erhswimming

"Don't bother with a "safety school". Nobody wants to go to one of those anyway-and let's be honoest-that's what community colleges are for."

Are you kidding me????

Sorry that some of us killed ourselves in high school and got rejected/waitlisted from our top 5 choices. The school I am going to I applied to as an afterthought, but after visiting, I knew that it was a perfect fit for me. I got the perfect amount of scholarship money and am very excited to attend. I chose it over the big state school that everyone goes to, one that I thought I would end up at under the same circumstances.

With college admissions crazier than ever, it is imperative to choose a good safety school. There are so many good schools beyond the top 50 that will offer so much for your academic career.

EDIT: Wow, I'm an idiot, I just read that one line and didn't pick up on the sarcasm.

On second thought, follow everything Calcruzer said word for word.

elizabeth

Calcruzer is a genius!! And should have his/her own talk show.

The Ace is Back

There were certain ones I knew I wouldn't go to from the start, e.g. MIT/Caltech because I'm not a science person and California because it's full of Californians and Berkeley is massive. I then came up with a list of the ones with the best global reputation (i.e. Ivies + Stanford), crossing off the ones that seemed a bit below par (Cornell), the ones I thought I wouldn't enjoy (Brown - too liberal/Dartmouth - isolated), and the ones with rubbish locations (Yale). Got it down to Harvard, Stanford, Columbia, Princeton. If I was an American my list would probably have started off a bit bigger, including universities like Chicago, Duke, Northwestern, UVa maybe.. I think starting with the top academic institutions with the best reputations then narrowing down the list for personal/subjective reasons is the way to go.

kyledavid80

The Ace is Back: Stanford is replete with Californians -- almost half the school is from California. (Though I don't see how this is a negative.)

http://apps.collegeboard.com/search/...&word=stanford

The Ace is Back

Yeah but compare that with 93% at Berkeley and the size of the Berkeley student body. Didn't mean to say Californians are a negative, I just meant I'd prefer a bit more diversity. Either way it doesn't matter because I didn't get into Stanford.

LBP

College list: Where could the student get in? Does it have the desired major? Where is the school located? Is it possible to drive there in a day? Is the college conservative/liberal? Will the student get merit aid?

The Princeston Review book is a good starting point, and reading about the colleges on cc has been invaluable.

kyledavid80

The Ace is Back: I'll tell you one thing -- for the most part, you won't notice who's from where, so geographic diversity goes down the drain when you actually attend. And on top of that, drawing from all over California lends as much diversity as drawing from the entire East Coast would at Harvard; California's a big state, and any southern California person who's been to northern California will tell you that they're completely different (hence why many nor Cal students go to UCLA, and so Cal students go to Berkeley =p).

Just throwing that out there.

philosopher4life

Ricegal, thanks I'll look into Rugg's Recommendations. I didn't even think of asking people who're like me. That's a great idea.

Thanks for the tips Calcruzer. To be honest, I didn't even think about the location aspect. That was a great one.

csleslie51

CC forums are full of students complaining that they can't afford to go to their dream college where they were accepted because of financial issues. Talk to your parents about what your financial situation is: How much are they willing to pay? How much do you have saved up? Don't count entirely on some sort of merit or need based aid to fund you. Research and keep talking.

philosopher4life

csleslie51, I calculated my EFC using CCs Calculator and it's $2. I guess money would play a role in it too!

bananabread122

I think one of the most important factors is the "fit," especially at a small liberal arts college. At a large university, it's not as important, because one is bound to fit in somewhere.

philosopher4life

I'll definitely be focusing on the "fit" aspect strongly. Thanks!

JJG

No need to investigate a big long list of schools; just go where your girlfriend/ boyfriend is going. Most people keep going out with their high school romance all through college.

JJG

Sorry, couldn't resist that one.

Father of the Boarder

This Post really sets you up for people who have too little work and too much self-proclaimed knowledge about the subject. So, here are my $.02.

MYTH: The best college on the lists is best for you.
RULE: You will have to fit into the school -- and finding that "fit" is the hard part of the process.

MYTH: I do well so I should get into the better schools.
RULE: Valedictorians and their academic peers are commonly rejected by great as well as good schools. This is partly because of "fit." This is partly because of "yield." This is partly because it is a fact that your strengths do not meet the "renaissance" nature of the school's needs -- e.g. they need an oboe player so do not be upset that an oboe player with lesser grades and SAT scores gets in while you are flat out rejected.

