<p>I'm the typical senior trying to narrow down my list of colleges... I have been trying for a really long time and just don't know what to do already, so am hoping someone here would be kind enough to offer up an opinion.</p>
<p>The current list:
Swarthmore
Middlebury
Haverford
Amherst
U Penn
Brown
Yale
Harvard
Georgetown
Tufts U
Boston U</p>
<p>I'm interested in studying foreign language (Japanese), education, pre-law, or philosophy prioritized in that order... I'm interested in study abroad programs in Japan and also choir. Possibly interested in the music programs for vocalists.</p>
<p>I'm trying to narrow down the list - a nice campus (a lot of trees, pretty, lots of nature) is a big deal for me. I'm looking for someplace at least fairly liberal and don't care for PE requirements... No offense, but I also don't want to go somewhere with a (strong) religious presence.</p>
<p>I'm especially hoping someone can shed some light on the distinctions between the 4 LACs mentioned, and I'm on the fence about applying to U Penn and Georgetown...</p>
<p>Some questions:
What are some things that stand out about for four LACs? Is Amherst/Middlebury hard to get to from the airport/is it really far from an urban area? How are the towns? How is U Penn's campus? Does Georgetown feel religious?</p>
<p>Middlebury is about a 45-minute drive from Burlington International Airport, which has daily non-stop flights from a number of major cities, including Boston, New York, Washington DC, Chicago, and Atlanta. Middlebury is fairly rural. The closest small city is Burlington and the closest major city is Montreal, which is just over 2.5 hours away. The town of Middlebury is the quintessential New England village. You'll find most everything you'll need in Middlebury (large grocery stores, banks, movie theater, bars & restaurants, bookstores, clothing stores, fast food, Staples, etc.).</p>
<p>Amherst is less than an hour from Bradley (the international airport in CT) and is in a great college town in an beautiful suburban area of MA (that has everything a college student could need, probably). there are a lot of college students in the area because of the five college consortium that Amherst is a part of (you can take classes at Smith, Mount Holyoke, Hampshire, and UMass). it's a little over two hours west of Boston, and is also closer to Hartford CT and Albany NY.</p>
<p>I'm not sure if Haverford has its own East Asian studies department, I think it's combined with Bryn Mawr, which is part of the tri-college consortium along with Swarthmore. </p>
<p>What struck me most about Swarthmore was the communal atmosphere. even though it is very rigorous and everyone there is very smart, it's not competitive and cutthroat the way some schools are.</p>
<p>I'm assuming that you've done your homework and know that all of these schools offer sufficient courses in the language you want. "Pre-law" is usually not a major at schools of this type. If you want a campus, delete BU--but it looks like that's your safety school. Yale has lower participation in term-time study abroad than some of the others, but is very high on vocal groups. I don't know if you are already studying Japanese, but I've heard rumblings that it is very difficult to major in an Asian language at Georgetown if you are starting as a beginner. (Check this out, because it may or may not be true.)</p>
<p>Actually, I don't see any burning need to narrow down this list. A lot of these schools are lotteries. Who knows what will happen. And if FA is part of the package, things are even more uncertain. I'd be more concerned about whether there are other places you ought to add, or perhaps substitute, for some on this list. Dartmouth, for example, would seem like a good match for you with its gorgeous campus and Language Study Abroad program. The University of Chicago has a gorgeous campus and a strong East Asian Studies department. Either of those might sub for Penn, Tufts (pretty but small campus), Gerogetown (very small campus).</p>
<p>Without knowing your stats, it's really difficult to comment on "narrowing your list" particularly because all of the schools you mention are very, very highly selective. I'm curious if you have identified schools that could be considered safeties to include on this list of highly selective schools?</p>
<p>Sorry, I was hoping to not post my stats, even though I know they could be needed. Anyway, they are: 3.84 unweighted (school doesn't weight) / very rigorous course load / 2210</p>
<p>Yeah, sorry, I know pre-law isn't a major - just, something I wanted to put out there as a possible area of interest in the future.</p>
<p>My counselor says BU is my safety school, and that while she doesn't think any are safeties other than BU, she feels I'll basically get into at least one of the schools.</p>
<p>I won't be starting Japanese as a beginner. I am in my sixth year of study now in high school.</p>
