Which College Seems Right For Me?

College Search & Selection
1

<p>Hey guys! I've been thinking about college for a while now. I've composed a list of the ones that interest me. </p>

<p>In no particular order, they include:</p>

<p>Brown University
University of Southern California
Claremont McKenna College
Pomona College
University of Chicago
Barnard College
Bryn Mawr College
Georgetown University
Tufts University
Middlebury College</p>

<p>I'm from a small town in Missouri. I will be a junior this fall. This year, I'm taking the hardest classes that my school offers to juniors. My main activities are: Varsity debate, Contest/Marching band, and 4-H. My UW GPA is 3.9. My W is 4.4. I'm hoping for at least a 30 on the ACT. </p>

<p>Student body size doesn't really matter to me, as long as I don't feel like I'm just a number. I definitely don't want to go to a party school. I would prefer if the campus was very beautiful. I especially like the Spanish-y/Western architecture. The weather doesn't matter to me. I would like the university to be fairly wealthy and offer great financial aid. iI would like the university to have awesome programs in International Relations and Middle Eastern Studies. I would also like the option to study abroad. I would like the dorms to be pretty nice, but they don't have to be perfect. I would also like the campus to be in or near a big city. It would also make me happy to know that the school provides excellent public transportation. </p>

<p>This is just my wish list. Hopefully there's at least one college that meets my criteria. Opinions would be great. Thanks!</p>

2

<p>You say you would like a school with good FA. Do you know your EFC? You may be surprised at what your family is expected to pay. FA may not help you.</p>

3

<p>Middlebury seems to fit your criteria very well (except not in or near a big city). International studies is a very popular major and the campus is beautiful (though not spanish-y!) You need a 1400 (math +CR), though, which I think is more like a 31 or 32 on the ACT. So you have to see how your score comes out. Colby is similar but a little easier to get into, so you might want to consider it. Think where you might be able to apply early action (Chicago?) to get a sense of how you will do. For small colleges with good financial aid I often see Grinnell mentioned. And Macalaster is often mentioned for international studies (in a city too!) Think carefully about the in or near a city thing, though, because you may find that students near cities (i.e. Bowdoin, Bryn Mawr) don’t go into the city that much anyway so you will have eliminated some great schools just to be able to go into the city twice a month instead of once every two months.</p>

4

<p>Erin’s Dad: I think our EFC is probably around $10,000 a year. It’s just an estimate and it’ll probably change.</p>

5

<p>Hitch123: I’ll look into Colby. I’m planning on applying EA to UChicago. I took the ACT a few months and I wasn’t pleased with my scores, so I’m going to re-take it. I’m thinking about taking the SAT too.</p>

<p>I’m considering all my options. I don’t think I’ll much free time during college anyway! :-)</p>