MYTH: I will find the best known schools to deliver the best education.
RULE: Ivies and better known large univeristies farm out to TA's the first few levels of undergraduate curriculum. LAC's cannot afford this practice. Hence, the first few years are probably better at LAC's and the last two years are arguable better at better known universities.

MYTH: The best known schools are the BEST schools.
RULE: I love this saying -- "The best schools of tomorrow are the little known schools of today." Why? Because, until these gems are known, they are not admission-prohibitive. But, they will get there. For example -- Carleton or Grinnell were not difficult in the 1960's or 1970's. They were selected -- not selective. I am not sure either school has a better teaching staff than it did. But, Carleton is very hard to get into today and Grinnell is not far behind. That is unfortunate as that not-impossible-to-get-into character of the school basically would dissuade academic elitism by the student body. I can only hope the same continues in their future.

MYTH: What is good for the majority is good for me.
RULE: Many people would die to go to one of the beloved Ivies, or Stanford etc. But, your personality may not fit there. You may be an absolute geek and fit perfectly at one of the top technological schools, or even a lesser tech school. This is more argument about the importance of "fit."

MYTH: If I do not get into my choice school, I will be forever unhappy.
RULE:There are probably 2000 schools to choose from. About 450 are really great schools and another 1000 are good enough for YOU. And, even the pickiest 18 year old would probably be delighted to attend no less than 20 of the schools. So find your 20, 30, 40.

Now, how do you find those schools?

Start with numbrs -- which schools are basically housing kids with your kinds of numbers -- that should bring about 40-50 schools to your list.

Read about the schools. Fiskes is okay, but a little dry. Princeton has neat lists and although stereotypical, they are pretty accurate. And, they each interview kids. I am not a big fan of College *******, and it is expensive. US News provides basically numbers -- not identical to Fiske's or Princeton. "Realy Cool Colleges" is an aid, but pull it from the library shelf and save yourself the money. If you want to read about the process, pull out A Is for Admission: The Insider's Guide to Getting into the Ivy League and Other Top Colleges by Michele A. Hernandez. If you want to read about the strength of the LAC's pull out Colleges That Change Lives: 40 Schools That Will Change the Way You Think About Collegesby Loren Pope or The College Admissions Mystique by Bill Mayher or Looking beyond the Ivy League: Finding the College That's Right for You by Loren Pope.

Stay away from the "How To" books. Either you got the numbers and the oboe, or you don't. The little details will not mean that much, and the expense of buying How To books is without excuse. And, taking the time to read those books is even more inexcusable.

Once, you have broken the 40 down to 20, mark your favorite 10. And, then pray for money. You will need to visit the smaller campuses if you included them. Most big campuses are . . . big. And, that means Greek parties and large classrooms and probably more fun than you could ever imagine. Smaller schools mean less diversity, more intense studies, and something of a personality of the school -- for better or worse. Usually, within a nanosecond, you will know if the small school's personality is a "fit" or not. If not, run. Motor like Forrest Gump. If it is a fit, pull out the number 2 pencil and mark it in. For a fit of a small school is a great thing. It is really like belonging to a 2000 person fraternity/sorority.

Once, that is done -- know one thing. Whoever receives your Common Application is good enough for you. Yes, you have a priority. But, the priority is not dispositive of the outcome. If you get rejected from all but the school that you placed on the bottom rung, you SHOULD still be ecstatic. Because you WANTED to go there too. And, if you are rejected by all your schools, look yourself in the mirror and say one of two things: (a) was I reasonable in my choices or (b) did I just get very unlucky. It probably is the latter if you did the homework responsibly. But, this is a RARE event. So do not allow ulcers to affect your young body and mind. There is no armageddon-like horror coming in April.

Good luck. And as Mr. Mayher says in his book -- this coming Thanksgiving you will not be seated in the kitchen with other kids. Oh no. Instead, you will be seated with the grown ups and everyone will be asking you about which colleges you are applying to and then they will tell you things about schools they attended -- which are probably 30-40 years removed from reality (those 8 tracks really played beautiful music in our hallways). That dinner will be your armageddon.