Which Ivy should I apply to?

<p>OK, I know this probably sounds like an impossible question but... I figure I might as well give the Ivies a shot but I don't want know which one to apply to, so...
-I'm a Christian, so the more accepting people are of that the better. I guess in practice this would mean the more conservative the better.
-Not really into the frat/sorority scene
-Not a partier
-Love the arts- play piano and love theater(probable minor)
-Very middle class
-Value relationships with professors
-Would probably major in English or Psychology (maybe go into journalism, counseling, or advertising)
GPA is 3.9 and SAT is 2320. I will have 4 years of all core classes except science, including some college classes.</p>

<p>Your best bet is Columbia for Ivy.</p>

<p>Why would you say that?</p>

<p>I was actually going to suggest Brown. Granted, I’m a little biased, but it’s the school I know the best, and it seems to fit most of your criteria. </p>

<ul>
<li>accepting/Christian/Conservative: Although “Christian” and “conservatives” are definitely not the first words that come to mind when I think Brown, accepting definitely is. For me personally, there has been no other place in the world where I have felt more accepted for who I am. On that note, I find that most people’s beliefs, even if in the minority, are very well tolerated. I know MANY Christian students, many who are part of the several Christian organizations on campus and many who attend church/bible study regularly. Although Brown is typically seen as a liberal bastion, there are a good amount of conservatives I’ve met. They may not all be part of the Brown Republicans or any other conservative group, but it’s nice to have a legitimate student with different opinions in casual discussions.</li>
</ul>

<p>-No to Greek: Brown has only about 10% of its student body a part of Greek life. I myself have only went to the parties of one “frat,” a literary frat, and it wasn’t anything like what media and pop culture made it out to be. There are many more students just like me who haven’t really interacted much with the Greek system.</p>

<ul>
<li><p>No to Parties: This one’s a bit more tricky. At college, there will be parties, and most college kids will want to party to blow off some steam. But when you say “party,” do you mean those ridiculously crowded houses with everyone holing a red cup dancing to loud music in a lewd manner with beer pong in the basement and pot in the backyard? Well, not all parties are like those. I prefer smaller ones with close friends, a drink and good conversation in hand, maybe a low-key drinking game, and just chilling out. There’s all type of social scenes at Brown, and you could find anything from procrastinating on a paper on a Friday night in the library study room with friends to the dance parties. There are also club events/performances, speakers, and other forms of good ol’ clean fun on campus, and in Providence (but more money is usually required for these type of things).</p></li>
<li><p>Love of Arts: Brown, to me, comes off as a much artsier school that the normal state school vibe. I’ve seen the orchestra and band perform, as well as almost all the a capella groups we have on campus. I’ve also probably gone to see at least 6 or so plays my first year. This is a coming from a kid who has no spectacular artistic talents himself. In terms of a theater minor, well, Brown doesn’t have minors. But I do have several friends who are double concentrating (aka double majoring) in Theater Arts, and they seem to do so quite seemlessly (many Brown students actually double concentrate because of the lack of a core that restricts us). As for the piano, I have had another friend who was actually locked in one of the music buildings on campus for playing into the night. :)</p></li>
<li><p>Middle Class: I would actually say the majority of students at every Ivy League are middle class.</p></li>
<li><p>Professor Relationships: Brown prides itself on having professors available to its undergrad population. Since we don’t really have as strong of a grad school as most of the other Ivies, most professors attentions falls on us. Also, the only classes that actual professors won’t be teaching are intro level math and language classes and TA sections (which are in addition to the professor-taught lecture). All professors, or at least the ones I’ve had, also have open office hours for students to drop by and are very accessible by e-mail. Ask most Brown students, and they’ll probably have a story about having an atypically close relationship with a professor- many walk with professors after class or grab a meal with one.</p></li>
<li><p>Concentrations (aka Majors): English is probably just as good as anywhere here. English is typically one of the most popular majors at most universities, and as long as the university as a whole is good (which all Ives are) and the department is big enough, the student will be fine. In terms of psych though, I’ve heard that our psych department isn’t as strong as it’s peers’, but then again it’s Brown. Even if you go “wrong,” it’ll probably be better than what you get at most places. :)</p></li>
<li><p>Stats: You might want to do a full chances thread, but from just what you’ve given us, I would say that you would be a competitive applicant at Brown, given that your EC, recommendations, essays, etc. are just as outstanding as your other numbers.</p></li>
</ul>

