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safety schools that don't suck
noamountofcoffee
Registered User Posts: 33 Junior Member
I'm 16 and a first-year student at QCC. I'll probably spend the 2012 - 2013 school year there (in lieu of completing high school... it's a long story), then transfer out. I've done a lot of research on good-to-great LAC's, and I have plenty of reaches and matches, but I'm a little short on safety schools. If some sane, knowledgeable, and unpretentious people could help me out, that would be amazing. I'll post "stats" upon request.
In the meantime, here's my list. I think, for these purposes, it provides a pretty good overview of my personality, interests, and political views.
Reaches:
Brown
Reed
Bard
Matches:
Hampshire
Eugene Lang (New School)
Sarah Lawrence
Bennington
Warren Wilson
Safeties:
Marlboro
College of the Atlantic
Evergreen
I need to re-emphasize that I want "safeties" that, although not "comparable" to my reaches and matches in "status/rank" (quotation marks absolutely necessary..), have a similar campus vibe and quality of academics. Please don't tell me to go to UMass Amherst or MCLA.
Thank you so much.
In the meantime, here's my list. I think, for these purposes, it provides a pretty good overview of my personality, interests, and political views.
Reaches:
Brown
Reed
Bard
Matches:
Hampshire
Eugene Lang (New School)
Sarah Lawrence
Bennington
Warren Wilson
Safeties:
Marlboro
College of the Atlantic
Evergreen
I need to re-emphasize that I want "safeties" that, although not "comparable" to my reaches and matches in "status/rank" (quotation marks absolutely necessary..), have a similar campus vibe and quality of academics. Please don't tell me to go to UMass Amherst or MCLA.
Thank you so much.
Post edited by noamountofcoffee on
This discussion has been closed.
Replies to: safety schools that don't suck
1) You can afford it without any financial aid other than federally determined (FAFSA) aid and/or guaranteed merit aid from your state (e.g. Hope, Blue & Gold, Bright Futures, TAP) and/or guaranteed merit aid offered by the college/university itself.
2) You are guaranteed admission based on your grades and/or test scores AND/OR your high school has years of records that clearly indicate that no one with your profile has ever been denied admissions.
3) Your major is offered.
4) You would be happy to attend if you don't get in anywhere else that you can afford.
Sit down with your parents or whoever it is who will be helping you pay for college, and get the numbers that will help you define the reasonable answers for criteria 1. Until you have that issue nailed down, all the rest of your questions are moot.
Everyone I know who went to Goucher loves it.
Brown is the only serious reach on my list.
My "stats" are quite up in the air right now, but here goes (yay for being judged!):
I'm getting my GED over the summer. I've studied quite a bit and I'm expecting to do well on the exam. I've contacted admissions counselors for most of these schools and they say that, provided I keep my college grades up, the GED shouldn't be too much of a liability.
I have a ~3.4 GPA in college and I'm in the honors program.
I test surprisingly well, so, I'll take the SATs even though most of the schools I'm looking at don't require them. I'm also planning to take at least two SAT2 subject tests, probably in language arts and history.
Hook: I've been writing professionally (big-kid money, regular trips to New York to cover the premieres of independent films, a - knock on wood! - possible book deal) since I was fifteen.
@ lockn
Hmm, I've heard pretty good things about Saint Mary's. A friend of my dad's used to teach at Goucher. Thanks.
What small LACs really like to see is that you have a passion (writing I guess would be that for you), you are honestly interested in their school, and that you can contributed something unique to their student body. Good luck!
Awesome, thank you so much. I've heard Bard has a lower acceptance rate than Reed, though: 33% as opposed to Reed's 42%. And they seem quite intent on making the school more mainstream and prestigious. That's why I list it as a "reach."
Just going by your list, so these aren't safeties but suggestions, you might want to look at Vassar, Wesleyan, Oberlin, Pitzer, Skidmore.
Safeties, I'd add Goucher, Green Mountain College, Guilford
As a transfer, Warren Wilson would most likely be a safety too.
I visited Simon's Rock when I was 14 and considered applying, but something about it rubbed me the wrong way. I appreciate being told that I seem like a good fit, though - it's known for smart kids so that's always flattering.
I've looked at Vassar, Wesleyan, Oberlin, Pitzer, and Skidmore. Wesleyan in particular looks nice (I've got a friend who studies film there and LOVES it), but they're all medium reaches for me.
I'll definitely look at Green Mountain; I love Vermont.
On the other hand, if your CC coursework is considered to be a dual-enrollment situation while you finish high school, most colleges and universities will consider you to be a freshman applicant. Talk this option over with your parents. It may be more advantageous for you to be "home-schooled" for another year and skip taking that GED at least for now.
It's actually unusual for college employers to cover all tuition for faculty children going to other institutions without any conditions or strings. Be sure your understanding of your parents' benefits re your tuition is correct. We are going through this right now in our household (I am a professor and my D is a senior in HS).
Tuition Exchange (TE) requires you to apply to the college you are going to attend for those scholarships, and they can be quite competitive (not automatic). The Council of Independent Colleges (CIC) exchange is less restrictive. But not every college participates in these organizations.
The college where my mom is a professor is extremely generous; they cover 70% of tuition for faculty's children, always, no questions asked. My paternal grandparents also have quite a bit of money so that ought to cover the rest. I'm ridiculously lucky, I know.
@happymomof1
I really appreciate that (and I have understood for awhile that I will be considered a transfer; I prefer it that way actually), but I would rather not dwell on the GED/transfer situation on this thread. It's a pretty strange situation for me.