<p>I am a highschool senior from the south. I have good test scores (35 ACT) and a good GPA (3.97) and I've been looking into the ivy leagues and high tier colleges. However, I've realized there's a very good chance I won't get into any of those places so I was wondering if people had other suggestions of where to apply? Maybe some suggestions for southern schools?</p>
<p>Some things to know:</p>
<p>*I want to major in applied mathematics or biochemistry (not sure of my career path) but I love liberal arts and that sort of thing.</p>
<p>*I want to go somewhere that is fun and intellectual, as well as has a focus on the arts.</p>
<p>*I like cities and towns rather than rural areas.</p>
<p>*I'm not interested in Greek life or sports at all, literally do not care one way or another.</p>
<p>*National Merit Semi-finalist</p>
<p>Here are the places I've applied/ am applying to: Brown, Columbia, UChicago, Stanford, Reed College (maybe????), College of Charleston Honors College, and Clemson Honors College.</p>
<p>Your stats are well within the range of admitted students to very selective colleges.</p>
<p>Focusing on urban colleges that are a notch below Stanford, Columbia and Brown in selectivity you may want to consider Georgetown, John Hopkins, and Tufts. While University of Pennsylvania (an Ivy) is very selective you may still want to include it on your list. There are many more colleges two notches below in selectivity than the ivies on your list.</p>
<p>Apply to Harvey Mudd if you’ve taken calculus in high school. It’s excellent for math but has a liberal arts curriculum too. So essentially it’s a combined liberal arts college and college of engineering. Students must be very dedicated. :)</p>
<p>That’s good advice in #4. It’s all good advice so far. Remember that the ivies and that tier are crapshoots. It’s not about you and your qualifications, so just plan on not being selected there. Make sure there are sure things and 2nd and 3rd tier matches on your list that you can afford. Someone with your record in school is most likely going to get a great education wherever you go. Visit your professors; get to know them; work in their labs. Good luck to you.</p>
<p>Rice won’t give you anything for being a National Merit Finalist and it is quite difficult to gain admittance, but it appears to meet your other criteria quite well.</p>
<p>Davidson and Holy Cross.Holy Cross is one of the few schools(excluding Ivies) that is need-blind(meets 100% demonstrated financial aid). Holy Cross has nice campus 1 hour from Boston, isa top25 LAC, no greek life,and kids love the school. Davidson might be a little rural but not too far from Charlotte.</p>
<p>Have you considered Emory’s Oxford College? It’s a two-year liberal arts environment, then you automatically continue to the Atlanta campus for your junior and senior years. You could probably expect significant merit aid.</p>
<p>Visited Emory, didn’t really like the vibe and already missed the scholarship deadline. Nearly all of the visit/tour/presentation focused on facilities and I didn’t hear one thing about the academics. But thank you everyone for the great advice! Definitely adding some of these colleges to my list</p>
<p>Really, what tour did you go on? I’ve witnessed a number of tours both at main and Oxford and all emphasized the academics. I assure you, both schools are academically serious institutions. Regardless, if you need merit scholarships, and the Scholars deadline has lapsed, ignore this post.</p>
<p>Unfortunately most college tours seem to bypass academics and focus on stuff like sports facilities and dorm rooms. You seem like the kind of person who will thrive in an advanced learning environment. You could look into the research of the faculty in the departments that interest you. You might want to work in their lab or a do a senior thesis with one of them.</p>