Starting the College Search- Starters list of colleges to look at?

College Search & Selection
1

(first post!) Hello, I am currently a sophomore, and I just am starting to look at colleges just to kickstart the process! :slight_smile:
I would like some help on some suggestions for schools, so that I can have a general idea of what kind of things to look for.

About me:
International student going to an IB school. Will not need financial aid, although I want to be looking into merit scholarships.
I’m asian, so unfortunately not a minority, and no major hooks.
UW GPA: 3.98/4.0
PSAT: 1410/1540
EC: MUN, Varsity Tennis, Local and Global Service

I’m not sure yet what I want to do with my future, but my best subjects currently are math, chemistry and physics. However, I really enjoy english and history, probably more than the STEM subjects <<<<( this contradiction is why i cannot decide a path rip) anyways, because my major/career is still unclear, I like the idea of an open curriculum, like Brown, to explore my choices, or a Liberal Arts College.

My preferences would be a middle sized college, that is at least close to an urban area.

If anyone can think of any colleges that fit my interest, but are also in my range (academically) that would be great! I would also much appreciate any general description of the culture of the college :slight_smile:

Sorry for such a long post, but appreciate any help!

2

Tufts University, University of Rochester, and the College of William and Mary are all mid-size national universities with sterling reputations. Tufts is in a close-in suburb of Boston, and the downtown is a fairly short subway trip from the Davis Square stop, a few blocks from the Tufts campus. Rochester has a nice, riverfront campus near downtown Rochester, which is a mid-size city. William and Mary is immediately near the Williamsburg historic district, which has a fair number of restaurants, delis, cafes, etc. Richmond, a nice city, is about an hour away, though students rarely go there to hang out. All are very competitive, Tufts probably the most so. William and Mary would have the best winter weather.

Others that might be good to look at include Santa Clara University (nice campus, spectacular weather, in Silicon Valley in SF suburbs but far from the city. You might also look at Tulane in New Orleans, SMU in Dallas, and Rice in Houston. Rice has extremely competitive admissions. Also maybe San Diego or San Diego State. Weather is very nice at all of these.

Another one is the University of Vermont. It would be less competitive in terms of admissions, though a very good school. It’s a smaller state flagship. Burlington is a great college town, and the campus is just about a ten-minute walk away, though it is also bitterly cold.

If you would consider a smaller LAC, you might look at Rhodes College in Memphis. If female and would consider a women’s college, then Wellesley is pretty spectacular. It’s in a nice suburban town outside Boston.

In Canada, University of British Columbia is in Vancouver, a great city.

But, most important of all, I suggest not looking at high school as pre-college, enjoy being young and take the opportunity to learn from those around you.

Good luck!

3

What expectations do your parents have for the place that you attend? Are there restrictions as to USNWR or other ranking system level? Are they truly ready, willing, and able to pay something close to USD 400k for four years of education if you end up at the most expensive place in the country, or do they want to keep costs well under that figure?

Will employers in your country care about the college/university that you graduate from?

Are you male or female? The women’s colleges have excellent LAC options with strong science programs.

4

URochester meets essentially all of your criteria.

Some LACs, particularly those with a flexible curriculum, would be superb academic fits, though in most cases they would not meet your criteria for size and setting.

(PSAT: 1410/1520.)

5

Transportation will be major, so it may seem silly now, but find out about airport shuttles. Check flights to and from the nearest airport, which of course are subject to change, but see if there are at least 2 airlines there that would get you where you need to go.

Also check out on-campus accommodations for international students who don’t go home during a break.

There are many good schools so you might as well try for some where travel (and summer storage) will be less of a headache.

6

@happymomof1 thank you for your reply!
What expectations do your parents have for the place that you attend? Are there restrictions as to USNWR or other ranking system level? Are they truly ready, willing, and able to pay something close to USD 400k for four years of education if you end up at the most expensive place in the country, or do they want to keep costs well under that figure?

They would like for me to go to a name brand college, however I have mostly free rein of my college apps process. I will probably apply to 2-3 ivies/name brand colleges (as reaches) to keep my parents happy. I am currently trying to look for colleges that can be my match/safeties. They are able to pay for tuition, however, would appreciate if I can keep costs low<< hence my search for merit scholarships.

Will employers in your country care about the college/university that you graduate from?
I would like to prioritize my education right now, especially since I’m not sure what/where I want to work. I don’t think it will affect me too much, as I don’t plan on working local anyways, but rather international.

Are you male or female? The women’s colleges have excellent LAC options with strong science programs.
I am female, I would love to hear any suggestions on these schools! I have looked into Wellesley and Barnard, which I like, but I know they are high reaches.

7

Check out Bryn Mawr, Mt Holyoke, and Smith as well. Your profile is in range for all of these, but they aren’t safeties for anyone.

Tuition is only part of the bill. You need to cover housing, meals, books, travel, and personal expenses. Depending on where you end up, you might need a bunch of new winter clothing. Find out what your parents’ figure is for all of that.

You need to plan to return home after graduation. US immigration rules currently allow students to stay for 12 months to get work experience (OPT), but many students do not manage to arrange that. It is extremely rare to get a work visa after the OPT expires, so please don’t plan now to stay in the US. In fact, if the visa officer who interviews you suspects that you do not intend to leave, you won’t get a student visa.

