<p>Dealbreakers from my 18yo son:</p>
<ol>
<li>Too far from home</li>
<li>Doesn’t have major</li>
<li>In a city</li>
<li>It’s a place where women don’t shave their armpits</li>
</ol>
<ul>
<li>25-75% range SAT/ACT scores starting below about 700</li>
<li>More than about 10,000 students or fewer than about 2,000</li>
<li>Not on the East Coast or Chicago, if in America</li>
<li>In New York City</li>
<li>All girls</li>
<li>HBCU</li>
<li>Rural, with no easy to commute to interesting places</li>
<li>Doesn’t have or is poorly ranked in my major</li>
<li>Lacking a crew team - made an exception for UChicago</li>
<li>Application essays are too boring (Princeton, even though their campus is ridiculously gorgeous)</li>
</ul>
<p>State school.</p>
<p>In aswer to the question about why people don’t like rural colleges- personally, I’ve grown up my whole life in/near NYC, so I’m spoiled :). I currently live in an NYC suburb and go to high school in NYC- my hometown bores me to tears and NYC totally FASCINATES me- so many different opportunities, so many differnt types of things to do… I’ve been in rural places for extended periods and just cannot picture myself living in one for four years. No, not even in exchange for one of those fancy schools. Maybe I’m stupid, but it’s as good a reason as saying i’m not going because I don’t like that their mascot is a hippo.
As far as girls schools go, maybe I’m just more open to it as I go to an all-girls high school, and 99.999999% of my friends are girls (I don’t have time to have any friends outside of school…). It would be interesting to do a study to see how many girls at girls colleges are from girls high schools.</p>
<p>^ So you don’t think it is time you got to know peers from the other half of the human race? You frighten me.</p>
<p>I go to an all-girls school and while I love it there, I have nooo intention of going to an all-girls college lol. </p>
<p>I would cross off a college with:
- low graduation rate
- less international student ratio
- no diversity
- more than 15,000, less than 5,000
- rural area
- ugly campus
- lack of interesting classes
- party schools</p>
<ol>
<li>Not co-ed</li>
<li>Most common major is Sports Management</li>
<li>Located in the South, or more than 5-6 hrs away from where I live (Rochester NY), or somewhere with no winter</li>
<li>Great Books or similar academic program, i.e. no majors or concentrations</li>
</ol>
<h1>5 would be “doesn’t have a completely open curriculum (give or take a few distribution requirements)” but there are very few schools like that which fit the other 4 requirements…</h1>
<p>"^ So you don’t think it is time you got to know peers from the other half of the human race? You frighten me." LOLOLOL agreed.</p>
<p>I wouldn’t mind being in a rural location. I’ve grown up in a city with about a million people and I think college is a time to explore new things. Most college kids in big cities don’t even get a chance to explore the city that much. I want a very tight knit community and often times that goes hand in hand with a school in a rural location.</p>
<p>Things that would make me cross them off-</p>
<ol>
<li>High Cost</li>
<li>Bad Location (can’t wait to go back up North to the snow!)</li>
<li>Size (not too small, not too big)</li>
<li>“Elite schools”</li>
<li>Bad Music program (not as a major, but for fun)</li>
<li>Non-availability of major (low only because pretty much every college has my desired majors)</li>
</ol>
<p>LOL 
Actually, no- I just think that that’s why the idea of an all-girls college doesn’t frighten me as much as it seems to frighten other people who went to coed high schools. I am very, very used to the idea of having mostly girls as school friends, etc.
An all-girls college is only ONE of the schools on my list- one of my favorites is actually about as far from that as you can get: the honors college at my state (or rather city) school. Don’t knock state schools til you try 'em.</p>
<p>Net cost has to be affordable, of course. $60K-$30K merit aid is the same as $30K with no aid.</p>
<ol>
<li>High cost</li>
<li>Single-sex college (went to an all-girl’s high school…)</li>
<li>Homogeneous student body</li>
<li>Humanities-focused (I’m more into STEM)</li>
<li>Located in a rural setting</li>
<li>Size. Can’t be too small.</li>
</ol>
<p>Cost
Lack of financial aid
Lack of diversity
Greek life (I have nothing against it, but I don’t want to go to a school where everything is centered around greek life and non-greeks are looked down upon. I hate those kinds of schools)
All-Womens schools
Weather (Iffy on this one… If I was going to Harvard or Brown, I wouldn’t mind those bitter New England winters one bit. But if I was going to a regular state school, probably not.)</p>
<p>Rural location
Too close to home (hence why I knew I’d never be happy at the school in my backyard, unfortunately)
Weak sciences program
No opportunity for research/career exposure
No way to get off campus (be it public transit or walk/bike)
Need a car/parking is impossible
Conservative/cliquey/homogeneous student body
Area where nobody has ever heard of the words “ice hockey”</p>
<p>Deal-breakers
- lack of diversity
- not in or easy access to a city
- poor financial aid/high net cost
- inflexible curriculum that wouldn’t allow for study abroad opportunities
- uninteresting student body and uninteresting social opportunities
- not challenging enough
- school not on or near the east cost (As much as I would love to go to Berkley, the transportation costs would be way to much)</p>
<p>Dislike, but not deal breakers
- LAC
- too much of a focus on Greek life
- single sex college/ skewed women to men ratio (While I tend to make friends with guys and I would feel more comfortable on a co-ed campus, I would not totally cross-off a college for this reason alone. I didn’t find any women’s colleges I liked though)</p>
<p>Any college that advertises on a bus…</p>
<p>Poor reputation
Insane Cost (Unless the school is amazing; ie, worth it)
Location (For the most part; unless it is a great school)</p>
<p>Big selection of majors, high job rate after graduation, distance from home, cost</p>
<br>
<br>
<p>Your list must not have been very long. Even some of the Ivies, I think, have mid-quartile ranges starting around 670-690.</p>
<p>A school is completely crossed of my list if it has a big religious affiliation. Just not for me.<br>
I particularly look at the actual department I want to study in. The faculty’s background, interests, and that sort of thing.</p>
<p>A few people brought up the gender proportions, and I would agree that I see that as somewhat important. I’d prefer about a 50/50 percent distribution of male/female.</p>
<p>As well as the ethnic/racial demographics. Not a racist or anything like that, but I’d like to attend a school where I could have a mix of different people and not one overly dominating minority. If the distribution is fairly even I wouldn’t mind. But a historically black school? Sorry, couldn’t do it. I’m historically white since I’ve been white for 20 years, so I’d rather not attempt a race change.</p>
<p>I also prefer smaller schools. The big sports and party school thing doesn’t appeal to me, and I really don’t get it.</p>