This is my junior year, and I am just starting to look and various colleges, and I’m not sure exactly which colleges would suit me. My biggest problem with it is that I can picture myself at almost any college, whether it’s small or large, in a city or suburb, etc. However, I’m leaning towards wanting to go to a bigger university and would really appreciate any suggestions about colleges to look into.
I’m from Illinois, but very willing to go to an out of state college. My family probably won’t be able to spend more than $45k/year on tuition or so.
My grades are pretty good, I have a 4.15 weighted and 3.6 unweighted GPA, and I take mostly honors and AP classes.
During this summer and next year I want to start to visiting colleges, so by then I’d like to at least have some idea of where I’d like to visit and eventually apply to.
What do you think of UIUC?
I like UIUC, and as of right now that’s the only college that I’m pretty confident I’m going to apply to. I feel like it’d be a good match for me, but I also want to look at other colleges.
Well, if you want to go to a bigger university, UIUC is an easy place to start - affordable, large, an excellent school, and you’re looking good for admissions. UIC is also a good choice if you want a more urban experience.
Other than that, there are a tremendous range of schools that you can look into within your scant parameters. I can appreciate not knowing or caring about things like city or suburb, small or large, etc., because lots of students would thrive at lots of different kinds of places. However, you might start your list by starting to daydream about college a little. When you close your eyes and imagine what ideal college life looks like for you, what does that look like?
Small, intimate classes with deep discussions into texts and assignments that involve more papers and projects than multiple choice tests? (While small colleges all feature these, there are a lot of medium-sized universities and honors colleges at large universities that provide this atmosphere, and upper-level classes at most schools will too.)
A university with hundreds of student organizations and lots of stuff to get involved in on campus? (Medium-sized to large universities/colleges are more likely to have this.)
Strong Greek life with a well-supported and fun system? (Colleges of many sizes have this, but certain schools have stronger scenes than others).
A university where people party on campus on the weekends and most of the fun is found in the dorms? (Colleges in small towns or suburban areas are more likely to have this kind of atmosphere.) Or where you all go off and explore the city around you together? (Colleges in urban areas are more likely to have this.)
Start out by sketching out some preferences. It’s far easier to name and narrow a list of schools that way. Otherwise, we can suggest a bunch of names, but it’ll be difficult to do so without basically suggesting randomly.
In addition, you may want to take at least a practice SAT or ACT to see where your test scores fall. The options you will have if you have a 4.1 + a 1400 on the SAT will be very different than the options you’d have with a 4.1 and a 1200 on the SAT.
Thanks for replying!
I’d prefer less intimate classes, and a school with more organizations. I don’t care very much about Greek life, but I guess I’d prefer a college with it. Partying in dorms vs the city is something I still can’t make a decision on. I really don’t like very small/rural towns in general though, so I’d probably prefer a city or large town/suburb.
I also forgot to mention it, but I’ve taken the PSAT and got a 1330, and I’m expecting to get a higher score than that when I take the actual SAT this year.
If you don’t mind me asking, what’s your family’s income? If we have a better idea of that, then you may have a lot more options (need based colleges). I know this may be out of the price range, but I’d definitely look at NYU if you’re into that sort of school. Any UC or schools like UMich are not going to give you like any aid.
I don’t know my family’s income, but I will probably need financial aid.
@katemw12 I’d look at Washington and Lee. If you score a 1400+ you could have a good chance of getting in and they award 51% of students. It’s not in the city, but it’s a beautiful campus. They are need-based, so I would ask your parents about your financial situation. Most schools have a net price calculator you can run it through too.
Indiana University (Bloomington) and U of Minnesota (Twin Cities) sound good for you. Cheaper tuition because they’re both public but they both have strong national reputations. You also can stay in the midwest and you’re somewhat close to home if you wanna be. I hear that UIUC has gotten really tough especially for in-state students.
^I wouldn’t think “Washington and Lee” based on what the OP described (it’s the optimal college for a young conservative who wants a non-evangelical college, small classes in a rural setting, and academic excellence with an influential Greek life. However the OP wants a medium to large university in an urban/college town setting and is indeifferent to Greek life.)
UIUC: CS and Engineering are tremendously selective and should be considered reaches for all. Other majors are good matches for you.
Do you have an idea of what you’d like to study?
Run the NPC on UIUC,Loyola Chicago, Northwestern, Bradley, Butler, UIowa, UWisconsin Madison, Marquette, Valparaiso, Macalester, UMN-Twin Cities, St Olaf, UDayton, Miami-Ohio. Those represent a good cross-section of financial aid policies and all meet a couple of your criteria (although not necessarily all of them.) You’ll quickly see that your net cost varies considerably depending on the university. Bring each result to your parents and start talking about what they can afford from income and savings (not from loans).
Thanks! I think that I’m going to major in education most likely.
