Safeties/general college list help please?

Elijah47
Sat, 21 Apr 2012 12:54:50 +0000

I’m back after posting a thread not too long ago. I’ve done a lot of visits over the last week and I’m back in the mode of trying to piece together my college list. By application time, I should have a 3.7ish UW GPA with mostly AP/Honors classes and I expect to get a similar score on the SAT as I got on the PSAT (216). Taking the Math II and Chem subject tests in a few weeks. Here’s what I’ve found through visits:

Visited schools:
*Amherst - loved it, definitely first choice so far and worth applying to me even though I’ll get rejected for sure (in early decision).
*Bowdoin - wasn’t a huge fan, given how much of a reach it is I don’t think it’s worth applying.
*Brown - didn’t actually visit, but I did a summer program there so I know the campus. Again, not sure if the pros actually make it worth the tiny chance of getting in.
*Colby - I was pleasantly surprised by Colby. I love the “feel” of the campus and the student body.
*Northeastern - I was a bit put off by the urban setting; I don’t think I want to apply here.
*MIT - Same deal as Northeastern. As much as I said it was my dream school in the last thread, I clearly didn’t know what I was talking about. Can’t stand how busy and urban it is.
*Tufts - I liked it a lot, but I’m not quite sure why.
*Wesleyan - Same as Tufts. Just felt right for some reason.
*Williams - felt only a tiny bit better than Bowdoin, and just as much of a reach if not more. Not applying here.

So now my college list looks like this:
Amherst
Bucknell (haven’t visited)
Carnegie Mellon (haven’t visited)
Colby
Tufts
UMass Amherst (don’t really plan on visiting but I live half an hour away so I could)
U of Rochester (haven’t visited)
Vassar (haven’t visited)
Wesleyan

Given how I reacted to other campus visits, do you think I’d probably have similar reactions to any of the ones I haven’t visited? For example, Carnegie Mellon would probably be too urban for me and maybe Rochester as well. Also, as you can see, that list is heavy on reaches (Amherst, Tufts, Vassar, Wesleyan) and light on safeties (maybe even nonexistent). Can you recommend me some safeties similar to the colleges I already like? Thanks.