Fretting like crazy

College Search & Lists
1

<p>Hi, guys. I’m a senior from CT and as you can tell by my username, i’m freaking out/fretting like crazy! I’m having trouble refining my college list and was wondering if I have a good shot @ Barnard RD…And based on my list, can you recommend any safeties or targets?</p>

<p>Barnard College
Haverford College
GWU
Georgetown University
Grinnell College
Carnegie Mellon University
College of William and Mary
Pomona College
Bowdoin College
Wesleyan University
Conn College
UNC Chapel Hill</p>

<p>Stats:
3.66? GPA
Much higher QPA (have been in all honors classes for jr. and sr. years)</p>

<p>710 M
690 CR
780 W</p>

<p>mid to high 600s for all of my SAT IIs (Math II, Lit, Spanish with listening)</p>

<p>E/Cs:
Varsity Girls Tennis 9, 10, 11, 12 (Captain)
Drama Club 9, 10, 11 (VP), 12 (P)
Latin Honor Society 11, 12 (P)
Spanish Honor Society 11, 12
Teen Teaching 9, 10, 11 (P), 12 (P)
Infinite Possibilities 10, 11, 12 (P)
Environmental Club 10, 11 12 (VP)
School Newspaper 9, 10, 11, 12
School Yearbook 12 (Senior section editor)
Peer Tutor 10, 11, 12
Link Crew 11, 12</p>

<p>National Merit Scholar
ESU Shakespeare Monologue Winner
National Latin Exam Magna Cum Laude/Silver
Cornell Book Award
Service Award (for outstanding contributions to the school)</p>

<p>Church Youth Group Leader
Soup Kitchen Volunteer (Award of Recognition)</p>

<p>My essay is showing my drive and gusto in an experience with a teacher I had. I’m paralleling it to my dad’s life and his refusal to accept failure.</p>

<p>What do you think? Where should I look? I’m freaking out!</p>

2

<p>Hmmm… kind of an eclectic group of urban/suburban/rural and preppy/crunchy. What exactly are you looking for in a college or university, because it certainly isn’t immediately evident by that list?</p>

3

<p>Well, that’s the problem. For a while I was much more interested in small liberal arts colleges (Haverford, Bowdoin) which happened to be in very rural settings. But, at heart, I know I’m a city girl; it’s just really hard to find a small, cozy liberal arts college in any city. Any suggestions?</p>

4

<p>^^Occidental in LA, Macalester in St. Paul are both good LACs in cities (and Oxy would probably be pretty safe for you, though I haven’t looked at its stats in a couple of years. It is at least a low match). </p>

<p>Also check out Goucher in MD. It’s in Towson, which is kind of a suburb of Baltimore (20-30 min away by car), but is also rather urban in and of itself (with lots of resturants, a movie thearter, a big mall, concert venues, etc). The capus is right off of a main road, but far enough back and hedged off enough by trees that it is like entering a totally different (and really pretty) world. Goucher would also be a good saftey for you. It is on the crunchy/hippy/hipster side of things (of the schools on your list, it’s closest to Wes in terms of feel, I think). It’s one of the “Colleges that Change Lives” colleges.</p>

<p>Reed and Lewis and Clark are both really close to Portland. Lewis+Clark would be a saftey, Reed more of a high match type.</p>

<p>Def. keep Wesleyan on your list, BTW. It is in no way in a real city, but Middletown is big enough and has enough of a industrial/urban feel (while still keeping some small town charm) that this city girl feels at home, even though I don’t do much in town. I would never be happy in Middletown IRL, but for four years where college is my center, Middletown is close enough to urban for me that I don’t feel entirly out of place, and you might feel the same way.</p>

5

<p>I live literally a two minute walk from Haverford…and it is in no way rural. There is a ton of restaurants and shopping right on Lancaster Ave which is adjacent to Haverford, not to mention that Haverford is a short, simple train ride away from Center City Philadelphia on the R5.</p>

6

<p>Boston is probably the place for you then. Boston doesn’t have that same outreaching feel that a lot of cities have. You can be a 10 minute T ride away from the heart of Boston and have absolutely no clue except for the fact that you can see it.</p>

7

<p>yeah, boston is a possibility. but what schools would you recommend? i prefer under 5,000 students…</p>

8

<p>Why not add some of the other Claremont colleges like Pitzer and Scripps whichh are much easier to get into than Pomona.</p>

<p>Smith would be a safety as would Holyoak.</p>

<p>Trinity fits on your list and would be a match.</p>

9

<p>If you want a college in the city, I believe you can take grinell off you list.</p>

10

<p>What about EA Wellesley/Smith.</p>

11

<p>I agree (as usual) with WesKid. You should think about adding Macalester, Lewis & Clark and/or Occidental. I might also throw in Trinity (CT).</p>

<p>BTW, Haverford is not the least bit remote or rural. It is located in the heart of a major suburban area with shops and restaurants within walking distance. It’s also 15-20 minutes from the downtown of the nation’s 6th largest city.</p>

12

<p>thank you all so much. i really appreciate your advice…do you think my reaches are feasible? and would you consider barnard a reach for me? i went to a summer program there last summer and have evaluations from two columbia professors. they’re really well written and personal, and basically say that i will thrive at barnard…and though i was the youngest of the classes, i excelled. do you think those will help?</p>

<p>again, THANK YOU SO MUCH :)</p>

13

<p>I think you’ll be very competitive for Barnard.</p>

<p>Bowdoin, Georgetown, Grinnell, Haverford, Pomona, and Wesleyan would be more challenging, but i think you should give them a shot…</p>