Trying to come up with college list

College Search & Selection
1

<p>As junior year is winding down, and as I read on college websites that applications for 2008 (omg my year!) will be up in the summer, I realized that I need to finalize my college list. As of now, my list is... random. </p>

<p>MIT
Cornell
UPenn
Carnegie Mellon
Lehigh
Lafayette
University of Pittsburgh
Rutgers (In state)</p>

<p>I'm interested in bioengineering and science. </p>

<p>Quick stats:
SAT: 2330
SATII: Will take Chem and Math IIC, from the practice tests I've done, my scores are 770+.
GPA: Weighted, around 4.56 (out of 4.8). We don't officially don't report rank, but I am 2nd out of 350ish. </p>

<p>My extra-cirriculars are decent, nothing amazing. A couple of state awards, leadership. </p>

<p>So my wants for a school:
-Population isn't a big factor, just as long its not TOO big.
-I don't like extremely urban schools, like Columbia or NYU. Rural is alright.
-I want to stay on the east coast, no more south than Virginia.<br>
-Undergraduate research available.
-Active campus life.
-Small classes would be nice.
-Not a fan of a Core like cirricculum like Columbia has. </p>

<p>Can anyone suggest some schools to add/take out to my list?</p>

2

<p>Duke sounds like a good fit for you! UPenn is in Philadelphia, but if you are interested in engineering (as your school choices suggest..), I would definitely keep it on the list. You would possibly like schools such as Brown & Amherst, if you are not 100% set on the sciences.</p>

3

<p>Unless Rutgers has a great engineering program (I wouldn't know), it's probably a big safety on your list.</p>

4

<p>Rose Hulman Institute of Technology comes to mind.</p>

5

<p>A school that I found quite intriguing during my college search and which just might offer a student with your credentials a nice-sized merit scholarship is the University of Richmond. Now, I didn't choose Richmond because another school was a better fit for me, but I do think that it would be a good fit for you.</p>

<p>I'll detail how it meets your wants for a school:</p>

<p>-Population isn't a big factor, just as long its not TOO big.
About 4,000 students total (Undergrads + Grad Students)</p>

<p>-I don't like extremely urban schools, like Columbia or NYU. Rural is alright.
This is the thing: you're in a beautiful residential neighborhood in suburban Richmond, yet you don't realize you're in the city when you are on campus. There's a lake in the middle of campus and pine trees all over. It's VERY peaceful, yet you have the benefits of a mid-sized city as well.</p>

<p>-I want to stay on the east coast, no more south than Virginia.
Virginia - Check</p>

<p>-Undergraduate research available.
It's not just available...it's encouraged. They will also pay you to stay on campus in the summer to continue wiht research, and you can ask for a budget to do research anywhere in the world. According to Wikipedia: "The University of Richmond is listed by the 2007 U.S. News and World Report as one of 35 (out of 2,500) 'schools with outstanding examples of academic programs that are believed to lead to student success' in the area of 'Undergraduate Research/Creative Projects.' "</p>

<p>-Active campus life.
Most students live on campus all four years. This translates into a feeling of unity throughout the student body. Plus, the Spiders offer Division I sports (1-AA for football) which helps bring the university together. There's also over 250 student organizations to become involved with.</p>

<p>-Small classes would be nice.
Check. </p>

<p>-Not a fan of a Core like cirricculum like Columbia has.
Not sure what you mean by this (never really was interested in Columbia). Most schools do have a core curriculum, and Richmond definetely does, so look into it to see if it is something you like or not.</p>

6

<p>Thanks for the replies!</p>

<p>Yea Rutgers is my safety school, it has a decent enough engineering program, but because I am instate, I am almost certain to get in and with a lot of money. </p>

<p>I'll look into URichmond.</p>

7

<p>If you don't want an urban school, then definately take UPenn and U Pitt off your list.</p>

8

<p>I'm not opposed to all urban schools. I just think NYC is a little to hectic for me. Pittsburgh seems alright.</p>

9

<p>You should look at the Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute. It's one of the best engineering schools on the east coast (or anywhere else). </p>

<p><a href="http://www.rpi.edu/research/biotech/index.html%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://www.rpi.edu/research/biotech/index.html&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p>

10

<p>Dartmouth sounds like it matches the criteria that you listed.</p>

11

<p>Georgia Tech, Duke, maybe Princeton</p>

<p>I'm assuming you want to stay on the East Coast.</p>

12

<p>Yea, east coast, but north of Virginia. </p>

<p>I'd love to go to Princeton, but I don't know if I feel up to studying from scratch for another SATII.</p>

13

<p>You should also consider Johns Hopkins - they have one of the strongest bioengineering programs around and it fits your criteria.</p>

14

<p>definetly johns hopkins, also look at duke.</p>

15

<p>The only thing that I'm concerned about with JHU is safety. I've heard that Baltimore isn't too friendly. And the cut-throat competiton that exists.</p>

16

<p>WPI, RPI, RIT, Olin, PSU, Lehigh (oops, that's already on your list)...</p>

17

<p>Duke has a very northern feel to it..</p>

18

<p>I think you could get some good money from Pitt, and it seems to match all of you criteria (except it is urban.)</p>

19

<p>^Duke does not have a northern feel to it! Duke's definitely southern for all of us in the midwest, west and the northeast.</p>

20

<p>You might want to check out Marlboro College in Vermont. It's supposed to be one of the most intellectual schools in the country. I'm sure with your stats, and if you can be very personal on your application, that you'd be able to get in.</p>