OptimisticCynic

I live in CA and I am looking for some non-UC schools to add to my application list, but I'm having trouble finding schools that hold my interest and fit what I'm looking for. I have a 4.3/2200 SAT (retaking) and average ECs (nothing national or anything).

Things I'm looking for:

-Strong humanities/social sciences

-A diverse school that has at least a 5% AA population. I realize that self-segregation exists (and that most applicants are cut from the same cloth), but I would also like a school that at least appears to have good racial interaction.

-Flexible cirriculum

-An intellectual student body. Not a campus that has an elitist or pseudo-intellectual vibe, but a campus in which I can find conversation and activity that is "stimulating"

-A school in an area that has more entertainment opportunities than just partying.

-Less than 10,000 undergrads

-Mid-Big City location

-Liberal-minded student body (Yet still opened minded to other beliefs...maybe "accepting" is a better word...)

-Laid-back feel

-SUBTLE school spirit

-I'd prefer a school with prestige. I'm not obsessed with rankings, but I would like a school that is recognized and well regarded within academic circles.

-Grade inflation (lol)


Suggestions????

prefect

If you're looking outside of CA- Brown (open curriculum). Amherst also has an open curriculum but is more rural. Yale, Duke, Wash U St.. Louis, Vanderbilt, Rice. How flexible do you want the curriculum to be? Few schools have a truly open curriculum like Brown, but many are more flexible than, say, Columbia which has a core curriculum. Your stats seem to make you competitive for many schools. Are you looking for safeties, matches, reaches, or all. What about Stanford since you're in CA?

aglages

"A diverse school that has at least a 5% AA population."

Do ANY schools publicize how many students are enrolled because of AA? Percentages of enrolled URMs are certainly available. I would think that the percent of students that are enrolled due to a school's AA policy would be of interest to otherwise non-competitive applicants that need the help.

OptimisticCynic

When I put AA, I meant African-American...

OptimisticCynic

I was looking mostly for matches/reaches...I was thinking about applying to Stanford, since it is in California, but I'm kind of scared to apply. I heard that you basically have to be a genius, nationally ranked in something, or have some amazing EC (being a published author, inventing something, ect.) I'm reasonably intelligent, and I'm well read, but I'm not a genius. I'm the type who didn't really care much about high school to be honest.

aglages

"When I put AA, I meant African-American... "
My bad. Too many acronyms and too few brain cells. Thanks for the clarification.

crimsonchin68

wash. u in st. louis and vassar