<p>Hi! I'm a senior stressing in this overwhelming college process, and as of now, I am looking at 12 potential colleges (note: none of these are "safety caliber;" I've already decided on my safeties). I'd like to know your input on the following aspects:</p>
<p>-enough personal attention?
-attainable research/extracurricular opportunities?
-biological/pre-med department reputation?
-how competitive/cut throat?
-general personality of students...preppy? nerdy?
-grade deflation at school?
-city opportunities?
-general weather?</p>
<p>Here is my college list (in order of preference):
-Brown
-Yale
-Northwestern
-Wash U in St. Louis
-Columbia
-Vanderbilt
-U Chicago
-UC Berkeley
-Duke
-UCLA
-U Rochester
-U Michigan</p>
<p>I'd like a school with:
-a warm climate
-excellent reputation, especially in biological sciences/pre-med
-very low cutthroat/competition (collaboration instead)
-a plethora of research and extracurricular opportunities
-an intellectual, stimulating, friendly, nerdy social scene
-either urban/suburban/city with a diversity of city events, attractions, and restaurants
-manageable stress load (minimum grade deflation)
-a medium sized school with many out of state and international students
...am I overlooking any schools/should I remove any if they obviously don't meet at least 2 criteria? I realize UC schools are large in student population, but don't they fulfill the other criteria?</p>
<p>suggestion: throw out all of these except Duke</p>
<p>suggestion: none of these have manageable stress loads; YOU have to manage what life presents you, just as you do everyday. You decide what you’ll stress about and how much. Ain’t no different anywhere else, except maybe in a foxhole with incoming mortar. </p>
<p>Agree that most of these colleges have harsh climates.</p>
<p>Many of my friends/acquaintances at UC Berkeley, especially those in the sciences, have complained of the school’s cutthroat environment. The competition is fierce and grade curve is steep. Factors you may want to consider…</p>
<p>I’m going to go out on a limb and tell you I think your requirements vs. the schools you’re looking at almost totally diverge. And forget the warm climate - that isn’t going to happen, or if it does, it’s just a bonus.</p>
<p>So, I’m going to suggest you research one school that may actually meet most of your criteria, only it’s really tiny, relatively speaking. But don’t judge, it may be what you’re looking for.</p>
<p>Haverford.</p>
<p>And if it doesn’t come close enough, ask yourself if it’s heading in the right direction. If it is, I’m sure we can find you a LAC that does exactly what you want. At the very least, at this late date, you can apply to some and go visit if accepted.</p>
<p>Thanks, all. I agree that warm weather would be a bonus, so what I meant is that harsh weather (such as Dartmouth’s) is a definite no for me, ha. I’ve looked at Haverford, and though it offers great opportunities, its class size is around 300 students…my high school has 350 and I don’t like the fact that (1) I can’t go and meet new people with similar interests on a frequent basis, (2) I feel like the school only knows me by one identity, (3) I can’t ever get “lost in the crowd…” sometimes I just want to be anonymous, but I never get that chance. That’s why I prefer a medium (at least 1000) sized school.</p>
<p>Ideally I’d like to graduate college with as little debt as possible, so a nice financial package will play into it (but more so in the spring than now).</p>
<p>Thanks for the Berkeley insight. I too have heard of its tense environment, yet the name “Berkeley” appeals so much to me…well it’s not just name, it’s also the city opportunities, weather, school opportunities, etc (I think…idk, this is why I created this forum).</p>
<p>NYU isn’t as reputable in the fields that I want to study in than in the arts, etc.</p>
<p>I’ve kind of looked into USC, but I haven’t attained a strong enough feel for it yet…which criteria does it meet (besides climate)?</p>
<p>*In the middle of Los Angeles the climate will be very warm.</p>
<p>*I’ve read that USC’s a good for pre-med or at least better than other more cutthroat alternatives</p>
<ul>
<li><p>Has a reputation for being more party-oriented than cutthroat</p></li>
<li><p>Should have excellent research opportunities</p></li>
<li><p>Right in the middle of a big city and when then Expo line opens you’ll have access to a ton of the city.</p></li>
</ul>
<p>*While USC doesn’t have a grade inflation policy, it does’t have a grade deflation one either (unlike Chicago or Princeton)</p>
<ul>
<li>If you define medium-sized university with USC’s range for undergrads (17k I think) then it should meet most of your criteria (there are a lot more grad. Students, but you likely won’t be interacting with them.)</li>
</ul>
<p>If you like what Haverford offers, but it’s too small, how about Pomona or Claremont McKenna? As part of the consortium, they’re both small and intimate, yet have the other campuses where you could go and disappear. Plus they’re warm.</p>
<p>There’s also Tufts, just outside Boston. There’s no better college town than Boston, and Tufts is basically a LAC that decided to go the small university route. And Harvard is a short ride down the hill.</p>
<p>I would suggest Swarthmore as meeting most of your requirements, but it’s probably too small again, bigger than Haverford, but not big enough.</p>
<p>If Dartmouth is too chilly for you, then URochester and Northwestern will be pretty darn cold… especially with Northwestern being on the lakeside. If that is important for you, look into weather reports and do a little more research.</p>
<p>How much can your family afford to pay out of pocket each year (not including loans)?</p>
<p>Also in the Boston area is Brandeis, another small university. A little easier to get into than Tufts. Both of these meet his requirements other than the weather ;)</p>
<p>The climate I experienced most in college was the faintly-musty but cozy warmth of the library as I studied for my next test or wrote my next paper. You really don’t get outside as much as you think you will. ;)</p>
<p>Given your list of criteria - even climate, notwithstanding my comment above - I’d suggest having a look at:</p>
<ul>
<li>Emory</li>
<li>Pitzer & Pomona (individually smaller than you’d probably like, but the 5c consortium makes up for that)</li>
<li>Wesleyan (small town, small school, but it’s one of the best LACs if you want to do science/pre-med)</li>
</ul>
<p>Toss out Michigan. The social scene is not nerdy or particularly intellectual here, and the weather will be too cold and snowy for you (I say as I sit here with my window wide open).</p>