Where Should I Apply?

College Search & Selection
1

Hello!!

I’m a white female junior at a very small independent high school in northern Virginia (graduating class of 10 people). My parents will be paying for my college and I don’t need to worry about costs. I went to public school (lots of course options) until halfway through my freshman year when my mental health issues became too overwhelming and I switched to my current school (very few course options).

So preference wise, I would like to be less than 10 hours driving from home (basically Washington, DC), but I am open to looking further. I definitely want a liberal arts school, and I think I want less than 5000 people. Community is really important to me, and I want to be very involved like I am at my current school. I want a progressive and inclusive community and I want a college/community committed to sustainability. I don’t want too much of a Greek scene, or big sports teams. Since I’m not super social, I want there to be a decent music scene wherever I go, so that I will have some reason to leave my dorm. I listen to mostly indie and alternative music, but I just want to be able to see live music close to campus. I am open to being in a rural, suburban or urban location. I don’t want a huge city, or to be in the middle of no-where. If I’m in a rural area, I want to have at least a nice college town. I want to do research as an undergraduate, and that is very important to me. Since my current school is so small, I have really close and strong relationships with my teachers, and I want to gain relationships like that from college too. I want to be challenged, and I want to be surrounded by motivated students like me. I value kindness, acceptance and diversity, and I want my school to value that.

Interests: Science, music, science communication (think Bill Nye)

Intended Major: Biology, physics, environmental science/studies (definitely hard science)

Course load: Since my school is so small, I haven’t had the option of taking AP or IB or honors (for anything besides science) classes. Please keep in mind that I’ve taken the hardest classes available. Also, our electives change quarterly, so I’m not listing them, but I’ve taken a wide variety. My GPA unweighted is 4.0 and it has been for my entire high school career. My school does not do class rank, but if we did, I would be the valedictorian.
Junior- Spanish, Calculus BC (taken online), Topical English, Honors Physics, Psychology
Senior- Spanish, Differential Equations (taken online), Senior English Seminar, Honors Environmental Science, Cellular Biology
Also, I took Latin I- III in middle school. With my math classes, I finished the classes my school offers in my sophomore year, and I was the first student ever to do that, so I’ve been teaching myself/using online resources since then.

Extracurriculars: Three years of playing soccer, basketball and running for my school, yearbook editor in sophomore and junior year, student representative on school event committee, consistently working on our school vegetable garden for the past two years, organized school wide bra/pad/tampon drive for homeless women, performed in two plays in fall of 2015

Volunteer/Work History: I volunteered 150 hours at a science summer camp for preschoolers during summer of 2014. I worked all summer at the same camp during the summers of 2015 and 2016. In summer/fall of 2016, I volunteered 175 hours with the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History through their teen volunteer program. I was very involved in that, and I attended many additional trainings and master classes. During the 2015-2016 school year, I volunteered about 100 hours with a local retirement home. This school year, I volunteered about 100 hours with an NSF funded resource center for out-of-the-classroom science education. This summer, I am working as a communications intern with NASA. I don’t have an official job during the school year, but I have babysat for the same family at least twice a week for three years now which counts in my book. I also volunteered with the March for Science, the People’s Climate March, World Oceans Day, National Fossil Day, and Earth Day 2016. I’ve volunteered over 500 hours throughout the past four years with Together We Bake, a job training program for women in need of a second chance.

Scores: 1380 on my first SAT, but I’ve taken a second since and I will see my scores soon. I’ve scored 1450 on practice tests.
No ACT score yet, but I scored 33 on my first practice test

So far, I have visited William and Mary, and I am going to apply there. My hesitation about W&M is Williamsburg. It’s a tourist town and there’s no music or culture even passing through. My dad is convinced that I should stop looking because I will end up at William and Mary.

I have a list of schools I am interested in, but I haven’t gone far enough yet to balance the list, and I know these are tough schools to get into. Tell me what you think: if I could actually get in to any of these schools, where I should look (instead?), what I should do to improve my chances, etc.

Clark University, Bard College, Dickinson College, Agnes Scott College (safety), College of William and Mary, Oberlin College, Wesleyan University, Middlebury College, Hamilton College, Amherst College (maybe other five college consortium schools?), Vassar College, Haverford College (any Tri-co schools I think), Longwood University (safety), James Madison University (safety/both my parents went there)

I’m also interested in Grinnell, Macalester and Carleton, but they’re further from home than I would like. If I had any chance at the Claremont Colleges, I’d probably be interested in those too. I told my counselor I was interested in Vanderbilt and she told me I would hate it, so I’m curious what you all think.

Other random stuff: I have family in and around New York City and Atlanta, so it would be cool to be near either of those places.

2

St. Mary’s in Annapolis? Do you want to be that close to home? Annapolis can has plenty tourists but also plenty else to do. Has hard science majors but not sure about research opportunities.

3

Funny you mention that! My dad is a lawyer and he actually sued St Mary’s so that’s probably not a great idea. Thanks anyways!

4

"I want to do research as an undergraduate, and that is very important to me. Since my current school is so small, I have really close and strong relationships with my teachers, and I want to gain relationships like that from college too. I want to be challenged, and I want to be surrounded by motivated students like me. I value kindness, acceptance and diversity, and I want my school to value that.

Interests: Science, music, science communication (think Bill Nye)

Intended Major: Biology, physics, environmental science/studies (definitely hard science)"

Based on what you wrote it sounds like Hamilton would be a great fit; its a wonderfully diverse community of really smart and caring students - they call it a “Hamily” which I know sounds corny, but once you experience it you’ll feel what they mean. Check out their Facebook page as they had a concert on May 6th that depicts the essence of Hamily.

