<p>I'm a rising junior, and was recommended to start doing some college visits this summer. Problem is, I don't know where to look. Any suggestions?</p>
<ul>
<li>No SAT, SAT Bio 740, Sophomore PSAT 204, </li>
<li>Waiting for SAT Chem</li>
<li><p>I'm confident my SAT score will go up a lot</p></li>
<li><p>Want a big city</p></li>
<li><p>Science oriented, not sure on specifics</p></li>
<li><p>East coast, preferably north, pennsylvania too</p></li>
<li><p>Ivies and other top schools</p></li>
<li><p>Not sure about school size yet. I'm not sure how to tell whether I want a large or small school.</p></li>
<li><p>No all-female schools unless there's a very strong reason for a specific one. </p></li>
<li><p>Columbia: Love the location, curriculum</p></li>
<li><p>Princeton: Like the programs, requirements, don't like location (too suburban)</p></li>
</ul>
<p>I live in the vicinity of NYC. Are there any schools around there you would recommend?
I'll probably do a proper visit of Columbia. I was thinking of visiting NYU, even though I want a school with an actual campus, and Sarah Lawrence, which I think is too small, just to see what colleges are like. I've properly visited Princeton, and don't think I like the college or would apply there. But that's in a while, so we'll see.</p>
<p>Are you actually in NY State? Many of the SUNYs qualify (Stony Brook among them for sciences). What can your family afford? What is your GPA/class rank?</p>
<ul>
<li>Interested in Private schools</li>
<li>Unsure if finances are an issue - probably not. Although my parents have not discussed this with me, they know the price of my cousin’s ivy league education, so it would not be unexpected.</li>
<li>My GPA is equivalent to a 4.0. School doesn’t rank, about 150 students, definetly top 10%</li>
</ul></li>
</ul>
<p>What about a little trip up the Hudson - Bard, Vassar, Marist, get some air, take a hike in the Catskills? Not in the big city, but close enough so that you can get there easily.</p>
<p>For the more urban atmosphere, Boston is known as a major college town. LOTS of places there, of course. Since you are still trying to feel out the scene, good to combine trips with having some local fun.</p>
<p>not to plug this site or anything but have you tried using their College Search - not this forum but the one on the Main CC Site - to try to find schools that match your personal criteria? College Board has a similar search program.</p>
<p>OK, so I just did the CC College Search, and these are the colleges I got that I like:</p>
<p>Yale, Harvard, MIT, Columbia, Tufts, UPenn, Swarthmore, Brown, Georgetown, Johns Hopkins, Cornell, Haverford, Wesleyan, Vassar, Brandeis, Boston College, Cooper Union.</p>
<p>I could do a preliminary tour of these colleges this summer. Any particular suggestions?
Also, I’ve heard that Vassar has a somewhat stuck-up reputation. Is this true?</p>
<p>Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute? If you are willing to look at other regions of the country, you can greatly broaden your options. Also, I think the other posters are trying to say that there are numerous lesser known colleges out there that can offer just as great of an education.</p>
<p>I doubt the students at Vassar are any more “stuck up” than the students at the schools you listed. Most of the students come from the same population.</p>
<p>I think some of the focus at this point should be figuring out where you might be happy other than Harvard and Yale in case you don’t end up with the magic combination of scores and qualifications they seem to want. So I would wait on those. Size is very important to get a feel for, so don’t visit all universities----make sure that a small school is in the mix. (i.e. Penn, Swarthmore, Haverford) Note that Swarthmore and Haverford are pretty suburban. Many people say that summer isn’t the best time to visit, so I wouldn’t worry about seeing 6 or 8 schools at this point. Just start to figure out what your criteria are. And look at your vacations in the fall—Columbus Day (although note that some colleges have mid-semester break); Jewish holidays if your school is closed for those because most colleges aren’t—to see if you can visit when classes are in session.</p>
<p>I love scansmom’s suggestion too. I tried the CC search program after I already applied to college, and after plugging in my interests and school criteria, the first colleges that came up in the “match” were actually the exact same ones I applied to. The collegeboard one is great too.</p>
<p>Penn is a small school? What are the usual parameters for large vs. small schools? I always thought Penn was on the bigger side. What would Columbia, Princeton, Johns Hopkins, American University be considered?</p>
<p>The colleges I listed were the first 20 or so that came up on the search that weren’t too suburban. I do have a Jewish holiday off in the fall right after school starts, so we could visit then. </p>
<p>It’s fine if the college is not completely east coast, but not California. Let’s say around 3 hours drive maximum from New York City. </p>
<p>Thank you for the suggestions! I just wanted to get some clues regarding where to look.</p>
<p>Ah, that does look like a pretty spectacular list you have yourself there… glamorous, glitzy, and exciting. Of course it’s fun to dream big, but you really should consider additional “match” schools where you will also be happy - please correct me if I am wrong, but you sound as though schools’ reputations matter a lot to you. Trust me, I used to feel the same way, but I would really encourage you to try to find schools that match your list of preferences, not a list of preferences that match a “select” group of schools that you didn’t come to like on your own.</p>
but have you tried using their College Search - not this forum but the one on the Main CC Site - to try to find schools that match your personal criteria? College Board has a similar search program.</p>