What schools should I look at?

College Search & Selection
1

I’m an incoming high school senior, and I want to make sure that I have not missed any colleges that would be great fits for me. I live in Ohio, so I’ve mostly considered schools in Ohio and Indiana, but I am open to looking at schools anywhere. Here’s what I want in a good college:

  • a medium to small sized school (from 2,000 to 15,000 undergrads - 8,000 would be about the perfect size)
  • somewhere that isn't 99% liberal and 1% conservative. I'd prefer to go somewhere with a nice balance of political views, but I know lots of colleges have liberal slants (99% conservative is also not good either).
  • a school that doesn't let just anybody in but also lets in more than just the top 10% (somewher I can be challenged without drowning in homework for 7 hours every night. I don't want to risk faling behind simply because I can't understand something.)
  • somewhere I can easily double major or have a major with one or two minors (obviously this will significantly increase my workload, so I'm not expecting college to be easy by any means)
  • liberal arts school
  • NOT a major party school (I'm social and love people, but I might not like my roomates very much if they - and everybody else - get drunk every Friday and Saturday night)
  • extra points if the schools is Christian or Catholic (Jesuit counts)
  • private/public doesn't matter; neither does the cost for now but...
  • extra points if I'm likely to get scholarships there
  • triple extra points for a college with lots of study abroad or internship opportunities

As long as I keep working hard for my last year of high school, I will likely graduate as the valedictorian out of 170 kids in my grade. I have a 33 ACT and a 1470 SAT. I’m not a great science student, so I will not be taking any science classes next year, but I will have AP Lit, AP European History, and AP Calculus in my schedule (I’ve also done AP Spanish and a couple of others). As far as extracurriculars are concerned, I will be one of two co-presidents of my school’s spirit club, I;m in NHS and Spanish National Honor Society, I’m a member of the service club and the respect life club, and I’ve done competitive gymnastics through the YMCA since somewhere between 2nd and 5th grade.

I’d like to do an English major with a concentration in writing (more focus on speech/journalism than poetry/creative writing), and I’d like to pair that with anything from political science and history to education, sociology, graphic design, journalism, and especially public relations. So far my top pick would be Xavier University in Ohio due to the writing major they will soon be introducing and their strong PR program. Sorry this is so much information, I just want to know if someone can think of a college that would be a great choice for me. I really want to make sure I’m not being short-sighted by only looking close to home. Thanks so much to whoever has any ideas for me.

One last thing… if the college has a quidditch team I could join: ten times the extra points! “Mischief Managed” :stuck_out_tongue_winking_eye:

2

First school that comes to mind is Dickinson in PA, they have a very solid study abroad program and your stats fall in the top 25% so merit aid is likely.

How do you feel about women’s colleges? greek life? rural or urban? west or east coast? mountains or sea?

3

Thanks for the suggestion! I’ve only ever heard of Dickinson once, and I never looked into it, so now I know I should.
Anyways, I’d prefer to go to a coed college versus one just for women, and I don’t really plan on being a part of Greek life. I don’t think that the rural vs urban thing matters that much to me, but I don’t want to be somewhere in the middle of nowhere where a good/interesting/useful internship would be unlikely. For example, I visited Ohio Northern University, and I didn’t like that it seemed isolated from everything. The west coast is farther than the east coast, but I don’t really care about that, and I love both the mountains and the sea.

4

I believe Vassar has Quidditch but it is a pretty liberal environment. It is a reach for everyone but your stats put you in the running. It is in NY and not too far from NYC via train.

5

JesuIt schools that meet a lot of your criteria would be
Boston College
College of the Holy Cross

6

I thought of Villanova - not sure how much of a party school they are; they do have major sports. There’s also Marquette, DePaul University, Duquesne University, Xavier University (in Ohio), Creighton University, and Loyola Chicago. Santa Clara University, Gonzaga University, Loyola Marymount University, and Seattle University are a little further afield, as are St. John’s University (in Queens, NY), Fordham (in the Bronx), and the Catholic University of America (in DC). And of course there’s Georgetown if you want a nice reach. Also Boston College, as someone said above.

Some good non-Catholic Christian colleges are Baylor (might be a bit more of the party atmosphere there), Azusa Pacific University, and Biola University (that one is more conservative). Texas Christian University is affiliated with but not governed by a Christian denomination.