Based on your interest in hard sciences it seems like a great fit as the Taylor Science Center is an amazing facility - they even had Neil deGrasse Tyson as a speaker last year! And to that the Kennedy Center for Theatre and Studio Arts and it seems like a perfect fit.

5

I think you have a good list. In terms of other colleges that might work, Skidmore would be worth considering. Kenyon meets most of your criteria, though you’d need to look into whether small village life on the scale of Gambier would appeal to you – or be open to occasional trips to Columbus.

6

Haverford and Bryn Mawr(if you don’t mind women’s colleges) - close to philly and all that it offers including a cool music scene. Smith in Northampton - a college town but that’s where indy bands go in Western Mass. In/around NYC - Sarah Lawrence, Fordham Lincoln Center campus, NYU.

7

You might want to consider Connecticut College. Strong in the sciences and not to far from NYC. If you are looking at Clark, you should also check out College of the Holy Cross in the same town. Very strong in Bio and Chem, with a new science center and the school does a great job of building community.

8

I would strongly suggest you give Macalester a good look and visit, if possible. I think it hits all the right notes for you, especially in terms of “vibe” and location. Holy Cross is another possibility, really good for sciences/undergrad research opportunities, but the vibe will be moderate Northeast, more sporty, with a touch of competitiveness, though overall is a very supportive community (I went there). Worcester is a rapidly evolving small/mid size city, and there are indie opportunities out there if you seek them out. In St. Paul, they will be at your doorstep. Just not sure of the science program at Macalester.

9

Some safeties based on what you would like are Earlham, Beloit and College of Wooster. For a good music scene, you might want to research schools in Austin, the Pacific Northwest, Memphis, Nashville and Athens, GA. If you like small, Hampshire College and Bennington College might have the vibe you want. GL

10

Thanks so much everyone! Hamilton sounds great, and I’m seriously considering it. I’m considering Skidmore as a safety. I’m interested in Bryn Mawr, Haverford seemed cool, but after reading about people’s campus visits, it seems too uptight/pretentious. I’m interested in Smith, Connecticut College, Earldom, and Wooster. College of the Holy Cross seems too religious for me, even knowing it is very progressive for a Catholic school.

11

I would caution you not to count on Skidmore as a safety. It’s become much more selective in recent years, with a reported 22% admission rate this past cycle. I certainly think you’d be accepted if you applied ED, but be wary of counting on it for RD, especially if you don’t show any interest.

12

Wrt Hamilton:The college is located in very rural area. There is no local music scene or ‘culture even passing through’.

Agree. For a small town, the music scene is outstanding. UMass Amherst also has a number of great bands and events throughout the year.
Northampton is listed in https://www.thrillist.com/travel/nation/best-small-towns-in-americ

Bates is a fabulous college and it’s not too far from Portland, which has become a very happening city.

Ditto.

13

Re Hamilton

Their concert series has been varied and interesting:
https://my.hamilton.edu/news/story/hamilton-college-performing-arts-presents-2016-17-season

They are the only LAC I know of that offers hourly transportation to a nearby suburban area:
https://www.hamilton.edu/campuslife/transportation/the-jitney

And, though Hamilton’s location places it adjacent to beautiful rural areas, the school’s proximity to a small city (Utica, population 62,000) leads to an overall suburban classification:
http://www.newsweek.com/25-most-desirable-suburban-schools-71867

14

MODERATOR’S NOTE:
Unless I missed something, the OP did not ask which scores superscore ACT, how to analyze CDS, and other off topic posts with corresponding debate. 10 posts deleted.

15

Of note:
http://www.movoto.com/guide/ny/most-dangerous-places-in-new-york/

16

Well thank goodness that the suburb of New Hartford is in between Hamilton College in the sleepy village of Clinton and the city of Utica - I don’t recall any muggings at the Panera Bread in New Hartford so all good!

BTW, the Utica Coffee Company has a pretty potent brew, so that may be a side effect…

17

I hadn’t researched Skidmore much on my own, but I see that it is very selective! One of my teachers suggested it as a safety. UMass Amherst is too big for me, but I’m interested in some of the other Five College Consortium schools, so I would still be close. I will research Bates, I know my parents love Portland Maine. About Hamilton, I’ve been using Songkick to get a sense of what types of bands come, and how often https://www.songkick.com/venues/31877-hamilton-college/gigography. There are definitely shows I am interested happening there. I understand that Utica might be dangerous, but from the Campus Vibe accounts, people say the campus seems safe. Thanks again, this is so helpful.

18

Bates is in a great location as Portland is only 40 minutes away and the vibe there is very cool. That said, I don’t think the actual campus is quite as safe as Hamilton as it is directly adjacent to Lewiston.

Hamilton is surrounded by the village of Clinton, horse farms and farm fields so it’s very safe. Hamilton students will tell you that they leave everything unlocked, backpacks/computers on the table in the library unattended, and never lock-up a bike. And given that Utica is quite a distance away, it is far safer than say Wesleyan which tells students to walk in groups given it is directly adjacent to Middletown.

That said, both are great choices if you have them.

19

@koenig, and if you happen to visit Hamilton, tell your parents to take the next exit after Utica as you’ll go through farms fields and the suburb of New Hartford, and avoid Utica completely.

20

@koenig, you may find this helpful - http://www.bestcolleges.com/resources/where-women-study-stem/

One of my DD’s is starting at Hamilton this Fall as a neuroscience / math major and I know she felt it was useful; her identical twin will there as well as a political science / international relations major. Math is huge there, comprising 10% of the students, as is physics as they had a fairly recent Apker Award winner.