<p>coppin state university, morgan state university, bowie state university, jackson state university</p>
<p>where are those schools beejaei? I am not familiar with them.</p>
<p>I wanted to second the suggestion that Brandeis might be a possibility - if this student really wants an East Coast school. I like the neighborhood around Brandeis.</p>
<p>Carleton would be good.</p>
<p>S2 was A-/B+ with 2290, polisci/IR/philosophy guy –
Schools he considered on that were less reachy were Macalester, American, GWU, Brandeis, URochester, Syracuse (very good public policy, avg ST 1900-ish), Boston University. Yes, I know some of these are fairly selective.</p>
<p>Agree with Clark, Dickinson (big on int’l focus), Hampshire, St. John’s. I have a friend whose S is at Colby (though not a polisci/history major) and he has had an amazing experience.</p>
<p>A couple hundred points on the SAT would help a lot. The more important thing is for him to find schools that fit his desire for intellectual vibrancy while also suiting his personality. Some kids relish the intellectual competition; others want the heavy intellectual stuff, but not the rat race.</p>
<p>For S, reaches were UChicago, Tufts (accepted at both; these were his top two choices), Georgetown, Swat (rejected at both), waitlisted at Bowdoin and Carleton (did not pursue the waitlist). Likelies were UMD and URoch (accepted at both with merit). Decided not to apply to CMU, W&M and CMC after getting into Chicago EA.</p>
<p>[Academic</a> Program. Kalamazoo College](<a href=“http://www.kzoo.edu/programs/]Academic”>Academics | Kalamazoo College)</p>
<p>Kalamazoo College</p>
<p>Auugh, I wrote a detailed post & lost it.</p>
<p>Anyway, my $.02. Both my girls are very bright, the oldest actually loves taking tests as it is one big puzzle to her & so her scores reflect that. Youngest has a somewhat more complicated thought process, but she also sees details & connections that many miss.( which takes time, so her standardized test scores do not reflect her intellect, IMO )</p>
<p>Both like pursuing academic & practical work. However, the oldest did attend Reed & was attracted to it by the conversations she had overheard on campus when visiting. Classroom discussions often go out the door and into " social time". However, I don’t know if I would call her " an intellectual- but she calls herself a " geek" so theres that.
( the youngest- who had been visiting her sister @ Reed, since she was 11, when I asked her if she wanted to apply there responded " oh. god. no".
I take it, it was because of the work load, although it could have been the small size- it was smaller than her high school)</p>
<p>Younger daughter as I mentioned though, is also capable, even though she didn’t have the benefit of prep school education as her sister did. Although her sister attended Reed & took advantage of their 100% need met policy, by the time youngest applied to college, we had one fewer dependent in the household ( & zero children), which made our EFC shoot up. She is attending an instate university & while I know she would have done well at any number of LACs, she is also enjoying the breadth of opportunities that a larger school can provide.
( She was also surprised- although I was not, that many of the students at her school had been admitted to schools with more " academic cachet", but opted to attend the in-state U)</p>
<p>I think this will be true at many schools, the types of discussions outside of class that you find, may be more prevalent depending on major. Philosophy majors might have what seem to be more esoteric conversations than those who are majoring in physical therapy, but at any school you will find a mix of students- you just have to pin down your actual criteria.
