<p>So I've already applied ED1 to my top choice, however I want a fresh opinion that could help me for RD schools. It's hard for me to look at this objectively so I was just wondering what school, based on my interests and what I want out of a college, would be a good fit for me. Just going by US News and World Report's rankings my grades are good enough for any college up to about #15-20. I would say that's probably the last thing in the realm of realistic options. </p>
<p>What I'm looking for out of my college experience is the following:</p>
<p>1) Good mix of liberal arts and pre-professional environment. I want to have a focus on a potential career while still getting a strong liberal arts education.
2) The "work hard play hard" mentality. I would ideally like to party in college after working insanely hard for 4 years in high school, but I still want to have elite/borderline elite academics.
3) Great community feeling. I like the idea of being able to feel like a part of something special. Whether it be athletics or just a lot of school spirit (without being TOO preppy) I want to be surrounded by people who are as excited about being there as I am.
4) A lot of internship opportunities. This would mean that it would preferably be in or near a medium/large city with decent sized companies. However I would still like to have a physical campus.
5) Strong alumni connections. I really like the idea of being able to network with alums, and would absolutely love to be able to take advantage of this opportunity.
6) Either a strong economics/business/poli sci major. Still not 100% sure which I would prefer but I know it's going to be one of the three!
7) Good study abroad programs. Pretty self explanatory. I'm fluent in French and I'd like to study for a semester over there at some point or maybe somewhere new!
8) Medium sized. Anywhere from 5k-10k undergraduate students would be ideal. </p>
<p>Thanks in advance, I'm curious to see what everyone thinks would be a good fit :)</p>
<p>affordability as determined in large part by each school’s net price calculator is usually the number one determinant of where one will go to school. have you run any net price calculators and talked to your parents about what they can contribute? can you clue us in on what your EFC range is?</p>
<p>we can be more helpful if you can tell us your standardized test scores (CR+M+W), GPA, and ECs.</p>
<p>Minus the exceptional alumni network and outstanding community (it’s still pretty solid though), you pretty much described Emory to a T. Though a majority of students come in preprofessional, it’s still a school which celebrates the liberal arts for their very existence, not just as a means to an end. I attended Oxford College of Emory for a year (Emory’s two year LAC 38 miles from the main campus) and partied at least once every two weeks. Emory is right outside of Atlanta, one of the largest metropolitan areas in the Southeast, and incredibly well respected in the surrounding community. The university boasts excellent political science, business, and French departments with loads of opportunities to study abroad. It’s also a medium sized school with just under 7,000 undergraduates when Oxford students are excluded. </p>
<p>Here are some other suggestions:
-Tulane
-University of Rochester
-Johns Hopkins
-Georgetown
-Syracuse (academic safety)
-American University
-University of Denver (academic safety)</p>
<p>@whenhen that’s actually really good to hear considering my ED1 school is Emory. I was pretty confident I picked the right school, but definitely sure now. Since you’re a student at Oxford now could you explain to me what the Claremont campus is exactly? I’m really not sure I understand what the function of it is. The other school I was seriously considering was Vanderbilt. Out of the other schools you listed the only other one I’m currently applying to is Georgetown. Wasn’t a fan of Tulane or Hopkins, but I could look at the other ones!</p>
<p>@jkeil911 I know I should probably have included those initially but I go to a top prep school so GPA is hard to analyze for people on here, but I’ll include some info.</p>
<p>GPA:
3.5 UW/3.85 W (This is honestly above average and good enough to get into the schools I mentioned above. My school is just hard and colleges know it thankfully)</p>
<p>I will have taken 11 AP’s/Honors by the time I graduate.</p>
<p>EC’s:
JV/Varsity Golf 4 years. Currently Captain as a senior
Started a non-profit to help clothe the homeless of Los Angeles (hometown) (driven by interest in business)
Interned with a startup company doing marketing research and data analysis
Spent ~3 months living in France taking classes. Got all A’s and that’s on my transcript as well.
School Student Ambassador. Basically help run admissions. Have done it for 4 years.
I spent one summer working at a bookstore which was actually really fun. Got to see how the business ran in addition to doing typical summer job stuff.
Founder of the school TV/Film Analysis Club.
Played travel team baseball for several years until I blew out my elbow pitching :(</p>
<p>For Financial Aid I’m applying to get it, although I don’t badly need it so I seriously doubt I get much if anything at all. It really isn’t playing a part at all in deciding where I’m going/applying to.</p>
<p>Holy Cross-great combination of academics and social life. HC HAS BEAUTIFUL campus 1 hour from Boston. HC alumni tend to be doctors, business focused and lawyers. Holy Cross plays Harvard, Dartmouth, Yale, Brown etc in most sports and the HC ALUMNI NETWORK IS TREMENDOUS.</p>
<p>I actually transferred from Oxford owing to the fact that neither Oxford nor Emory offered my major. The Claremont Campus isn’t a separate academic campus like Oxford is. Rather it’s the somewhat off campus apartment complex where the majority of Emory’s upperclassmen live. If you were wondering, there are shuttles that run late into the night which bring students back and forth from the Main (Druid Hills) campus to the Claremont one. </p>
<p>this helps. I read back over your criteria, and the school that came immediately to mind was Princeton. When I’ve been on campus, students have been thrilled with their decision to go there and feel that with the alumni coming back all the time that they are part of something bigger. I think you have a chance. Georgetown has a similar feel to it; you have a slightly better chance there. If you were female, I’d say Vassar, Wellesley, and maybe Bryn Mawr.</p>
<p>I like @whenwhen’s list, except for JHU. I don’t think those schools have quite the feel of being in it together as P and G do, but Syracuse comes closer to it in my sense of campus vibe. The past president of Tulane gave something of this to the school, but I don’t know how the new president is doing. You might check that forum.</p>
<p>Also consider Colgate, Bucknell, Lafayette, Chicago, Claremont, Pomona, and Reed. There are some midwestern LACs that come to mind, but I don’t know them well enough to speak with some assurance. </p>
<p>Aside from your targeted size, some LACs seem to fit all of your requirements: Good to excellent economics/political science; sporty, athletic, outdoorsy environments; active and supportive alumni/ae networks; strong career advising, job and internship placement; excellent graduate school placement. Look at Amherst, Williams, Hamilton, Pomona, Claremont, Davidson, Kenyon, Carleton.</p>
<p>I wouldn’t worry about proximity to a city for internships. Most jobs take place during summer or long holiday vacations so you can go where the jobs are. Same for study abroad. Most colleges have a long list of approved programs, all over the world.</p>
<p>Your GPA is borderline for some of the more selective, but the rigor of your high school may be a mitigating factor. </p>
<p>PS, My guess is that you’ll get into Emory.</p>
<p>@hqureshi11 I actually applied EA to Fordham as a safety haha. I guess I made good choices…</p>
<p>@momrath thank you for the suggestions. I would say of all the requirements I have for a school that size is the least important. I fell in love with UVA when I visited there and I fell in love with Amherst when I visited there as well. Davidson is one of my top choices is Emory doesn’t work out, and I’ve at least looked into all of those except for Pomona and Claremont because they’re a little close to home. Thank you for the suggestions!</p>
<p>Does anyone think Vanderbilt or Boston College would be decent fits for me? I’m looking seriously at those in addition to Georgetown, UVA, Emory, and Davidson. Those are probably my top choices as of now. I’m kind of a fan of the South…</p>