What colleges should I apply to?

College Search & Selection
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<p>I have been looking at colleges, but it seems that all good ones (and i don't mean top 20 by that) are extreme reaches for me.
about me-
I am from Eastern Europe, moved here at the beginning of the freshman year, changed schools after freshman year, because of that I couldn't take many ap classes (diff requirements) and also it was hard to adjust to american school
female, white, live in CA right now</p>

<p>freshman year -
1st semester - 3.4 gpa
2nd - 4.0</p>

<p>sophomore year -</p>

<p>1st semester - 4.0 uw, 4.2 w (one ap class)
2nd semester - 4.0 uw, 4.2 w</p>

<p>junior year (horrible) -
1st semester - 3.3 uw, 3.7 w
2nd semester - 3.6 uw, 4.0 w (2 ap classes)</p>

<p>senior year i'm taking 4 ap classes</p>

<p>overall gpa(9-11) uw - 3.67
w - 3.85
overall gpa(10-11) uw- 3.67
w- 4.0
UC Gpa - 4.0</p>

<p>SATs:
SAT I - 630 V, 740 M, 680 W - 2050 total
again english is only my 3rd language, hence the low verbal score)
SAT II -
Bio E - 720
Chem - 680
Math 2 - 620 (will def retake, math is my strong subject, but at the day of the test my calc was weird and i didn't study at all so i wasn't ready at all)</p>

<p>Extracurriculars (very weak!)
- tennis club team all 3 years
40 hours volunteering freshman year
9th grade - pr officer of class of 2010
international club 10-11
all summers in eastern europe - i worked at my dad's office(10-11 grades)
love languages, fluent in 2, know english pretty well, learning 2 others, skipped spanish 4 because i did so well, try to practice with native spekers often
honors roll all 3 years
... can't think of more. I know they are very weak, but it was hard for me since my english isn't that good (considering accent especially), the way of life is totally different etc</p>

<p>I am looking mostly at LACs ( preferrably not crazy liberal), but UCs and bigger privates also. What colleges can you think of can be my matches?</p>

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<p>also I’m a permanent resident so when i am applying to colleges they probably won’t know that i am not american, and that’s not fair since i have not had the same advantages as people who were born here, speak the language well</p>

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<p>anyone?
also, i want cold weather))) so no southern schools por favor</p>

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<p>if you qualify as a CA resident, then definitely take advantage of the UCs :)</p>

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<p>Your UC gpa and other stats could get you into UCI, UCR, UCSB, UCM, etc.</p>

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<p>Are you taking the TOEFL?</p>

<p>What do you want in a school other than it being a LAC?</p>

<p>Look at Middlebury since you’re into languages. Georgetown is good, too, but it’s not a LAC.</p>

7

<p>It’s hard to suggest colleges without knowing if finances are an issue. </p>

<pre><code>Will your family pay full price at any college, or do you need to stick around the price of a UC? If you apply to privates, do you need financial aid or merit aid to attend?
</code></pre>

<p>Other than love of languages and not liking hot weather, is there any other major interest
that guide your college choice?</p>

<pre><code>Your ECs might be on the weak side, but your Eastern European background, and the summers you spent working there, are unique and you should highlight them in your application and in your essays.

UCSC sounds like a good match or safety. Cooler weather, gorgeous coastal scenery. Housing is set up along the lines of 10 or so residential colleges with an academic theme, so it’s not exactly LAC-like but it’s not huge impersonal UC-like either. Definitely suggest a visit.
</code></pre>

<p>Large universities you would have a good shot at include: Univ of Oregon, UColorado-Boulder, Indiana University, UWisconsin-Madison. You might even get merit aid from some of them. </p>

<p>In CA, I’d say you were a match for Occidental, Chapman, U of Pacific, U San Francisco, maybe Santa Clara University (No. CA). In the Pacific Northwest: Willamette, Lewis and Clark, Linfield, Univ of Puget Sound, U of Portland, and others. </p>

<p>Other cold places: University of Denver in CO; Lawrence U in WI, St. Olaf in MI, Quinnipiac in CT, Denison in OH, Valparaiso in IN, Villanova in PA, Smith College (women’s) in MA, Kalamazoo in MI, Drew University in NJ, Skidmore in NY, Bennington or UV in VT.</p>

<p>You can probably pick the reaches on your own, but I’d look at: Middlebury (known for languages), Macalester (very strong international emphasis so your background would be a plus in my opinion, Grinnell (excellent LAC in Iowa, also where I think your background would be a plus), Carleton, (same),Tufts, Vassar, etc., etc. Lots of well-known top colleges are reaches but not out of the question.</p>

<p>Again, though, some admissions decisions are based on ability to pay and whether you seek FA, so keep that in mind.</p>

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<p>yea i would say Carleton, Middlebury, and maybe Whitman or Colorado… but i would say really take an advantage of UC schools because of their cost and education. its a win win situation pretty much.</p>

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<p>no, finances aren’t an issue</p>

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<p>i’m also looking for a college with a traditional campus, probably suburban or even rural, bigger unis are fine as long as they have the traditional “feel” if u know what i mean, i don’t want any colleges in the south , in cali i’m only looking at uc’s</p>

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<p>b
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<p>Jazzymom gave you a bunch of good ones - Denison, St Olaf, Valparaiso, K’zoo. I would also add Earlham, and if you want to go a little north Lewis and Clark in Portland.</p>

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<p>is it really the best i can do? because 3.67 and 2050 sat isn’t THAT low and the schools Jazzymom was talking about are pretty bad</p>

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<p>You should consider the University of Chicago. While it is a medium sized university, the undergrad college is really more like a LAC and it certainly has cold weather. Check it out.</p>

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<p>UChicago is insanely competitive, i would have no chance there.</p>

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<p>

</p>

<p>How are they bad? </p>

<p>Denison, Grinnel, Smith, Skidmore, Lawrence, St. Olaf, Kalamazoo. (And I could add Beloit and Kenyon). These are very, very good, not bad at all, colleges. </p>

<p>You asked in your first post which colleges would be your matches, as in, pretty good shot of admission. Anyone can pick out reaches — go down the list of top-ranked liberal arts colleges in the USNWR edition of Best Colleges and pick the ones in cold-weather states. Easily done. Don’t get me wrong, you should definitely apply to some of those reaches as you do fit the stats profile, just not at the top of their applicant pools. </p>

<pre><code>But there are many terrific colleges in the suggestions above, which you have mistakenly blanket labeled as “bad.”
</code></pre>

<p>I hope you don’t make the mistake of applying only to “reach” colleges because high rank and name recognition are the way you define what is “good.”</p>

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<p>OP, you obviously need to do some research yourself. Jazzymom is absolutely right about those schools, all very good. DD1 attends Denison and loves it (and her grades and SATs were much higher than yours).</p>

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<p>One of my friend’s Ds attends Denison also and loves it. The professors were amazingly helpful last year as she missed some time due to illness. The campus is so pretty, too. Don’t remember my friend’s D’s stats, but she had also been admitted to Berkeley, Bowdoin, Oberlin…She chose Denison for the friendly vibe and the great merit aid.</p>

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<p>Macalester in Minneapolis</p>