<p>Columbia: low frat scene, low party scene (high bar scene, though), has a lot of celebrities/in NYC, a lot of middle class go there, very strong English and decent Psychology department. A bit on the Obama-liberal side, but a lot of people there are Christians.
Actually, now that I think about it, Yale might make a good choice too.</p>

<p>Bleeding-heart liberals are intolerant of other peoples’ beliefs and values. You’ll find plenty of them at Columbia.</p>

<p>You would feel welcome at Princeton.</p>

<p>Princeton’s really blue-blood. I agree with Brown.</p>

<p>"I’m a Christian, so the more accepting people are of that the better. I guess in practice this would mean the more conservative the better. "</p>

<p>O_o</p>

<p>Christian does not always = Conservative. </p>

<p>I mean…Look at Jesus. Being a crazy radical. xD</p>

<p>And unorthodox, and practising socialism by caring for all the sick free of charge, and dividing the loaves and fishes and starting a religion that went against the mainstream conservative values of the time [for both Judaism and then Rome’s religions.]</p>

<p>But, in your case, you’re more conservative AND Christian, I think is what you mean to say.</p>

<p>Apply to Harvard. You will never know…</p>

<p>

Considering your apparent lack of enthusiasm and knowledge, I’d say none. </p>

<p>If you don’t have a good reason to apply, why bother? </p>

<p>

<em>snorts</em> </p>

<p>Define middle class. [On</a> the low end](<a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/1062031455-post50.html]On”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/1062031455-post50.html), 48% of Harvard students pay the full cost of attendance ($50K). On the high end, 62% of Penn students do.</p>

<p>According to Census data, middle class normally covers people with incomes between $20,000 and $100,000, with the median being around $50,000.</p>

<p>

Faulty reasoning. U Mass-Amherst has a weaker grad school than Brown. Is it even more undergraduate-focused?</p>

<p>^ Turning into a ****ing contest over who has better data? </p>

<p>Sungchul goes to Brown University; even if his information might be factually or statistically faulty, I’d say his opinion as a Brown student matters more than yours. </p>

<p>And what’s with the pessimism? How the hell do you know how “enthusiastic” the TS is?Plus, if you expect every high school student to be born with college admission information, you’re a stupid dickhole. Why do you think this site exists? I was “unenthusiastic” about Bowdoin at first, but now I like it enough to apply to it because of something a Bowdoin student posted here. Maybe you like pounding away at your keyboard researching numbers and data, but most people trust people’s honest opinions and personal experiences much more.</p>

<p>This is not a f-ing debate.
“Faulty reasoning…”</p>

<p>

Of course not. I simply expect people to read up on schools before posting a thread. The Ivies collectively cover about 20-25 pages in the Fiske Guide or the Insider’s Guide. It’s really not that difficult to skim and at least get some idea if any of them is a good fit.</p>

<p>Failing that, it takes even less effort to skim over the blurbs on the Princeton Review website. </p>

<p>There is a tremendous difference between asking for opinions and expecting others to do your work for you.</p>

<p>

I expressed my opinion nowhere in the above post. I posted facts. These are increasingly scarce on CC, so I understand that their presence may be disconcerting.</p>

<p>I can post that my alma mater gives lollipops to good students, has the prettiest campus, and feels more warm and fuzzy than a bundle of puppies, but that does not make it fact.</p>

