<p>In high school I ended up applying to probably too many reach schools and ended up at my safety: my state flagship university. I tried to go in with an open mind, and while I've ended up with a lot of great new friends and had several great opportunities, I'm somewhat frustrated by the anti-intellectualism and party atmosphere of the school. A lot of the classes are too easy, (boring) and I often feel like I'm at a level above the other students in my classes motivation wise. I guess you would say my school is not a "fit." As far as colleges go.</p>
<p>I'd like to go somewhere more intellectually stimulating, and with a more motivated, creative, and intelligent student body. A liberal arts college might be nice, but a university would be nice too. If anyone could give some suggestions of school that seem like they might fit that would be great. Non need-aware schools is definitely a plus--especially at private schools.</p>
<p>Some stats to help:</p>
<p>College:
GPA: 3.85 (4.0 in my Major--English--if it matters.)
ECs: Student government, humor magazine, philosophy association, community service, etc. Probably a research assistant position this summer.</p>
<p>High School: (Fairly large public)
GPA UW: 3.7 (No grade inflation at my school--no one made a 4.0)
GPA W: 4.95/6
Rank: Top 4%
Course Load: All APs or Honors courses--13 APs Total; 4s or 5s on all.
SAT: 2150
SAT IIs: 740 US History, 660 Literature
ECs: ~150 hours of Comm Service, Summer Jobs, Co-Captain on Debate Team, Leadership in Political clubs, Jazz Band, Other Music ECs</p>
<p>"I’d like to go somewhere more intellectually stimulating, and with a more motivated, creative, and intelligent student body. A liberal arts college might be nice, but a university would be nice too. If anyone could give some suggestions of school that seem like they might fit that would be great. Non need-aware schools is definitely a plus–especially at private schools "</p>
<p>Many schools are “need blind”, but that’s not what you need. It sounds like you need a “need blind and meets full need” school. As a transfer student, there aren’t many schools that give great aid to transfer students.</p>
<p>How much will your parents pay each year? </p>
<p>Do NOT cut ties with your current school until you see the aid package from your new school. Register for classes at your current school, etc, until you see your aid pkg. </p>
<p>Keep in mind that freshman year at a big state school is going to have more party/silly kids. As you move into upper division classes, you’ll be surrounded with serious students.</p>
<p>Not full need. Parents can pay some of the costs, but somewhere that offered grants or work study would be nice–student loans are a possibility but not preferable. My parents would prefer not amassing too much debt, especially with the strong possibility of grad school in the future. That statement about “non need-aware schools” was largely to eliminate schools such as Brown–which is need-aware for transfer students. </p>
<p>While you’re probably right about things getting better after freshman year in the classroom, one of my big complaints is the lack of interest in learning outside of the classroom too. My school is consistently ranked as one of the top party schools in the country. I don’t want the image of having gone to a hardcore party school–which I worry might be a problem especially considering I’d like to move out of state after graduation. Likewise, I’ve found the atmosphere of my school less focused on academics and more on football and drinking. Which just isn’t a “fit” for me–I’m the type who likes spending weekends reading or having small intimate “parties” between people, rather than rowdy large frat parties and tailgating. </p>
<p>I do understand that things academically may improve, but my frustration really stems beyond the classroom. Although that is a factor as well.</p>
<p>I guess more broadly, I’m looking for a school that would be a “match” in the transfer process given my stats.</p>
<p>Not full need. Parents can pay something close to ~$20,000 a year, but are pretty much unwilling to send me anywhere that would put me into large amounts of debt</p>
<p>I don’t think you understand what “full need” means. It doesn’t mean that it gives everyone a full ride of aid. It means that it determines what your parents SHOULD pay and then gives you aid for the rest. </p>
<p>Of course, schools may determine that your family should pay a LOT more than $20k per year. If so, that will be an issue. </p>
<p>You need to have your parents run some NPC calculators on some schools sites and determine what aid you’d get and what they’d be expected to pay.</p>
<p>Ah, right. I misunderstood you. </p>
<p>So yes–full need would be preferable.</p>
<p>You should have a lot of transfer options with your GPA (and your EC’s are helpful too)! It’s also very helpful to already have so many general ed. requirements complete given the AP exam scores, in addition to the year of credits you’ve earned at this college. You may want to post this in the transfer forum --there’s lots of helpful stickies there too. </p>
<p>[Transfer</a> Students - College Confidential](<a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/transfer-students/]Transfer”>Transfer Students - College Confidential Forums)</p>
<p>What state are you located? </p>
<p>Merit scholarships for transfers are very limited, but Denison U. does offer transfer merit scholarships to students with your GPA (btw. $10-20,000). You may also want to look at Kenyon College.</p>
<p>[Transfer</a> Students - Denison University](<a href=“http://www.denison.edu/admissions/transfer_students.html]Transfer”>Denison University | A top liberal arts college located in Ohio)</p>
<p>Didn’t realize Denison University offered transfer merit scholarships! Thanks!</p>
<p>I had also been considering Kenyon, thanks for the suggestions. Oh, and for the record I’m in Texas. But I don’t mind travelling far out of state. In fact I would probably prefer that.</p>