<p>P.S. there are plenty of LAC’s that have a study hard, play hard mentality, with or without Greek systems.</p>
<p>But I’m not arguing about Berkeley… not sure why you’re bringing it up:
Berkeley isn’t “big state u” in the Insider’s Guide quiz description. Examples for this category: Ohio State, University of Florida, Penn State, Ole Miss, U Nebraska, UWV, UGA, etc.
I’m sure the philosophy majors at these schools are more thoughtful than the business majors too but still these are not the first schools that I would recommend to a 15 year old who wants to study philosphy abroad (even if his/her family comes along).
So I’m talking about the results of the quiz, because I think there’s a mismatch. At this point we have a 15 year old interested in philosophy. That’s why this doesn’t scream “SEC” to me 
However, if it opens new venues for FullTimeDreamer, it’s good. All schools have interesting programs regardless of general population and vibe.</p>
<p>FullTimeDreamer: when you’re 19 or 20, you will NOT want to have your family living next to you (and you won’t want to live with them), no matter how wonderfully you get along. So even if they plan to buy an apartment, it should NOT be near campus and they should plan for it to be probably one town over, NOT where the college is. This way you could still see them from time to time (keep in mind you’ll be very busy so you probably won’t be able to go see them more than once a month even if they live nearby) but it won’t be a problem for your development as a young adult.
For instance, let’s say you get admitted to Carleton (let us imagine you’re super accomplished, excellently well rounded and have extraordinary grades and test scores). Your parents could live in Minneapolis St Paul. Or, if they prefer suburbs to a city, they could live in Eden Prairie or Bloomington. But you would NOT want them buying a house in the town where Carleton is located.
If you got into Reed, they might want to live in Portland, but absolutely not in the same area as the college, and you may want them around Seaside or McMinnville :p</p>
<p>Thank you to bluebayou and MYOS for both of your help. From the bottom of my heart, thank you SO SO much for keeping me motivated and inspired. I have finished noting on Insider’s Guide and am starting Fiske’s laater on today. </p>
<p>I’d let my relatives know that they should stay in another town, and hopefully it would be convenient for them as well. Thank you!</p>
<p>Well, it depends if your relatives already live somewhere and you hope to live nearby, or if they’d be joining you. In any case, by the time you go and they move, you’ll be able to let them know, don’t worry about it. I just mentioned this because you</p>
<p>What schools have you “postmarked” so far?
What characteristics do you like?</p>
<p>Your next step will be to go to the school’s website and fill out the “join our mailing list” or “request info” forms, this way you’ll be on the school’s radar.</p>
<p>I think Swarthmore, Reed and LAC’s in general are OP’s best options for entry at age 16. Columbia and NYU both have older student bodies than most universities and are poor choices.</p>
<p>@MYOS I decided to kind of scrap off all of my “postmarked” schools. Why
? I simply felt like I was rushing through everything. This time, I’d much rather take it slow and easy, and be less selective. Throughout the entire Insider’s Guide, I bore a somewhat mindset of “perfect school”. If I go through it once more, I think I’ll have more opportunities and make better decisions. However, a few of the schools that I “postmarked” during my first skimming through are Eugene Lang College of the New School University, Skidmore, Lewis and Clark, and Evergeen State College. What stood out to me were locations (suburban and urban), decent/small total enrollment, lack of Greek life, percent of Undergraduate in on-campus housing, and score ranges. I try to postmark safety schools.</p>
<p>I would love to know more about LACs (I have never heard about them before I even came to this forum)! I love Swarthmore and Reed, but I need safety schools. I am taking my ACTs this Saturday, wish me luck! After the test ends, I will filter out my “postmarks” again.</p>
<p>The New School is on the other side (North) of Washington Square from NYU. It owns no dormitories to my knowledge. How could you possibly go there as a minor (<18 yrs. old)? You will not be able to find or rent a place to live in NYC.</p>
<p>Evergreen State is known as a place with a lot of problems and attracts students with problems, especially drug ones. Why would you want to go there? If you want a hip state college with a liberal arts feel try UC-Santa Cruz instead of Evergreen State. New College of Florida would be also a good alternative.</p>
<p>Note that Skidmore has become more selective just recently. Last year it had a 42% increase in applicants. Your new guide book may already be out of date.</p>
<p>Why not just pick one of the large state universities (Rutgers, Michigan or Pittsburg) with good philosophy Ph.D. programs as a place to apply over UW?</p>
<p>Finally, have you looked a colleges that employ a “great books” curriculum? St. John’s College in Annapolis is the best known, but there is also Shimer College in Chicago which is affiliated with IIT which has student housing.</p>
<p>rhg: Eugene Lang does have dorms. Those are the freshmen dorms:
[Eugene</a> Lang College :: Union Square Residence Hall](<a href=“Eugene Lang College of Liberal Arts | The New School”>Eugene Lang College of Liberal Arts | The New School)
[Eugene</a> Lang College :: 13th Street Residence Hall](<a href=“Eugene Lang College of Liberal Arts | The New School”>Eugene Lang College of Liberal Arts | The New School)
[Eugene</a> Lang College :: Loeb Hall](<a href=“Eugene Lang College of Liberal Arts | The New School”>Eugene Lang College of Liberal Arts | The New School)</p>
<p>And OP can’t just pick a public university such as Rutgers, Michigan, UC Santa Cruz, or Pittsburgh, as they cost $50,000/year for internationals.
