Where should I apply ?

College Search & Lists
1

<p>My sister is bugging me to post this, since she doesn’t have access to a computer right now. I hope that this is at least understandable (if it isn’t, blame big sisters who coerce their younger and vulnerable siblings to do chance threads for them xD). So, here goes : </p>

<p>She’s an international student (Canadian/Moroccan) living in Morocco and will be 16 when she starts college, so she’d like to go to a small, safe school with a close-knit community, preferably in the Northeast. Can’t stand the heat. She’s gay, and a GLBT-friendly, liberal college is a must. She’s also very into activism and quirky. My sister is a history buff, and a gender studies nut, so she’ll probably double major in those.</p>

<p>Bottom line : she looks for and intellectual, politically active, very liberal, somewhat quirky liberal arts college.</p>

<p>She’s been homeschooled since this year. Therein lies her problem : she’s distance-schooled through a French program called CNED, that’s infamous for its extreme grade deflation.
Here are her stats :
SAT I : 800 CR, 800 W 740 M
SAT II : 800 MII, 780 World History, 800 Chem
GPA : Freshman year (wasn’t homeschooled yet) : 17.5/20 (sorry, don’t know how that translates in American GPA)
Soph year : skipped it.
Jr year : -distance schooling- 14.5/20 (which would be a low A. Her teachers wouldn’t dream of giving anyone more than 15/20)</p>

<p>Estimated baccalaureate (first part) : 16-18 (written French) / 17-18 (oral French). (even though one can’t estimate accurately these marks)</p>

<p>ECs (not that great) : Volunteer for alphabetisation programs (teach adults French and/or written Arabic), and at the OMDH (Moroccan association for Human Rights).
Animator/initiator of a History Club about the city of Rabat (at the French cultural Centre).
Helps organize regularly conferences at the French Cultural Centre.
Started an unofficial Gay Youth Organization.
Helped rehabilitate the local church.
It may not seem to be much, but she spends at least 5/6 hours every day to do that.</p>

<p>That’s all I can think of.</p>

<p>Any ideas ? Thanks in advance !</p>

2

<p>Her scores are amazing, and she sounds like an interesting person. I think that she will have her pick of top liberal arts colleges in the Northeast. Amherst, Williams, Smith, Mount Holyoke, Bates, and Vassar all sound good. Wesleyan and Bard are worth looking at, too. I would not worry too much about her GPA. They will realize that she is in an unusual program, and she has the test scores to prove her ability.</p>

3

<p>She should definitely look at Carleton (which owns quirky) and Macalester in addition to those listed above.</p>

4

<p>In the French system, a 15+ average is equal to a 4.0 with a full AP load. I agree with Amherst, Carleton, Macalester, MHC, Smith and Wesleyan. I disagree with Williams though. From what I have seen, Williams is more akin to schools like Dartmouth and Duke. Unbeatable academics and extremely talented students, but not that quirky or intellectual. Maybe I am wrong, but that has been my experience with Williams.</p>

<p>Other schools that would be great to consider would be Bowdoin, Bryn Mawr, Brown, Chicago, Columbia, Cornell, Haverford, Reed, Swarthmore and Yale. </p>

<p>If she is willing to consider larger schools, Cal and Michigan would be worth a look too.</p>

5

<p>your sister sounds like an awesome person.</p>

<p>she should apply to mount holyoke, i was accepted there (though not going), and the girls are all so lovely and nice and friendly and interesting and intelligent. honestly, withdrawing my place was one of the suckiest decisions i’ve ever had to make, although i’m completely psyched that i get to attend my first choice school this year.</p>

<p>i should think she’s in at mt holyoke, my test scores and grades aren’t as good as hers and they gave me really good financial aid. will she be asking for aid btw?</p>

<p>i second all the schools mentioned above, except maybe williams, cornell, columbia. while not in the northeast, i’d also suggest oberlin and grinnell.</p>

6

<p>i think she screams wesleyan</p>

7

<p>Wesleyan, Vassar, Bates, Brown, Smith.</p>

8

<p>I second Oberlin.</p>

9

<p>Oh man, def. have her look at Wes! She sounds like she’d fit right in here, and our FGSS (Feminist, Gender, and Sexuality Studies) major is tops. She;d also have a pretty good shot of getting in.</p>

<p>I agree with most of the other schools listed as well (if she ends up really liking Wes, Vassar, Oberlin and Brown are the schools I found most like it). I also suggest she looks into Reed, and mayne Skidmore and Lewis+Clark for safties.</p>

10

<p>Thanks for the recommendations ! Maybe now, i can get her to stop stressing xD</p>

<p>Just another question : Among these schools, which ones are the best for Gender studies and history ?</p>

<p>And, yes, she’ll be applying for aid. It isn’t the main concern, though.</p>

11

<p>3rd oberlin, the home of noncomformity</p>

12

<p>You should probably keep in mind that international students asking for aid are placed in the most competitive pool of applicants.</p>

<p>Hmm I don’t know which schools are best for gender studies and history, but don’t let your sister worry too much over that. Since she’ll be applying to LACs, she won’t be taking ONLY gender studies and history classes. And plenty of people end up changing majors once they’re actually in college anyway, so, yeah… that’s one thing to take note of. Good luck to your sis! :)</p>

13

<p>I second Bowdoin, where she can be smart and herself. and in terms of aid, most good schools have blind admit policies. BOwdoin does for sure.</p>