Why not.

College Search & Selection
1

<p>If you've got the time - how about giving me some ideas on some reach/match/safety schools. I don't really care to brag nor boost my own ego-- honesty will do fine with me, thanks. I do have my own list already, but it can't hurt to get some opinions from others. Thanks in advance for your help!</p>

<p>Here's me in a nutshell:
3.76 UW, 4.15 W currently; hopefully 3.8 UW, 4.3W by midyears/first quarter for ED. Top 10% rank (no reporting) in #1 school in ohio, most rigorous schedule. SAT - 720 M, 730 W, 740 CR (retaking in fall), 740 US History, 750 Bio, taking 3 more next week. </p>

<p>President of Model UN, Vice President of Speech and Debate, Historian of mock trial - various awards and levels of competition with each. Involved in NHS and Drama club but only kind of. Volunteer at a hospital, did some scientific research, won some awards, volunteered at Obama's rally around here, and will probably get a job or internship or something this summer. I don't like sitting still. </p>

<p>Don't want to make this a chances thread so I'll just get into what I personally want in a college and not what it wants to see in me. </p>

<p>I want to major in economics and go into International Law or Business. Any International relations. I like big cities ( at least being close to one, if not right in one) and lots of people-- lots of interesting people. I don't really care about a certain campus attitude, just a group of different and driven individuals. I am extremely social and wouldn't mind a good night life around campus. I do want a very active music scene, and lots of political involvement (I'm a loosely categorized left winger with lots of nuances, but get along better with politically intelligent people rather than a category ... as in my best friends include republicans, libertarians, and liberals, but all are informed about the topics). I want to be able to study abroad and also have ample job/internship opportunities available to me. I write poetry and play guitar/piano so I wouldn't mind a more "artsy" feel to the college. I'm not a jeans and sweatshirt girl (well, sometimes), but fashion is nice. I might minor in English so strong english programs are good. Competition is okay, but cut-throat isn't my thing. I can deal if necessary, though. </p>

<p>Basically, I just want a college that's fun, active, and will help me along a successful career path. </p>

<p>THANKS.</p>

2

<p>You seem to be right on the edge of the upper tier, so I would suggest maybe a few ivies as reaches but then a good selection of matches and safeties. These are just some random schools that come to mind:
Reach:
Columbia
Gerogetown
USC
Realistic:
Tufts
American
NYU
GW
Safety:
Penn State UP
any other good state school</p>

<p>But you could generate a much better list by going though the Princeton Review Best 368, crossing out 1 school at a time. Good Luck :)</p>

3

<p>thank you :D</p>

<p>Yup, I’m planning on ED-ing Columbia as of now. Georgetown and NYU are on the list, and as for good state school – UMich seems best for me as a safety that I’d be relatively happy at.</p>

4

<p>In the first place, beware of testing overkill. At most, you need only one more SATII score in the 700s. Your SATs are good enough for any school: at this point, it is going to be the ECs and essays and recommendations that make you stand out. Of course, if you could knock out an 800 that would be nice, but I doubt whether trying is worth a major effort that would take away from what really matters.</p>

<p>Applying very early to U Mich seems like a good idea. A couple of places that you haven’t mentioned that might suit you are Macalester and Vanderbilt.</p>

<p>Georgetown and Columbia, certainly. (From kids I know who’ve applied ED to Columbia, they seem to make strange decisions, but good luck.) Tufts is another good option. I would consider the University of Chicago. (The “no fun” thing is not the case for anyone I’ve known who has gone there, and that is quite a few people.)</p>

5

<p>Psh, I’m barely studying for chem and lit. whatever happens happens. Hopefully Math 2 score will be good though. As for retaking SATs, aghh I know I can do better in the Math. </p>

<p>As far getting into schools goes, I have a downward trend GPA. which is not good. at all. and as far EC’s and recs goes, they’ll be some of the best in the school. It’s a strange combo. </p>

<p>Is Tufts good at international stuff? Someone else recommended it to me, also. Is it boston?</p>

<p>Uchicago-I have friends who go there and they love it… I just don’t know how good the job outlook for them is when compared to the other top schools.</p>

<p>I think the biggest scare for me is getting into law school, so I’d really prefer a school without too much grade deflation. At the same time, I want to be prepared enough that I can handle law school itself.</p>

6

<p>Tufts is in Boston (not central, but close enough) and it is definitely “good at international stuff.” I’d also suggest that you look at Johns Hopkins. You might also look at Wesleyan – smaller, but with a lot of the elements on your wish list and reasonable access to New York and Boston. For less selective – Boston University.</p>

7

<p>Tufts is just north of Boston proper, on the Medford/Somerville border. Takes about 30 minutes to get from campus to Boston Common by public transit.</p>