A school like Skidmore is generous to the internationals it admits and I’m not sure why you think OP might find Skidmore too selective or that the guidebook is out of date. Right now, we have a 15 year old interested in philosophy, not your average freshman in high school so selectivity isn’t a factor yet. OP takes the ACT this Saturday (and hopefully has practiced every day with number2.com, practice tests, etc.)</p>
<p>New College is a great alternative but not quite drug-free :p. But FullTimeDreamer may have a ball there, it’s a great, intellectual school, and they do have scholarships for internationals. </p>
<p>Right now, OP is doing the right thing: looking at colleges and trying to see what “clicks”. As of today, it looks like s/he likes a laid-back, “granola/hippie” vibe, with alternative lifestyles. But this will likely evolve as OP FullTimeDreamer reads the various guidebooks and requests info.</p>
<p>I have taken the test earlier today :). I could not finish in time for “Science” and the “Reading” section. Within the last five minutes, I guessed the remaining questions. I still had some time left, so I did a quick scan through the passage(s) and managed to get a general view of them. Out of the initially “guessed” answers, I found a few errors and could correct it in time. </p>
<p>For the essay section, I could not finish my last few sentences. Honestly speaking, I did not practise writing essays as much at home or in school. I will be taking the ACT again, but I won’t let my first try get me down. Now I know what I can improve on-- my reading speed, essay writing and the comprehension of the topic. I felt like I portrayed an extreme one-sided view during the essay and did not really cover the arguments. </p>
<p>I wouldn’t say I fared as well as I hoped. However, I did finish the “Math” section, which was extremely difficult for me during my previous practices. I’m glad I had made an improvement in the section. Right now, I am preparing for my SATs in January. I know I’ll bag better scores next time :).</p>
<p>Back at the main topic: I’m going to start “postmarking” my Insider’s Guide again tonight. Hope I get a more accurate result this time! Thank you all :D</p>
<p>Bumpin’ as usual.</p>
<p>The ACT requires tight time management - even native speakers have to “guess” for quite a few questions.
Let us know your results if you want to. It’s just a first try, there’s a reason most American students take it twice - and they don’t have to do it in a foreign language!
Once you’ve found a few schools you like, check their website out and fill out the “request info/join maiing list” form. :)</p>
<p>Hey there FullTimeDreamer, I’m curious what the goal of good freshman philosophy courses would be? You noted you wanted to be part of a ‘fundamental’ college; does that mean one that’s well known, or one that gets to the fundamentals of things? I’d ask that because I’d echo the suggestion of looking into “Great Books” colleges (a breed of LAC that employs only primary sources and discussion-based classes), but since your four years there will be spend rather intensively reading, writing, and discussing, you’ll want to be serious about that sort of thing. So it depends on whether you want that to be more of a starting block, or your main thing in college (and that type of curriculum really is excellent grad school prep in terms of the abilities it gives you). St. John’s has two campuses in Annapolis and Santa Fe, more suburban/rural feel; Shimer is very much an urban campus. Those are the only two secular GB schools; the others have some kind of religious affiliation or another (it sounds like from your criteria that St. Thomas Aquinas might not be the best fit). I’m an alum of Shimer so feel free to ask me more about them in general if you’re curious.
But lots of good advice here for you already - good luck!</p>
<p>Hello! Sorry for the late reply as I was away on vacation, and I will soon be again. Scores will be posted from December 30th onwards, latest by February. I am really anxious to receive mine.</p>
<p>A “fundamental” college", to me, is one that has an “artsy” and free-minded environment; friendly and charismatic students who are able to get into their “serious mode” during work; teachers who are willing to go out of their way to help a student in need of guidance (in all aspects, not just academically). I think that the college will be a very important place for me to learn more about myself and life in general, and let me have self-expression. I inferred that my Undergraduate school does not particularly have to matter in terms of being well-known, may anyone confirm that?</p>
<p>No results yet. Might need to wait a few more weeks, sigh.</p>
<p>what you do matters more than the name of your school, indeed, but the environment may influence how well you do (ie., if your classmates are asleep in class or haven’t done the reading or can’t discuss it, if they don’t do their part of group projects, what the campus is like, what many students like to do in the evenings or on weekends…)
How “well-known” your university also depends “to whom”: some people know universities based on their football teams, others for PHD admission, others for the presence of specific faculty members or a specific piece of equipment…</p>
<p>re: results - it’s really late.
Send them an email.</p>
<p>The website stated that results will be out from late December until early February. I don’t know if I actually should send them an e-mail. After all, I live in South East Asia and my results need to be mailed to USA.</p>
<p>Just send them an email to inquire. It can’t hurt.</p>
<p>Current update: I have been added to Reed’s mailing list. The staff had told me that I can enter Reed without A-Levels (just IGCSE). I am delighted and more motivated than ever! I’m taking my SATs this January 25th. </p>
<p>@MYOS Is there any way I can contact you personally beside going onto this post? Thanks!</p>
<p>My ACT score has been returned (other than my Writing). I got a disappointing 25 marks out of 36 but I guess I’ll just study harder :).</p>
<p>^^I refer you back to post #4…</p>
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<p>Instead of wasting your time on an internet forum, practice for the SAT. Good luck.</p>