Finding some last minute safeties for someone who loves Yale

College Search & Lists
21

<p>If she is willing to go to an LAC, Vassar and Oberlin could be options (not safeties, but better chances)?</p>

22

<p>If it is any consolation to your friend, I know an NMF who decided against an Ivy and another very prestigious U in order to take advantage of the excellent merit aid awarded by UMCP. Given graduate school plans this student knew it would be better to graduate without debt while still getting an excellent education. I think your friend would find plenty of intellectual peers at UMCP.</p>

23

<p>Lehigh? BC? Syracuse? Villanova?</p>

24

<p>St. Mary’s College of MD (Maryland’s public honors college) is a good suggestion, if you can get past the small size. Its total COA is a few thousand dollars more than UMCP’s for Maryland residents. The campus is beautiful (right on the water with a new boathouse and a fleet of sailboats for student use, if that has any appeal.) It looks a lot like a traditional New England LAC. Only 1% of classes have 50 or more students (compared to 17% at UMCP).</p>

25

<p>Boston College, Carnegie Mellon, Georgetown, Fordham, Providence, Penn State, Syracuse all come to mind</p>

26

<p>University of Rochester and Vassar, while different from each other both have some overlap with the Yale feel. I would think both would be varying degrees of match.</p>

27

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<p>Well, she has a safety. She just doesn’t want to go there. It seems to me that she would feel similarly negative about any school that was truly a safety – I assume she’s fixated on prestige since she only applied to mega-reaches. (Maybe I’m wrong about that.) I agree it would be better if she had a safety that was an actual safety (i.e. a school that she would actually be willing to attend), but it’s a little late in the game for that. She’d have to really research a safety, probably visit campus, in order to learn to love it.</p>

<p>Has she even visited UMCP or is it just fixed in her mind as the place where students with B averages go? Is there an honors college she would qualify for?</p>

<p>For schools that aren’t safeties but are at least more like matches than the Ivies and equivalents she’s applied to, I second the suggestion of Smith. She should also try Bryn Mawr. </p>

28

<p>Sarah Lawrence could be a safety: they are giving out generous merit aid ($20k-30k)to competitive applicants these days. </p>

29

<p>@formyfriend:</p>

<p>Assuming that matching your friend’s academic interests is a priority, here is a list of schools that grant degrees in cognitive science:</p>

<p><a href=“http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_institutions_granting_degrees_in_cognitive_science#United_States”>http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_institutions_granting_degrees_in_cognitive_science#United_States&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

<p>The only small universities in the northeast that meet full need that are not already on your friend’s list are:</p>

<p>MIT
Dartmouth
Tufts</p>

<p>MIT and Dartmouth don’t seem to be culturally compatible with what your friend likes about Yale.</p>

<p>Tufts does though, and although it is not a safety, it is in the WashU/Rice range of selectivity, which makes it a possibility.</p>

<p>On the music side, Tufts has a new performance hall that is claimed to be the best small hall in the Boston area.</p>

<p><a href=“http://www.tufts.edu/home/feature/?p=granoff&p2=2”>http://www.tufts.edu/home/feature/?p=granoff&p2=2&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

<p>The performance hall has lots of pianos (12 Steinways and 8 Yamahas- including one that is considered the best in New England)</p>

<p><a href=“Tufts Journal: Corner: Keys to perfection”>http://tuftsjournal.tufts.edu/archive/2007/february/corner/index.shtml&lt;/a&gt;
<a href=“http://www.tufts.edu/home/feature/?p=granoff&p4=4”>http://www.tufts.edu/home/feature/?p=granoff&p4=4&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

<p>There are also pianos in the Electrical and Mechanical Engineering Buildings (Steinway sponsers a Music Engineering Program (that liberal arts students participate in)</p>

<p><a href=“Steinway Piano Signal Distribution - YouTube”>Steinway Piano Signal Distribution - YouTube;
<a href=“Steinway Piano Project - YouTube”>Steinway Piano Project - YouTube;

<p>And there are more pianos at the New England Conservatory where Tufts students can take classes</p>

<p><a href=“The College | New England Conservatory”>The College | New England Conservatory;

<p>There are even pianos in the streets of Davis Square (next to Tufts) as well as Cambridge, and Boston. Anyone can play them.</p>

<p><a href=“Street Pianos | Davis Square, Somerville”>http://streetpianos.com/boston2013/pianos/davis-square/&lt;/a&gt;
<a href=“Play Me I'm Yours - Davis Square Somerville - Street Piano - 10/5/13 - YouTube”>Play Me I'm Yours - Davis Square Somerville - Street Piano - 10/5/13 - YouTube;
<a href=“Boston Street Pianos - Davis Square - YouTube”>Boston Street Pianos - Davis Square - YouTube;

<p>2000 (out of 5000) students take music classes</p>

<p><a href=“http://as.tufts.edu/music/documents/faqandinfo_OLD.pdf”>http://as.tufts.edu/music/documents/faqandinfo_OLD.pdf&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

<p>The cognitive science faculty have international reputations and one specializes in music cognition</p>

<p><a href=“Center for Cognitive Studies | Tufts University”>Center for Cognitive Studies | Tufts University;

<p><a href=“Center for Cognitive Studies | Tufts University”>Center for Cognitive Studies | Tufts University;

<p><a href=“US Navy funds morality lessons for robots | WIRED UK”>http://www.wired.co.uk/news/archive/2014-05/14/robo-ethics&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

<p><a href=“Faculty | Department of Psychology”>Faculty | Department of Psychology;

<p><a href=“Exploring Music’s Hold on the Mind - The New York Times”>Exploring Music’s Hold on the Mind - The New York Times;

<p>And the food is really good too</p>

<p><a href=“60 Best Colleges for Food in America for 2013 (Slideshow)”>Daily Meal | Cooking Tips, Restaurants, Food Reviews, Recipes;

30

<p>If your friend is willing to consider LACs, then Vassar is the only full ride school in the northeast that is on the list.</p>

<p>They have Steinways in the parlor of each dorm.</p>

31

<p>For publics, SUNY Oswego is on the list. I don’t know much about the school, but the SUNYs are usually relatively cheap for out of state. Maybe other posters are more familiar with the school.</p>

32

<p>I think it is unhelpful for posters to list places like Tufts, Georgetown, Northwestern and Vanderbilt as suggestions. These are reaches for everybody and she already has tons of those. I really wish people would think instead of just regurgitating their favorite schools. </p>

33

<p>@pizzagirl:</p>

<p>Here is the first line of this thread.</p>

<p>

</p>

<p>Please, re-read your post. Think about the tone of it. Think about how much information it contains that is useful to the OP. Observe the effect it has had on this thread, and the poster’s ability to gather new information.</p>

<p>Now, how helpful do you think your post was?</p>

<p>The cardinal rule of brainstorming is that there are no “bad” ideas…</p>

34

<p>I think safeties and Yale don’t mix well. Cc will go crazy as soon as HYP is mentioned. How can we suggest a school LIKE Yale and be safeties ?</p>

<p>I still think Hana’s Mary Washington is a good one. </p>