^For education, it’s best to choose a college located in the State where you want to teach (or at least where you’d want to have your first few years teaching before changing states).
UIUC is a good choice for education and, based on what you shared, a good match. It’s good if you wish to teach in IL after college.
Depending on your family’s income, though, there may be more economical choices because 1°Illinois universities are very expensive and 2° there’s very little state aid, which makes it one of the most expensive states for instate students at their public universities, not to mention the bankruptcy has impacted departments and university budget.
So,UIUC cannot be your be-all/end-all.
I definitely think that UIUC will be my top choice unless my family can’t afford it. But I also might want to live and teach in a state with a warmer climate during/after college. Are there any colleges in Florida, California, or other warmer states that would be matches for me?
In California, you’re limited to private universities since public universities don’t have any financial aid for OOS applicants.
Run the NPC on Scripps, Pitzer, Occidental, Chapman, LMU-LA.
Warm states include AZ (ASU barrett, UA Honors), NM (UMN Honors), although neither is especially good for K12. TX can be worth a look - Trinity University, Texas State, and of course UT could be under consideration, but UT is unlikely to offer scholarships.
FSU may have merit scholarships. Run the NPC also on Eckerd, Rollins, USF.
Don’t forget SC (USC Honors and College of Charleston Honors are excellent), NC (NCSU, Elon, Davidson), Virginia (good educational system, which is important for a future teacher, and lots of good universities), GA (Agnes Scott, GTech, Emory, UGA). UAlabama has a lot of merit money and a good Honors college. UKentucky is building an excellent Honors College too.
While not warm, neither Oregon nor Washington state are cold, so you could look into WWU Honors, Gonzaga, Whitman, Lewis&Clark, UPuget Sound, UOregon Honors.
RUN THE NPC on all of these.
(First, have the discussion about the earlier NPC results as outlined before - these universities will all present stark differences, so your parents will be able to say “that’s ok”, “that’s good”, “that would require stretching” “this we can’t afford without taking on loans”.)
The OP has stated that she prefers less intimate classes, prefers a school with lots of organizations, and is neutral about Greek life but would like it if a school has it. So why am I seeing so many recommendations for LACs? The OP clearly is looking for a mid-sized, maybe even largish university. I could be wrong, though.
Listen, I’m an LAC grad and am a strong supporter of them (and I will strongly encourage my children to attend cozy LACs, not large universities). But the OP is receiving a lot of recommendations that don’t seem to entirely match her preferences. Yes, it’s fun to start listing dozens of schools, and yes, for some families an LAC might be as affordable or even cheaper than the public flagship, but OP are you open to very small schools, like under 2,000 students? Do you want to join the honors program of an out-of-state public university that will be very expensive because, well, you’ll be out of state?!
OP, since you hope to “major in education most likely,” the good news is that most universities will suffice. UIUC is a terrific choice, as it has a strong education department and faculty. Next, though it might not be a sexy or prestigious pick, I would seriously consider Illinois State University for three reasons.
-
ISU was originally a teacher’s college and education remains, arguably, its strongest department.
-
ISU is cheaper that UIUC.
-
Bloomington/Normal might be one of the nicest college towns that no one knows about (at least no one on this board (I am originally from IL but now live in FL)). Bloomington-Normal is home to two four-year schools: ISU and Illinois Wesleyan. It also perfectly matches your preferences: large but not too large, not necessarily urban but not at all rural, Greek life that doesn’t overwhelm. Bloomington-Normal feels like a big chunk of the Chicago suburbs that exists in downstate IL (but with more of that downstate charm, of course).
You can always teach in a warmer state after college. True, you must be certified by state, and one typically begins with certification in her home state, but it is not difficult to go through the process to get certification transferred/converted (not sure what the right word is here) to another state. Teachers do it all the time.
Best of luck!
Thank you! You’re right, I’m looking for a university that’s at the very least mid sized. I would hate to go to a college that’s anywhere near the size of my high school (4000 students) or smaller, or anything very expensive.
The financial piece will often help guide your search, I would discuss with your parents so that you can run the NPC’s… Best of luck!
Cut all the schools below 4,000 from the list upthread and run the NPC’s on every college remaining 
I’d suggest Michigan State for you tbh.
A very large student body and campus (50,000+ students, 40+ minutes to walk from one end to the other), located in East Lansing, MI (a college town).
Close to LAN (Lansing airport).
Most classes range from small (25ish students) to large (200+ students) depending on what the class is.
Globally ranked education program (#10, elementary and secondary education are ranked #1 in the US).
700+ clubs and organizations.
Parties can range from dorms to houses.
With your GPA, you’d get into the honors college too.
(side note: a small class is under 20 students. Medium is 20 to 30 and 30 to 40, and 40+ is large, with various groups of large: 40-100, 100+, 300+). Basically, small = discussion, medium= some discussion, 40+= all lecture with separate section for discussion.)