<p>My main concern about rural schools is that I won't be able to handle being in such a remote location and that I won't be able to handle six months of snow even more so at a rural school. I live in Hawaii and obviously it doesn't snow here. I can handle the cold and the winter, but I'm not sure that I can handle six months of snow possibly cooped up in a small, rural town...</p>
<p>Since you mentioned that a "nice campus, pretty with lots of trees" is very high on your list, I would encourage you to consider other safeties and matches besides BU (which is much more urban and larger than almost every other school on your list.) In your original post, you asked about distinctions among the LACs on your list (Amherst, Swat, Midd, Haverford) --all super-selective and generally reaches for most everyone. There are many great LACs that would have the feel you are looking for and could balance your list with an additional match or safety.(If you are female, Smith College might be a great choice. Wheaton (MA) and Skidmore (NY) might be worth a look. And, Vassar, although on the more selective side, might also fit the bill.)</p>
<p>Thanks for explaining. If being in a small town in a cold climate concerns you, I think that you should definitely add the U of C to your list (cold climate but large city, gorgeous campus), and substitute Pomona for Middlebury. You should also consider substituting an additional west coast school such as Berkeley for either Yale or Harvard or both.</p>
<p>Burlington is not officially a "city" but a medium sized town. It's referred to as a city because it is the largest metropolitan area in the state of Vermont, but keep in mind that less than 40,000 people live there. The population at 2000 census is comparable to the number of undergrads and grad student enrolled at the University of Michigan. </p>
<p>Montreal is also "close" at about 3 hours away, and an amazing city, but it's unlikely that you'll be heading up there much as a Midd student. Crossing the border has also gotten to be more and more of a pain.</p>
<p>Well, you asked for help in narrowing the list, but IMO you should broaden it. You said "My counselor says BU is my safety school, and that while she doesn't think any are safeties other than BU, she feels I'll basically get into at least one of the schools." That ain't necessarily true; since all those LACs are highly selective, there is a reasonable chance you won't get into any of them. </p>
<p>Consider Bucknell, Davidson, Wake Forest, Wesleyan, Trinity in Hartford. These are also LACs but less selective than the tip-top ones you're already considering. They are all very very very good schools.</p>
<p>It looks like you're set on New England, but... if you're worried about cold weather, consider adding Claremont McKenna to your list. Very strong for the pre-law interest; I don't know about language. Less competitive than Pomona, though that would also be great. University of Southern California could also be a fit - excellent music program, and all the majors you could be interested in.</p>
<p>Middlebury is the only outlier on your list. Anyone who says it isn't snowy most of the school year is lying. And, if Burlington is considered a metropolitan center, then Middletown, Connecticut (Wesleyan) is positively cosmopolitan and gets pretty much the same weather as New York City.</p>
<p>The University of Chicago is commonly called the U of C. Since I had spelled it out in my earlier post, I didn't think it was necessary to do it again.</p>
<p>I agree with VeryHappy that you should look for another safety school. The ones she suggests are good, but I don't know if they have the language program you want. Pretty much any good LAC will be suitable for someone considering on law school, and will have enough philosophy to satisfy someone who is interested in it but not necessarily a major. Amherst (not a safety) does have a popular interdisciplinary major that's called something like "Law, Politics, and Philosophy" that might interest you. Most such schools have sufficient education courses to earn a teaching certificate as well as a degree in the subject of interest.</p>
<p>It's a strange list. Amherst only offers two years of Japanese, Swarthmore only three. Both have relatively weak music programs (as would Middlebury and Haverford); in all cases (with the exception of languages at Middlebury) the number of majors or concentrators in either Japanese or vocal music is going to tend to be very small, and opportunities limited as a result. Why did you choose them?</p>
<p>Relative to those four, why not a place like St. Olaf, with a fantastic, amazing vocal music program with 1,000 students participating in music and SEVEN choirs, and three years of Japanese (with options on a fourth), and links to five study abroad programs in Japan? (It is very cold, though.)</p>
<p>Georgetown is a Jesuit school, but I've not heard anyone say it has an overwhelming religious presence. OP, you might have to hop on a plane and come check these places out yourself.</p>