<p>OK, well now you’ve stated an opinion. Maybe for you, sitting down and obsessively scouring every single database on the net to find every morsel of information might not be too difficult, but it’s undeniable that researching colleges is a very daunting task. I personally found the overabundance of some college information to be more confusing than the scarcity of others. Just accept that not everybody can reach orgasm in a tub of internet articles like you. This is a college help forum. Nobody needs a you to assess people’s level of volition and deem whether they’re fit for a certain type of college or not. If you have help, and are willing to give it, good for you. If not, shut the **** up. It’s pretty simple I’d say. </p>

<p>The thing is, a lot of people don’t give a crap about your defintion of ‘facts.’ I know a few people like you, who researched every possibility exhaustively, went to their “perfect fit,” and transferred because it wasn’t what they expected. A lot of people find personal opinions/reviews of schools more helpful than rankings or stodgy newspaper articles, something you might be miffed by. Not to mention that everybody knows a lot of the ‘facts’ you find about colleges online are actually opinions…</p>

<p>Princeton is probably the most conservative, traditional Ivy league school. Dartmouth would also be good for you because it’s more conservative and traditional than most of the other Ivy League schools. Both have the smallest class sizes of the Ivy League. While people party at both of these schools, as they do at the vast majority of all colleges, there are plenty of people who abstain and find plenty of other activities to do.</p>

<p>Quote:"Considering your apparent lack of enthusiasm and knowledge, I’d say none. "</p>

<p>Wow, IBclass, that was pretty harsh.
I chose to say I was going to “give it a shot” because: 1)I don’t know if I can get in and 2) I don’t know if we can afford it.
As to knowledge, I don’t know about you, but I’ve found any college description sites and books to be rather unhelpful so that all the schools sound the same after a while. I have read descriptions of most of the Ivies, but I thought I’d like to get opinions from alumni/students of the schools. And yes I have done some rudimentary research- I could tell you which Ivy has the highest and which the lowest acceptance rate, where each is located, and common stereotypes.
So, to be tactful, your post wasn’t very helpful.
Thank enomushiki for defending me.
Guys, please take your debate off my thread:-) Thanks.</p>

<p>You are going to find religious diversity at every Ivy campus. Cornell tends to be somewhat conservative for a college campus, perhaps because of the large science/engineering component (although there is diversity among engineers, too).</p>

<p>Cornell has an active Christian community. Check out the Cornell Christian Fellowship, among others.</p>

<p>[Interfaith</a> Council at Cornell: Useful Links](<a href=“http://www.rso.cornell.edu/icc/links.html]Interfaith”>http://www.rso.cornell.edu/icc/links.html)</p>

<p>

My intent was not to be harsh. I was merely puzzled by your motives. While the Ivies are uniformly excellent and one can hardly go wrong with any of them, it seemed that you were merely applying to one of them for the sake of applying to an Ivy. Why not expand the search to all top schools? Stanford, Duke, Oberlin, or Vanderbilt, for example.</p>

<p>It’s a bit like me going, “Hey, I feel like applying to an ACC school. I wonder which one?”</p>

<p>I’m considering Emory, Duke and Vanderbilt as well.</p>

<p>If he is absolutely against frats then I disagree with Dartmouth’s placing on this list. Sure there are conservative and Christian people here, but hardly any Ivy can be considered that sort of environment specifically. If you want purely academic reasons, then sure Dartmouth has an undergraduate focus. As with Dartmouth, if you are against frats, then Duke and Vanderbilt are poor choices. They, however, being southern do have a larger Christian student body.</p>

<p>I think considering other schools outside the ivy league is a good idea. The ivies are all great, but there are several other top schools in the country that may not get as much respect as they deserve. Check out JHU, WashU, Rice, and Emory. Rice actually fits your description perfectly. It has no frats, with a fantastic residential college system instead. Also, Pomona in California also sounds like a great fit for you. It is a liberal arts college, which typically have little to no greek life and great humanities departments. Students at liberal arts college are typically very accepting of different viewpoints (as they were for their college choice.)</p>