There are no safeties for international students in the US except for those institutions that guarantee admissions for specific stats that also extend that guarantee to international applicants. Do you have safeties and other options where you live now, or are you only applying to colleges and universities in the US?

8

Financial aid is tricky for international applicants. I understand that you won’t be applying for need-based aid, but applying for merit scholarships may impact admissions as well. Not applying for need-based aid will increase your chance of admission at need-aware schools (which is most of them). Merit scholarships for internationals are few and far between, and each school has its own policies and procedures. Before applying for any merit scholarships, make sure you have a clear understanding of the impact of the scholarship application on admissions.

Many schools with global name recognition do not offer merit aid, period. Make sure your parents understand the costs involved.

“Asian” is a big demographic. Schools tend to admit internationals by country or ethnicity. You will be competing first with all internationals, and secondly with students from your country or of your ethnic group. Internationals tend to gravitate toward the northeast and the west coast, toward big name universities and universities located in or near major cities. If you go against the trend and look at schools that are located in rural area and/or in the south and midwest you will have less competition in admission.

At most U.S. colleges and universities you will not need to choose your major until sometime in your sophomore year. A few colleges (like Columbia) have core curriculums meaning that there are certain core classes that everyone takes. A few (like Brown) have open curriculums meaning that there are few fixed requirements; however, there will still be some required categories, both school-wide and within your major.

The majority of schools operate under a system of distribution requirements, meaning that 2 or 3 classes are required in each of several disciplines, e.g., math/science, humanities/languages, social sciences. Since your have a balance of interests you should have no problem fulfilling most distribution requirements, so you don’t need to limit your search to schools with no distribution requirements.

“Liberal Arts” has two meanings for U.S. colleges. A liberal arts college (or LAC) refers to a small college (1000 to 2500 students) that focuses mostly on undergraduate education, though a few have master’s programs and a few offer professional degrees like engineering or business. The Liberal Arts refers to the total body of study that encompasses humanities, social studies, math and sciences. Large and medium sized universities offer liberal arts degrees as well as some undergraduate professional degrees.

9

Wesleyan is a co-ed LAC (sometimes confused with Wellesley and vice-versa) that has a pretty well-known brand within the U.S. (it has one of the finest film studies programs in the country), is somewhat larger than most (~3,000 students, including grad students) is distinctive for its small-scale Ph.D programs in selected STEM subjects (Biology, Chemistry, Molecular Bio-Bio Chem, Physics and Math) AND offers a full-ride merit scholarship for Asian students:
http://www.wesleyan.edu/admission/freeman/

10

Carleton College in Northfield, MN would be a great option for you. It’s ranked at #8 in the U.S. News Liberal Arts College Rankings (ahead of schools like Colby, Vassar, Wesleyan, and Barnard, among others), is close to a major city (free 45 min. shuttle from campus to downtown Minneapolis), and offers strong programs in both the sciences and the liberal arts.

11

You may have discovered this already, but merit money goes to kids whose scores raise the university profile. that were matches, and 3 that were safeties. Her profile was generally similar to yours. At her reach school, she received no merit. At her match school, she received $8000/year. At the safety schools, she received half tuition, and additional scholarship opportunities. Most, but not all, of the schools that everyone thinks of as name brand (e.g.Stanford, Harvard, etc) offer no merit aid, because all the students admitted are meritous. The “second tier” schools may be equally excellent (especially for certain majors). They tend to offer merit aide to attract the best and brightest and advance their goal of shaping their college’s average rankings. Third tier, same. Have a frank discussion with your parents about exactly how much they can afford to give to you for college. If they say they can afford $25,000per year, do the estimated financial calculation with their actual income figures. Those are the EFC’s for US residents. I don’t know anything about merit aid for international students except for heresay that it’s typically much lower. You can also look at sites like College Data for information on the percentage of students receiving aide and the average aid. There is a school close to me that has some of the best merit aid in the state, because their dynamic president of many years was masterful in convincing alumni and others that the school was swelling in excellence. Their degree and community would benefit from it continuing to rise in quality of students and professors. In a relatively short time, they have gone from a school that is beautiful but less demanding to a jewel of a college. The student who goes there with merit money instead of going to Princeton with merit money raises their college’s status further. Everyone that I know who goes there is really satisfied with their choice.

12

You might find more on the financial figures in the annual Kiplinger article on College finances.I believe it had 300 top choice colleges in it. A good start to schools that you may be interested in. Good luck!

13

Thank you! I will look into it further :slight_smile: @changemaker44

14

wow thank you so much! this is very helpful! @circuitrider

15

Although they can be costly, I think you may enjoy a NESCAC school such as Bowdoin. They are Liberal Arts based and offer excellent employment opportunities upon graduation. The campus is also located just outside of Portland, Maine, and is breathtakingly beautiful all seasons of the year. Now I may be wrong about this, but I think they have a fairly open curriculum. Good luck!

16

Thank you for the information! I have safeties in my home country, and will also be applying to some safeties in Canada, so hopefully that will ease the pressure off applications for US colleges! I will be sure to ask my parents a specific financial details that we can afford :slight_smile: @happymomof1

17

Thank you will check it out! @ManOfGod