<p>Well this is my first post on CC and I just want to comment on how helpful this whole site is. Anyhow, I come here to ask you for your advice. I am (what I think) a pretty well-qualified applicant for top schools. However, realizing that the actual quality of education I recieve at these universities will virtually be the same, I need help in finding the school where I will have the most fun. I want a fun, "drinking" school that will reward my hard work in hs but will also provide me with a solid foundation for the future. If it matters, I'm looking into the field of poli-sci/IR/gov't. Some schools that've been mentioned to me are Yale, Georgetown, Dartmouth, and Duke, but before I do my own research, I'd like to hear what people on this board have to say. My stats can be seen below. </p>
<p>Gender: M
Ethnicity: White
Location: NY
College Class Year: 2012
High School: Public
High School Type: sends some grads to top schools - my specific class is very competitive</p>
<p>Academics:
GPA - Unweighted: 3.99
GPA - Weighted: pretty high, haven't calculated it
Class Rank: ~3-5
Class Size: 500</p>
<p>Scores:
SAT I Math: 690
SAT I Critical Reading: 730
SAT I Writing: 780
Total: 2200 (first time taking) - will retake in October and will definitely score higher.
SAT II Math Level 2 (IIC): 800
SAT II US History: 800</p>
<p>Took (practically) most rigorous courseload available (avoided AP sciences). Taking all AP's senior year.</p>
<p>I've done a sport every season of my HS career - after doing soccer/track/tennis freshman year, I now run track year-round and am a competitive distance runner that's been contacted by colleges ("hook"?). </p>
<p>I've held down a job throughout my hs career, although it is only a part-time weekend job.</p>
<p>I'm president of some school clubs.</p>
<p>I interned last summer with my congressman's campaign.</p>
<p>That's most of the important stuff.... so tell me what you think.</p>
<p>If you improve your Math and CR to mid 700's you have a good shot at most schools, assuming you can make your EC's sound more impressive and you just summarized them quickly for now.</p>
<p>You sound a lot like me in that you want a fun school that also has a great academic reputation...except your stats are a wee bit better. Here is a list of schools I am looking at and some that my friends who are in the same boat are looking at:</p>
<p>UVA (my personal opinion for the best FUN and academic school)...for out of state students like us it is barely below the ivy league. Plus it is awesome socially.
UNC
Georgetown
Vanderbilt
Duke
UT
Dartmouth
Washington and Lee (a bit smaller but from what friends say, a very fun school)
Georgia
Any school in Boston</p>
<p>If "IR" means International Relations, then Georgetown would be excellent as it is in DC.</p>
[/quote]
is a bigger problem than getting a 690 instead of 750 Math. Can you take one AP science senior year? How many science classes have you taken?</p>
<p>yanks, your profile would qualify you for just about any college. (There are no guarantees of course, so don't skip the obvious: add a few less selectives to your list!)</p>
<p>All colleges are fun. Hang out and have fun is what college students do. The point is to find schools that fit you. Size, location, social scene, politics, diversity -- all play in the total personality of a school. Once you start looking (hopefully visiting) you'll get a better idea of what suits you. For example, Georgetown and Dartmouth, while both very good schools, are very different in physical surroundings. </p>
<p>You've been given some good names. I'd also add some of the Big U's like Michigan and North Carolina and some of the LACs like Williams and Amherst.</p>
<p>Definitely contact the coaches and don't forget those safeties! Even though you're well qualified you're coming from a crowded demographic and competition will be fierce.</p>
<p>I took honors science classes freshman, sophomore, and junior yrs - I just hate science and instead filled my schedule with other AP's.</p>
<p>I guess what I'm really looking for is a school that is less "nerdy" - for example, not Columbia. I like Dartmouth and all of its frats, but it's in the middle of nowhere. The small LAC's give off an aura of hippies and lesbians (correct me if I'm wrong...). I also don't think I could go to school in Texas.</p>
<p>Georgetown sounds intriguing, especially the SFS, but I'm worried about the prestige of the school as a whole.</p>
<p>Regardless, thank you for the posts and I'll continue to look around. If anyone can add anything more please feel free to do so.</p>
<p>Dartmouth is rural but its beautiful rural and the local area actually has about 75K people. Also, when there's so much on campus why do you need a city? Dartmouth's weekends make some cities look desolate.</p>