<p>If Tufts isn’t good at international stuff, then it’s not good at anything. Tufts has the first grad school for international relations (the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy), study abroad is highly encouraged at both Tufts’ own programs as well as partner schools, probably the most notable undergrad program is the International Relations program, and many other programs have strong international elements. Tufts is also generally well-respected for IR, with undergrad and Masters’ programs perennially making the top ten in rankings, an accomplishment as these rankings are often dominated by D.C. area schools (Johns Hopkins, Georgetown, George Washington) due to their proximity to the capital.</p>

<p>As far as law school prep, Tufts does pretty well. 85% of Tufts applicants are accepted for admission to law school, with Tufts alumni attending all top 30 law schools as ranked by USNWR, with the exception of the University of Alabama law school.</p>

8

<p>Well, if you are “barely studying” for two SATIIs why take them when you already have 2 scores over 700 in the bank? Unless you are certain to break 750, with your other scores it’s a waste of time and money. You’d be better off to really study for one. Excellent grades first semester senior year would be a good idea. </p>

<p>Tufts has the Fletcher School, which I believe was the first IR school in the country. It’s in a town on the outskirts of Boston, and served by public transportation.</p>

9

<p>My mother. I told her that I’d be better off with just math, so if a school asks for 3, i’d have a good social studies, math, and science score to throw in- she didn’t really care. :confused: </p>

<p>Yeah first semester senior year really seems to be the most important thing to really help me out. the GPA is the biggest blemish on the record. damn. </p>

<p>I’m going to research Tufts more. I like boston, but didn’t think I’d be able to get into any of those schools. </p>

<p>Does anyone know anything about Amherst? Do Liberal Arts colleges offer majors like Economics ?</p>

10

<p>Amherst is probably harder to get into than Tufts, Georgetown, the U of C, or anyplace else mentioned here except Columbia.</p>

<p>Yes, virtually all liberal arts colleges, especially elite schools like Amherst, offer majors in Economics. They do not offer “trade school” majors like “business.”</p>

11

<p>Georgetown may not be the best place for a left winger who wants a school with an “artsy” feel to it. It does have good job and internship opportunities, though. Chicago is not ideal in that department due to the weather and the south side location. You really don’t want to have to trek downtown too much, so you may be limited to what’s offered on campus for much of the academic year. </p>

<p>Consolation mentioned Macalester, an interesting LAC that I agree might suit you. Noted for international stuff; left-leaning; a little less selective than some of the other schools we’re mentioning; offers a few merit scholarships. It’s in another cold weather city so you’d want to check out where the jobs/internships are and the ease of transportation to them. I was going to mention Wesleyan, too, but Momrath beat me to it. You’d probably like the atmosphere; don’t know about the jobs/internship situation.</p>

<p>If you want larger schools, Sirensong’s “realistic” list sounds good too. Consider the other DC-area schools, or Tufts.</p>

12

<p>I never understood the concept of the liberal arts college v. university besides they have no grad schools. I have actually never heard of Macalester. </p>

<p>And Tufts sounds mega-awesome. I am reading more about it, but so far, it really is great. </p>

<p>Honestly, my parents would never help me pay for a less than top 25 ranked place because OSU will probably give me ridiculous amounts of aid, and easily let me into their honors program. And I hope I can get into michigan, so that’s my back up.</p>

13

<p>its kind of ridiculous to put USC as a reach and Tufts as a “realistic.” They have pretty comparable admissions standards.</p>

14

<p>I dunno much about USC hmm </p>

<p>California seems nice. But I’ve heard it’s pretty right leaning, which is odd.</p>

15

<p>Consolation, the OP has good stats and has a solid shot at Michigan, but I would not classify it as a safety, more like a match. Still, I agree that the school is a pretty good fit for what she wants out of college.</p>

16

<p>I’m really surprised UMich isn’t ranked higher in the official universities rankings-- in every program I’ve looked at the rankings for, it has been in the top 15.</p>

17

<p>

Oh so awesome.
Drop by the Tufts forum if you have any questions, a few current students (myself included) are known to lurk there.</p>

18

<p>“I’m really surprised UMich isn’t ranked higher in the official universities rankings-- in every program I’ve looked at the rankings for, it has been in the top 15.”</p>

<p>Michigan (and Cal) is victims of the USNWR formula. There are very few universities that are as well rounded or more highly regarded (in academe) than Michigan. You should definitely visit the Michigan campus. It cannot be more than a 2-3 hour drive from where you live. But beware, Buckeyes who defect to Michigan are not welcome back home! hehe!</p>

19

<p>May I suggest Brown?</p>

20

<p>I agree with the Brown suggestion. Its surprising no one has suggested it yet.</p>