,</p>
<p>Both my kids liked Reed, but it would be a reach for the OP’s S.</p>
<p>Early Decision, if the OP’s S finds a school he really likes and the parents can afford (BIG caveats) may be a way to get a little bump at a reach.</p>
<p>Carleton isn’t happening for this student with those test scores. D’s scores were 100+ points higher in every category with similar grades and great ECs, and she was waitlisted at Carleton. Did not get off the waitlist in spite of an extensive campaign on her part throughout the spring. Although boys do have an easier time in admissions at most schools these days, I don’t think Carleton is a likely admission even as a reach.</p>
<p>politics, history, religion and philosophy 24 hours a day.</p>
<p>[url=<a href=“Liberal Arts College - Great Books Program | St. John's College”>Liberal Arts College - Great Books Program | St. John's College]St</a> Johns College<a href=“I%20am%20not%20familiar%20with%20St%20Johns%20University-%20they%20are%20different”>/url</a> definitely- but other than that I think any school with decent size depts in those fields would have peers where he can find common interests.</p>
<p>Your son sounds like mine, who is loving Evergreen.</p>
<p>^^^ A lot of intellectual schools are not happening with those test scores.</p>
<p>But a spectrum of interesting schools would be Earlham, Kalamazoo, and Whitman. If admission to Whitman came through, it would be dandy. Rigorous, but not as quirky as say Reed or Oberlin.</p>
<p>intparent, noticed your comment about Conn! Think my S was attracted there by the free music lessons, actually! He ended up at Wheaton, is very happy!</p>
<p>OP – perhaps one way to approach this is for your S to look at departments that are very strong in what he wants rather than focusing on the name brand of the school. May find some hidden gems that way. Look through college catalogs to see what schools have the depth/breadth/whatever he’s looking for. If he can find some niche schools with excellent polisci or history departments (or departments where the people are focused on what specific areas he may want to study), that may be a way to get what he needs.</p>
<p>By the way, great thread!
I am an A+ student actively watching this. I really want to be in an “intellectual” school myself, but could not afford the super-prestigious ones even if I get in. So I am looking closely at each school suggested on this thread, hoping it might be the place for me (and also might give me some sort of merit scholarship). Of course, my priorities are different than the OP’s - I am a science girl and want to major in bio or engineering. Still, this helps a lot. With the deadline for many schools coming up on Saturday, it’s great seeing this advice now. So thanks!</p>
<p>U Chicago and Brandeis–both very intellectual UAA schools–with Brandeis being more supportive and less competitive in atmosphere. Don’t see Tufts as quite the same intellectual atmosphere. However, just noticed the SAT scores. So, all would be reaches.</p>
<p>^^^B77: What? Tufts is not any less supportive or a more competitive atmosphere than Brandeis. However, it is a tougher school to get into than Brandeis imo.</p>
<p>I don’t think Tufts or UChicago is for the A-/B+ student these days. Brandeis perhaps.</p>
<p>
But at the top schools–a pool that does, for better or worse, overlap considerably with the intellectual schools–the classes are filled with students whose high school teachers loved them because they participated vibrantly in class AND got straight As. Then there are the B+/A- students with high (2200+) test scores to discount the grades.</p>
<p>Realistically, I would recommend schools like Earlham, Kalamazoo, Beloit, Whitman, St. John’s (visiting one campus is a must, but he sounds like a good fit). Look into the Hampshire, Evergreen, Marlboro, Bennington selection, although FA can be dicey. Lots of these names are intentionally repeats from upthread, because a chorus is more noticeable than a soloist.</p>
<p>Has anyone heard of a school that actively seeks diversity (i.e., low values) of GPA, test scores or class rank?</p>
<p>My Tufts student would strongly disagree on the intellectual opportunities at Tufts for those who seek them. With an average SAT score in the 2200 range, though, it’s a mega reach for the OP’s S.</p>
<p>There are top schools that will take A-/B+ kids, but those kids bring a lot to the table otherwise in ters of extremely tough courseloads, interesting activities, powerful essays, etc.</p>
<p>I think Keil has a good list of privates. What are your instate schools like, OP?</p>
<p>To the OP:
You say your son is an A-/B+ student with combined SAT rdg/math scores of 1260.
Willamette University is a match for him. The average GPA of admitted students is A- (3.70) and the average combined math & reading SAT score is 1240.</p>
<p>I think many of the schools posters have mentioned are actually reach schools. </p>
<p>This year, a Willamette alum won a Nobel prize in economics, and the school regularly graduates students who win national awards. There’s a reason Princeton Review identifies it as a “Best Value” school. You might check it out.</p>