Colleges in the Middle of Nowhere?

College Search & Lists
1

<p>Hi, I recently applied ED to Cornell but if I don’t matriculate, I will need to apply to other similar schools during the RD round. This may sound slightly ridiculous to some people, but I would prefer schools in the middle of nowhere (as rural as possible). Don’t bother asking me why since I probably won’t be able to give you a coherent answer.</p>

<p>Here are my stats/info:</p>

<p>Location: NY</p>

<p>Asian Male</p>

<p>Uweighted GPA: ~3.85
Weighted GPA: ~4.9 (Weird system)</p>

<p>Rank: School doesn’t rank (But based on what my counselor told me, I’m at the 7-8th percentile)
Graduating Class Size: ~650</p>

<p>4 A.Ps since 9th grade (World History, American History, English Language, and Calc AB), the rest are mostly honors courses.</p>

<p>Standardized Test Scores:
ACT: 35 composite (10 Essay)
SAT I: 2190, 1 sitting (690CR, 780M, 720W, 10 Essay)
SAT IIs: Biology (710), Math I(740), US History (760)
(Probably won’t be sending any SAT scores unless I have to)</p>

<p>ECs/Awards: Somewhat sparse; Internship at a national lab, a decent amount of hours volunteering at local hospital, youth group leader at church, varsity tennis, piano, membership in some clubs, etc. (I would be more optimistic about my chances at Cornell if these were stronger).</p>

<p>I’m looking for match/safety schools that are in the Northeast, Mid-Atlantic, and the Midwest. Any suggestion/input is greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance.</p>

2

<p>Williams, Hamilton, Colgate, Bard, Grinnell, Oberlin, Carleton</p>

3

<p>In a wide range of selectivity…</p>

<p>Smaller schools in the middle of nowhere: Bates, Colby, Bowdoin, Colgate, Hamilton, Williams, Kenyon, College of the Atlantic, Alleghany, Dartmouth, Middlebury, Oberlin</p>

<p>Bigger schools in the middle of nowhere: UConn, Miami (Ohio), U Maine, U. New Hampshire</p>

4

<p>i’ll add Lafayette, Muhlenberg,Bucknell,Amherst,Mount Holyoke,Hampshire,Sussquehanna,Lehigh…all different levels of difficulty</p>

5

<p>Cornell is not <em>really</em> the middle of nowhere, as it’s a school with so many students that its collegetown is quite bustling (it’s more exciting than, say, the Hyde Park neighborhood of Chicago, where I go to school). Its surroundings, however, are breathtaking, and, yes, rural, but it doesn’t feel rural if you don’t want it to.</p>

<p>If you like that middle of nowhere feel but a little bit of bustle, I would think about using University of Vermont as a safety. Burlington is similar to Ithaca in some ways.</p>

6

<p>middlebury</p>

7

<p>Grinnell, definitely.</p>

8

<p>Sewanee-University of the South, Deep Springs College</p>

9

<p>St. Mary’s College of Maryland</p>

10

<p>Williams is not “rural”; it’s suburban or exurban. Very few places in Connecticut can be considered really “rural”.</p>

<p>Muhlenberg, Lafayette and Lehigh are in or near small cities; not a rural one in the bunch. (We visited, and my kid wanted as non-rural as possible; Muhlenberg at least stayed on the list).</p>

<p>Second Bucknell, though - it really is in the middle of nowhere.</p>

<p>And of course, though no one’s mentioned it: Just down the road from Cornell, there’s Ithaca College.</p>

11

<p>Elon, I believe.</p>

12

<p>No one has asked you what you might be interested in majoring in? (And I presume you don’t need money because of the ED?)</p>

13

<p>Penn State certainly seems like it must be in the middle of nowhere, when I pass the exit for it on I-80.</p>

<p>Anybody know if that’s in fact the case?</p>

14

<p>Purdue is in the middle of nowhere</p>

15

<p>Chedva,
WIlliams is in Massachusetts, and is definitely rural and beautiful.</p>

16

<p>Right, sorry; I had it confused with Wesleyan! Yes, Williams is absolutely beautiful.</p>

17

<p>Truman State, Kirksville, MO; really good public LAC and they would probably give you merit aid.</p>

18

<p>Some others:</p>

<p>Dickenson
Gettysburg
Hampden-Sydney
Washington & Lee
Longwood</p>

<p>And I know you didn’t say you wanted to consider the West Coast, but if you REALLY want a school in the middle of NOWHERE, then:</p>

<p>Whitman</p>

19

<p>U of Rochester–you might get some merit $, and a lot of Cornell applicants apply to ROC.</p>

<p>Washington & Lee</p>

<p>St Mary’s College (MD)</p>

<p>Washington College (MD)</p>

20

<p>monydad - Penn State is in the middle of PA - about 90 minutes from Harrisburg and 3 hours from Philly or Pittsburgh. So if big city life is what you’re looking for, yes, it’s in the middle of nowhere. But my impression was that it was like Cornell - with a big bustling college town surrounding it. . We visited some other places that were really isolated - where life is on campus and there were no stores or restaurants around. PSU has a college town atmosphere.
Kentric, if you apply to PSU, go for the honors college. You have the stats and it makes a difference in the experience (and cost). Many kids are there because they either didn’t get into Cornell or couldn’t afford it. Hey, both schools have creameries!</p>