Perhaps it would help @golden706 if you gave some additional information about what kind of a college experience you’d like to have. You’ve told us about your budget (essential!) and your preference to be within a day’s drive of Tennessee (is this eastern, middle, or western Tennessee…it’s a wide state and it’s over a 7-hour drive from Memphis to Bristol, so knowing which part of the state you’re in can help in offering suggestions within a day’s drive).
In looking at your list I thought you were interested in medium to large schools with a good bit of athletic enthusiasm in an area with a good bit of population density (i.e. more like a city) and preferably a high U.S. News ranking, but that was just supposition on my part.
Some questions that you may want to reflect upon and share with posters include:
- How do you feel about significant enthusiasm for intercollegiate athletics?
- How do you feel about Greek life (fraternities/sororities)?
- What size school do you prefer?
- What size classes do you prefer?
- Are there any particular interests you want to pursue outside of your major interests?
- Which area(s) are you more willing to compromise on and which are more of a must-have? Are there certain minimums (i.e. you prefer 6k+ but you’re willing to down to 2k undergrads, or…you’d prefer within a day’s drive, but if there’s a direct flight to your home airport, you’d consider it, or…)