Safeties??

College Search & Selection
#1

<p>so i have my top 10 schools down. and im trying to decide on some safeties to apply to. Ive been thinking about a lot of private schools in oregon like lewis & clark, willamette, and U of Portland. Im from CA so theyre not too far from home-most of my schools are in CA or Boston. Any suggestions or opinions on those oregon schools??</p>

<p>these are my stats:</p>

<p>i have a 3.6-3.7 at a top 10 ranked school in California
I have a 1270 SAT I- retaking in Dec, hoping around mid 1300s
really good ECs
my top choice CA school is Pepperdine
my top choice East coast are BC and Tufts</p>

<p>leme kno what you think! thanks
!</p>

#2

<p>A likely safety school for you would be the University of San Diego (USD). It has a very good academic reputation and one of the most beautiful campuses on the west coast.</p>

#3

<p>Chapman might be a nice safety school for you.</p>

<p>While the University of Portland and Willamette seem like a good fit (given you are attracted to Pepperdine, Tufts, and Boston College), Lewis & Clark seems to be a bit out there, compared to the other schools on your list. It reminds me of that Sesame Street bit -- "one of these schools just doesn't belong here, three of these schools are kind of the same. . . " You get the idea.</p>

<p>While Lewis & Clark probably would fit me to a t, other than location, what is attractive about Lewis & Clark to you? Just curious.</p>

#4

<p>I first heard about Lewis & Clark in the mail. They sent me a number of viewbooks and letters. Many of my friend also visited the campus and had nothing but positive things to say about it. However, as one of my friends described, she felt like she was at a summer camp in the middle of the woods. The one thing that I dont like about the school is the size of the student body. I want a school with no less than 2500 people. Im from a SMALL town in the bay area and I really want to experience something new, but not too drastic. </p>

<p>I am applying to USD and Chapman for sure. Do you really think they are considered safeties for me???</p>

#5

<p>With your qualifications, I would consider both USD and Chapman as matches/safeties. I believe your sat is above average for both institutions and your gpa is right about at the average for Chapman (slightly below average for USD).</p>

<p>If you are nervous that neither Chapman nor USD is a slam-dunk safety, I suggest that you add another school in that same sort of range (selectively speaking), but with slightly more open admissions criteria. The school that comes to my mind is the University of Redlands. The more I learn about the University of Redlands, the more excited I get about it. There seems to be a strong focus on teaching at this school. Plus, they have the Johnston Center for Integrated Studies, where students may create their own courses of study and design their own discipline. Academically speaking, Redlands seems to be one of those hidden gems where the quality of the education a student receives there has not yet become well known outside their geographic region.</p>

<p>For you, University of Redlands would be closer to a safety. While USD accepts approximately 50% of applicants and Chapman accepts approximately 60% of applicants, Redlands accepts approximately 70% of applicants. With what I know about you (granted, that is not much), I think that Redlands would be a safety for you.</p>

<p>Regarding Lewis & Clark, what you say is interesting. The reason why I thought it stood out from the rest of your schools is that: 1) it is quite a bit smaller than the rest of the schools you mentioned; 2) many of the schools that are high on your list tend to attract politically conservative, somewhat religious (though not evangelical) students; 3) Lewis & Clark is known to attract Peruvian poncho wearing, tree-hugging, deadlocked, atheistic, liberal students (not exactly the same group that you will find at Pepperdine). That is not to say that you should not apply to both schools. It is just to say that most people usually are attracted to either one or the other, but not both.</p>

<p>Good luck and I urge you to check out Redlands as a safety.</p>

#6

<p>this is my complete college list: tell me what you think of it...(its in no specific order)</p>

<p>-Pepperdine
-UCSD, UCSB, UCSC, UCD
-USD
-Chapman
-Occidental
-Boston College
-Boston University*
-Tufts
-Northeastern
-U of Wash*
-Seattle Univ*
-Tulane
-Willamette*</p>

<p>*= pending</p>

#7

<p>i will def look into Redlands also, thanks so much!!</p>

#8

<p>any more suggestions?</p>

#9

<p>Might want to look at Holy Cross-very good school 1 hour from Boston.</p>