significant contingent of conservative students. Frankly, I’d find it incredibly boring to sit in a class where everyone agrees about something. It’s far more interesting to have a diverse set of opinions across the political spectrum (of course it can also be slightly infuriating if you disagree with such beliefs).</p>
<p>Rhodes is a co-ed school and depending on where in the US you live, UMiami might only be a plane ride away. Loyola Marymount might be another possibility although if Miami seems extremely far away, so too will Los Angeles. </p>
<p>Emory is not exactly an artistic school but one which has a significant number of musical related extracurriculars and a student body which tends to be more interested in the humanities and social science than most other schools. </p>
<p>Is either TCU or SMU a safety for both admissions and affordability for you? If you are not sure about affordability, talk to your parents about what they are willing to contribute and for numbers to put into net price calculators on each college’s web site.</p>
<p>If neither is a safety, you need to start your list with a safety that will certainly admit you and you can certainly afford to attend.</p>
<p>Also note that TCU and SMU are both religiously affiliated, but with different religions.</p>
<p>You said you thought W&M was a reach, but with your grades and test scores, you’re actually pretty competitive. D found out she was on the admitted list before withdrawing her application and she had lower test scores but higher GPA that you, but she had a very rigorous schedule with 10 APs.If you like the school, consider applying. </p>
<p>I think Emory is also worth a look, you look to be in competitive range there as well. And not in the South, but warm, you might consider one of the Claremont schools. Taken together, they sort of fit what you’re looking for, and although typically liberal, they aren’t known for their political activism.</p>
<p>Oops, sorry, I thought Rhodes was a women’s college. I’ll look into that then I will take a look at some of the reaches mentioned just in case. South Carolina is huge, which is one of the things that’s most important to me in a school (I want to avoid anything too large).</p>
<p>Whenhen, I don’t see it as being picky as much as just knowing what I’m looking for. While I’m conservative, I’m not trying to avoid center-left environments. As you said, a class where everyone agrees is not very interesting. On the other hand, I go to a very liberal high school where hardly anyone agrees with me. I don’t mind diversity of opinion, but I don’t want to be alone in my views.</p>
<p>Ucbalumnus, TCU and SMU are safeties for admissions and affordability in my case. I’m also a fairly likely candidate for the honors colleges and merit aid at those schools. I don’t mind the varying religious affiliations because while they’re both religious schools, there is plenty of religious diversity. I’m Episcopalian, so most types of Christian schools are fine for me, including catholic schools. I’m also completely open to schools with no religious affiliation. </p>
<p>MrMom62, that is such awesome news about W&M. My GPA is my area of concern, but I suppose it’s worth a look, right? thank you for telling me! I think I’ll also consider Emory, especially since I only crossed it off my list because I thought it was too selective. While the Claremont colleges seem amazing, I don’t want to be that far from my family. </p>
<p>Have you actually been to Tulane? You might be very surprised by that part of New Orleans if you haven’t visited. You might find it liberal, but nothing like Wellesley. Davidson is not too much of a reach for you to consider; it’s not a safety, but definitely not a waste of your time. Elon might also be worth a look.</p>
<p>Thanks for the links, ucbalumnus. Very informative. :)</p>
<p>It’s actually pretty exciting to hear that schools like W&M, Davidson, etc. aren’t a waste of time for me. That opens up a lot more options. I suppose it can’t hurt to check out Tulane. I’ll look into it. Thank you for taking the time to comment!</p>
UT Austin is too huge and too liberal, St Edwards is also too liberal, U of Dallas is too tiny, and I’ve already looked into Baylor (and yes, one of my problems with it is that Waco is totally out in the middle of nowhere). Thank you for the suggestions!</p>