<p>I have a 2310 SAT and a 4.5 W GPA at a rigorous private school. Here are some things that I want. Does anyone have any suggestions for a school (safety or otherwise)?</p>
<ul>
<li>Mid-Atlantic or Southern United States</li>
<li>Good programs in Economics/Business and Spanish with ability to Study Abroad</li>
<li>True Campus Feel</li>
<li>Not in the middle of nowhere (but not necessarily in a big city)</li>
<li>Medium-sized (but I will consider smaller or larger schools)</li>
<li>Well-supported sports teams</li>
</ul>
<p>Here is my list of the ones I know I am applying/have applied to so far:</p>
<p>Duke (applied early- rejected)
Vanderbilt
Penn
Richmond
Tulane
Davidson</p>
<p>Schools I (particularly) did not like:
Washington & Lee
Emory
Haverford</p>
<p>Dickinson sounds perfect for you and it would basically be a safety with those stats (= merit money). It has a nice campus, an awesome study abroad program and an International Management program, Spanish is top-notch AND you’d be able to study Economics/management in Spain for a year and even have an internship there…</p>
<p>Take a look at Georgetown. The fact that it’s Catholic shouldn’t put you off. It’s not intrusive if you aren’t personally Catholic - only half the student body is. And being in DC gives you a lot of interesting internship and work opportunities. Hoya Saxa!</p>
<ul>
<li><p>I am not willing to go anywhere in Suburban Philadelphia (I have lived there my whole life and want to get at least to the city, if not further away)</p></li>
<li><p>I would only consider a large state school if they offer full-rides to National Merit Scholars</p></li>
<li><p>Visited Wake, W&M, and Princeton and they did nothing for me</p></li>
<li><p>I will look into Dickinson</p></li>
<li><p>Georgetown, maybe, but do I need another higher-end school</p></li>
</ul>
<p>Also, I am FAR right (politically), and while the school does not have to be conservative, I want to avoid extremely liberal or too artsy places (one of the many reasons I hated Haverford and Emory).</p>
<p>Thank you, but I don’t want to go to New England. I can handle Philadelphia winters (it is actually 65 today), but I am not a fan of bundling up, so I do not want to go further north.</p>
<p>And, the politics are too liberal for me in New England.</p>
<p>if you like conservative, they buried Robert E. Lee and his whole family under the chapel at Washington & Lee. Says traditional, filiopietistic conservative where I come from. You don’t like Emory because it’s liberal like Haverford? Far right must mean different things to us.</p>
<p>Let me suggest the book Choosing the Right College, if you haven’t examined it already. It’s the only handbook I’ve used, and it’s not because I like its politics. The authors are very big on traditional European core curriculum. If that’s your bag, there’s Chicago, of course, but it’s cold. There’s Reed, heheheh. There’s Washington College in Charlestown, MD, with its Great Books approach. There’s Hillsdale, meh.</p>
<p>Hopkins has some conservative profs in clusters, as does Stanford and Harvard and Notre Dame (see definition of cold). There’s Clemson. You’re really swimming upstream when you make one of your criteria that the school should be conservative enough that there are a bunch of professors and students who won’t annoy your political sense. Is that a fair assessment of this criterion you have?</p>
<p>You say, “I want to avoid extremely liberal or too artsy places.” How could any student body of any size be “extremely liberal” or “too artsy” (once you rule out Bard or Reed)? Every other student body is going to have some extremely liberal or too artsy students. How do you get thru life without running into them any more than anyone else can get thru life without running into fascists and philistines? These people with whom we strongly disagree are the cross we bear ;+) Actually, the ones worthy of our attention, the ones who’ve given politics and ideas some lasting and deep thought and who are willing to hear ideas different from their own, can make our lives a lot more interesting. If you cannot avoid them, engage the worthy ones. I’d sure like to know if you find this school you’re looking for.</p>
<p>You do know that conservative people live everywhere, including New England, right? I also find it strange that Emory is too liberal for you, but not Tulane or Davidson.</p>
<p>Anyway, with your grades and scores you would be eligible for big merit aid at both University of Alabama and University of Georgia. Neither Tuscaloosa nor Athens is in the middle of nowhere - Tuscaloosa’s a small city, and Athens is 45 minutes from Atlanta. UGA has a pretty good business program; both have well-supported sports teams and a true campus feel. UNC-Chapel Hill is another suggestion, but they’re harder to get into and get merit aid at. There’s also Clemson and the College of Charleston.</p>
<p>Elon University is a medium-sized university/LAC that may appeal to you - it’s nearby Greensboro, NC. There’s also Rhodes College, a small LAC in Memphis, TN.</p>
<p>A safety for you could be Berry College in Mount Berry, GA, about 72 miles from Atlanta.</p>
<p>Have you indicated how much your parents will pay? </p>
<p>Safeties often don’t give much need-based aid, but do often give large merit. However, merit usually doesn’t cover EVERYTHING. </p>
<p>Well-supported sports teams</p>
<p>Alabama is in Tuscaloosa. Tuscaloosa’s population is 100,000…so really more of a mid-sized city. Gorgeous true campus, great sports to watch, strong academics. Alabama recruits many high stats students like you by awarding large merit and NMF scholarships. There are over 600 NMFs on campus. </p>
<p>As for politics…Alabama is more moderate. Even though the state is conservative, the student body at the campus ranges from left to right…with some who just don’t care either way. lol Profs on virtually every campus in the US will lean left, so very hard to avoid that. </p>
<p>Of course, you would qualify for Alabama’s very good Honors College. The HC offers amazing courses and the class sizes are limited to 15 students each. And, you can be in the Honors dorms. </p>
<p>Alabama, like most schools, offers a wide variety of study abroad programs. Since Alabama’s NMF scholarship covers 10 semesters, you can use one of those semesters to pay for a summer abroad…or use a semester of tuition to cover a semester abroad. Alabama also has amazing Faculty-led summer abroad programs.</p>
<p>There is a web site associated with that book. I like their reviews because they are well written, and fairly balanced even though they don’t hide their political/cultural slant. </p>
<p>It is funny to look back at this a month later. Not including Duke, which had already rejected me, my list TRIPLED from then to when I actually submitted my applications.</p>
<p>FINAL LIST (I have no intention to submit any more applications)
Richmond
Vanderbilt
Penn
Davidson
Tulane
Alabama (accepted)
Oklahoma
Drexel
Bucknell
Miami
South Carolina
Rhodes
Kentucky
Baylor
Franklin & Marshall (visited and subsequently taken off my list)</p>