Trying to help a Friend starting his Search

College Search & Selection
1

<p>So my best friend (no its not me u can check my posts hahaha) is sorta lost with the whole college selection process and as much as I think I'm in the know about colleges, I was at a loss in helping him choose some solid schools, so maybe we'll see if the CC community can help him out. </p>

<p>He's a Junior at a competitive public HS in Upstate NY. </p>

<p>somewhere around an 88 average. Our school doesn't rank but I'd guess he'd be somewhere around the top 15%. Not the hardest schedule available- probably half honors/APs and half normal classes. By the time he graduates he'll have 4-5 APs
AP Stats, AP Bio, AP US, AP Gov (maybe AP Environmental).</p>

<p>Scores: 1930 SAT (I don't remember the breakdown)
will retake</p>

<p>ECs
Cross Country Captain
Varsity XC/Track distance runner since freshman year
volunteer at the ambulance for at least 3 years
certified first responder, EMT, dispatcher, etc
Worked at the YMCA as a lifeguard for 2 years
Eagle Scout</p>

<p>What he wants in a college---
He's really outdoorsey and wants to be somewhere where he can hike/snowboard/trail run/just plain explore the wilderness. He's not a hippy and doesn't do drugs but he isn't preppy/conservative/jocky. He'd fit in at a more like that straight laced, semi quirky student body. </p>

<p>He doesn't want to be in the middle of nowhere (our older friend from the team goes to Colby and he thinks its too remote for him). He also doesn't want a small student body (around 3000 minimum), so most LACs are out of the picture. I don't really expect anyone on CC to know this, but he wants to run competitively (tho its not a deal breaker) so nationally ranked DI schools are for the most part out---he ruled out William and Mary bc of this.</p>

<p>He's split between either majoring in bio or environmental science. </p>

<p>Cost isn't an issue, he is fairly well off. </p>

<p>Schools he's considered
UNH
UNC Asheville
University of Richmond</p>

2

<p>CU Boulder
Fort Lewis
Evergreen State
Humboldt State
Montana State
Northern Arizona
Simon Fraser (if he’s willing to go to Canada)
Southern Oregon
University of Idaho
University of Montana
University of Oregon
University of Vermont
University of Wyoming</p>

3

<p>U of Oregon and U Colorado Boulder are no goes, those 2 along with Stanford are the best in the Country. Also, Boulder, UVM and Humboldt sorta have that stoner-hippy vibe. I’ll tell him about Evergreen tho, it fell under my radar and he might like it.</p>

<p>I don’t really know much about any of the other schools tho…I’m not sure if they are really solid academically (any comments?).</p>

<p>I don’t really know much personally about Clemson and Virginia Tech; I know from another thread they are in a scenic, naturey location which is nice, but are non-engineering majors fine there as well?</p>

4

<p>University of Denver sounds like a fit…</p>

<p>also, recently heard of amazing environmental programs at CSU in Fort Collins, CO</p>

5

<p>ok- i must have forgotten to write a word, i meant to say that Oregon/boulder/stanford are the best in the country…for running. ooops.</p>

6

<p>I know someone who goes to Simon Fraser, and she seems to enjoy it. I don’t too much about the other schools; I found them on a listing of the top 40 “outdoorsy” colleges. If you’re interested, here’s a link: [The</a> Best Colleges For Outdoor Recreation | Outside Online](<a href=“http://outside.away.com/outside/features/200309/200309_college_towns_1.html]The”>http://outside.away.com/outside/features/200309/200309_college_towns_1.html)</p>

7

<p>I don’t know how good our cross country team is at Clemson but it’s not good enough to be talked about everyday so you can try and run on the team here!</p>

<p>We are at the foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains and on the shores of Lake Hartwell so there’s a lot of opportunities for hiking, sailing and other outdoor activities. You can probably find some ski facilities 2 hours away. The student body leans towards preppy and conservative but as a fairly large public school, there is a mix of nearly everybody here. We are not in the middle of nowhere, we are 2 hours away from Atlanta and Charlotte and an hour from the city of Greenville (which is pretty cool). Our student body is about 13-14,000 students so it’s neither too small or too big. And our science programs are amazing here since we are a technical school so biology and environmental science are great here!</p>

<p>Let me know if you have any questions about Clemson!</p>

8

<p>Hey tell him to check of the University of Missouri! I’m not sure about the running aspect but he may be ok there! Great college town.</p>