<p>Hi, I'm a high school junior and I'm trying to figure out what colleges to apply to. I'm looking for good match schools preferably in CA or on the West Coast. I'm interested in Biology (major), English (minor), and music (just for fun). I have pretty good stats (meaning that I feel pretty confident applying to the colleges on my list below -- I don't want to post all my stats).</p>
<p>Some of the high match/reach schools I'm considering are Reed, Oberlin, Wesleyan, Northwestern, University of Chicago, Pomona (a Claremont college), Carleton College, Kenyon College, Brown, Stanford, UC San Diego, and UC Berkeley.</p>
<p>I need to find some more high match schools. I don't want really low safety schools because I already know about those (like Mills College). I already know about the lower-end match schools (Sonoma State, CSU East Bay, etc.). So does anyone know any higher-end match schools? I'm not only looking at their acceptance rates, though; I'm also looking at the "culture" of people (how intellectual they are). Reed is a pretty good example of this culture. This is a really important factor for me.</p>
<p>Considering you’ve got places like Carleton and Brown that stray from the West Coast norm, I’d throw in two other suggestions for you. Oberlin which has one of the best music conservatories coupled with solid academics, and also Swarthmore, on the East Coast, which along with Reed has some of the rigorous academics anywhere and a very intellectual atmosphere also akin to Reed.</p>
<p>I second Whitman. Or Lewis & Clark. Going east, if you’re considering Carleton (the most selective Midwestern LAC) and want a less selective alternative, consider Colorado College, Macalester, or Grinnell. Lawrence University (Wisconsin) would be a less selective alternative to Oberlin (LAC plus music conservatory), if you don’t consider Oberlin quite likely enough.</p>
<p>For a “high match” university on the West coast, I’d stick with the UCs. Or maybe USC. Among universities I cannot think of too many less selective alternatives to what you might see in the University of Chicago that make it worthwhile to leave California. Possibly the University of Rochester (which has a music school and strong science programs). Oh, and Rice University, which is about as selective as Chicago but might be an interesting “low reach” choice.</p>