Difficulty arranging schools under my top choice...

College Search & Lists
1

<p>I have about 8 schools on my “applying” list: Rice, Emory, Tulane, George Washington, Georgetown, University of Maryland, LSU, and UT Austin. I may apply to Brown but I’m not too serious about it lol. Rice is definitely my number one choice, and I will almost certainly be applying early decision.</p>

<p>I’m having a hard time figuring out where the other schools fall on my priority list. I’m leaning more towards studying natural sciences and humanities. Prospective majors include linguistics, history, ecology and evolutionary biology, or simply biological sciences. I like both equally and thus am considering a double major. I am not interested in any sort of pre-professional program.</p>

<p>I prefer a small-medium campus size (3,000-10,000 undergrads). I am white, politically liberal, and pretty liberal artsy as well (although I really enjoy natural sciences/mathematics). It would be nice to be in a walkable area (Houston is very automobile-dependent). </p>

<p>I live in Houston and love Rice. I have been there dozens of times. I love the campus and its atmosphere. Out of the other schools, I have visited Maryland, LSU, and UT Austin. Maryland is nice, but it is rather large. LSU is nice, but I have a feeling I wouldn’t like so many people there. I have been to UT Austin several times and I like the school, but I get a little tired of it after a while.</p>

<p>I have not actually been “inside” Tulane, but I have seen it in New Orleans. NOLA is a really cool city, but I’m not sure if I could really stay there for school. I have never been to Atlanta.</p>

<p>I have been to Washington twice and I absolutely love the city. Both GWU and Georgetown seem really cool.</p>

<p>What do you think might be the best school(s) for me? Like I said, I just want to start arranging other schools below Rice to see which ones may be best for me.</p>

2

<p>I fail to see why this matters until you’ve applied and seen where you’ve gotten in.</p>

3

<p>I understand, but I just want to get an idea of which schools are best for me so I am not wasting time during the application process. I think applying to 8 schools is a little excessive, so I was just curious for some feedback to maybe knock out a few schools.</p>

4

<p>8 schools is not excessive these days, especially if you do not have a very clear idea of what you want. Based on what you’ve stated so far, it seems you’d prefer Georgetown or GW to UMCP (for their smaller sizes and DC locations) or to the others.</p>

5

<p>rice i.m.o. should be number one!(awesome school) I will say you seem a little overly concerned about what the city around a school is like(unless it is dangerous)! who cares, you may not want to be super rural but, you are going to college not the city! you choose a place post college based on where you would like to live! you should be super submerged in school to really worry about off campus! all you need is a couple of stores and restaurants close by. a hospital should the need arise and be with in 30-45 minutes of an airport if you need to fly to get home.</p>

6

<p>Sit your parents down and have The Big Money Talk. After you investigate the financial aid policies at each of these places, you may find that some drop right off your list entirely.</p>

7

<p>I agree with others, don’t worry about ordering the choices until you see where you get in and what type of aid you get from each school. Once you narrow things down to schools you are accepted to and can afford, try to re-visit your top few choices again – sometimes you can do an overnight or a full day visit where you can sit in on classes, eat in the cafeteria, meet students etc and you really can get a sense of the school and how you will fit in there. After you do that, the order of your choices may become obvious.</p>