hey guys!! i’m a sophomore looking for some suggestions on schools to look at.
i want to study many things… economics, environmental studies, spanish. i want to go to a liberal arts college where i can explore many areas of study.
i have a 3.96 gpa unweighted, and i got a 28 on the practice act with no studying (will def increase a lot… i wasn’t ready for the science section lol)
i’m very involved at my school… model un, mock trial, i have a job at a farm, i’m president of a club, i volunteer with an animal rescue…
i absolutely want to stay in the northeast… would definitely like to stay in the new england area
i have visited some schools … definitely colgate was my favorite, with hamilton closely behind. i prefer rural colleges
any suggestions would be great!! thanks guys!!
Middlebury, Colby, St. Lawrence, HWS; If you are female, look into MHC and Smith.
Any of the top ~20 schools from this analysis would be amazing for economics: https://ideas.repec.org/top/top.uslacecon.html
For environmental studies, you may ultimately want to consider Hamilton’s Adirondack program (whichever college you attend): https://www.hamilton.edu/academics/offcampusstudy/adk
If I were you, I would DEFINITELY run through a college search tool like the one on college board’s website. Basically you filter by size, selctivity, location, majors, and other factors and it feeds you a list of colleges that fit your criteria:
https://bigfuture.collegeboard.org/college-search
Study hard to get your ACT up! (I’m sure it will once you are more familiar with the science section and you go through more years of your education).
Basically any top LAC will work. Just make sure the colleges you look at have a good reputation with companies, because for economics-type jobs such as consulting and corporate finance, the school name matters A LOT. Check the career center website at your desired college to see if they have a list of where graduates go after graduation.
Colgate has a good economics program apparently. Check out Amherst, Williams, and Swarthmore (These are the HYPSM of Liberal arts colleges). Also any other school that is of smaller size would work for you too, even though it isn’t technically a ‘Liberal arts college.’ Schools such as Dartmouth definitely have a liberal arts feel.
Good luck, and you seem to be on the right track!
As long as you get your ACT score up, you’re competitive for many schools. I know it is not New England, but look into Lafayette College in Easton, PA. I could see you liking it. In addition, some New England schools I can think of are: Connecticut College, Wesleyan University, Bates College, and Trinity College. I also agree with @merc81 suggestions. Those are all great LAC’s. Good luck!
If the science section of the ACT was the most problematic, you might want to try taking the SAT, which doesn’t even have a science section.
Allegheny College is a terrific LAC which can get overlooked because it’s so far off the beaten path within its state of Pennsylvania; but its rural location is less than 40 miles from Upstate NY and deserves to be included in your “Northeast” search. It’s Environmental Studies/Science department has a lot of great programs and opportunities.
https://sites.allegheny.edu/envsci/opportunities/
https://alleghenycampus.com/11653/news/es-department-ranked-second-in-nation/
And its econ department has both theoretical and business-oriented tracks.
Colby has a great environmental studies department aND distributon and language requirements that would set you up to explore what you’d like to study further.
You have time to get your ACT up, which you will have to do for many of the schools that have been suggested. It is a very learnable test. But St. Lawrence and HWS should get a look. - same outdoorsy vibe but a bit easier to get into.
You still have plenty of time. Focus first on your scores.