I went to the open house at Salve Regina University and loved everything about it, except for one thing. When I looked up the GPA/SAT scores, I found that I was a lot higher than their averages.
I made a good impression on everyone there and will probably get into the school/honors college, but my worry is that I wont be around other students who are as academically driven as me versus a school like Boston College or Northeastern. I thrive in environments where people are driven and want to learn but i’m scared that I will choose to attend this school and I wont be challenged enough academically.
It is like this for a couple of my schools. Suffolk University is another one that I loved, especially being in the heart of Boston, but its acceptance rate is really high and its GPA average is low.
I know that college is supposed to be what you make of it, but im still a little worried. I dont want to feel stupid in any of my classes and I want to be surrounded by people who are as driven academically as me.
If it helps, I want to study history and perhaps cultural preservation as well as a minor in communications, and I rank in the top 23% of my class, being a member of many clubs and the National Honors Society.
There will be other students at those colleges who are in National Honor Society and have high grades and test scores. Some colleges will lure those students with nice merit awards. I think you may be a big fish in a small pond at your colleges of interest, whereas at BC and Northeastern, it’s not as likely. If you loved everything about Salve Regina, apply and see what happens. Personally, Salve Regina is such a lovely place it’s hard to compare it to NE in any way.
It’s probably a little easier to immerse yourself in a college experience at a school like the ones you mentioned when you are a really disciplined and driven student. Then again, it’s possible that Salve Regina isn’t terribly academically rigorous. For perspective though, consider that even a community college course can be academically challenging. College isn’t high school. Professors at most colleges will have expectations for the quality of work they expect from their students. If you surpass that, you will be in a good place.
Have you considered your state’s flagship? You are guaranteed to be challenged there.
yep! Im applying to Umass Amherst, but it is getting really competitive to get into. Practically everyone applies there from my school because of the cost, but its a really good school and I feel like it would fit in well there!
You can check to see if Salve Regina and Suffolk have honors programs and see if you might qualify for those.
One of the most common regrets I hear from academically driven students is when they pick a college way beneath their ability and drive. At these places they aren’t just in the Top 10-25% (this is perfectly fine - you’ll have peers), they’re likely the Top 1-5%. Some have even gone for free due to terrific merit awards and still feel it wasn’t worth it. They wish they could have a do-over and pick something else.
If you can’t afford somewhere else, it’s likely still worth it, but if you can… it’s worth thinking about. A professor, like a teacher, can only teach to the class they have. If an academic foundation isn’t there it will have to be built first and greater depth will be lacking. Try to sit in on classes at the different schools you’re considering so you can truly compare. One of my lads did this with Bio 101. The difference ranged from one class teaching “there’s an enzyme that helps with this” to having to know multiple enzymes - by name - and what they did. “Same” class. Same topic. Far different depth. The former was a cc class for college credit. The latter was at a top research school.
The other common regret has been spending too much for school and having too much debt. Be sure you don’t change out one regret for another.
Selectivity has nothing to do with academic rigor. In fact, private schools have been well known culprits of grade inflation for decades. The incentive is to make alumni donors happy, so they can subsidize the tuition costs. State schools don’t have those incentives because the state subsidizes the tuition.