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Hi, I'm currently a junior in high school. I have a 1350 SAT and about a 3.1 GPA (no, this doesn't reflect my abilities-i have been unconcerned with school until now). I am pretty involved in ECs (all mostly political) and have been involved in a community service project for 2 years now. I currently go to a very competitive prep school. I really want to go to a school with smart (i know this will be hard because of my GPA), laid-back people. Any suggestions? I have a ton of reaches (Pomona, Wesleyan, Dartmouth, Brown, Berkeley) but i need some good match/likely schools...any suggestions?

By Emeraldkity4 (Emeraldkity4) on Monday, March 31, 2003 - 02:57 pm: Edit

I would suggest Occidental in Oakland for a good liberal art school where you can get a stronger background in political awareness.

http://departments.oxy.edu/politics/

By Emeraldkity4 (Emeraldkity4) on Monday, March 31, 2003 - 03:16 pm: Edit

actually I guess it is outside of LA is that Oakland? I don't think so anyway I have heard very good things about Oxy

By Jkazoo (Jkazoo) on Monday, March 31, 2003 - 04:03 pm: Edit

Occidental is in Los Angeles, in the northeast corner near Pasadena. Very good school that is becoming increasingly competitive (43% acceptance rate in 2002, and applications up 8% for 2003). My son was just accepted there - to my surprise, since his SATs (1210) were low for Oxy (about 1300 average, I believe). But I think being from New Jersey helped.

You might also want to look at Bard in New York. Smart and laid-back is a very good way to describe the average student there.

By Erin (Erin) on Monday, March 31, 2003 - 07:40 pm: Edit

What about UC Santa Barbara? If you are not in California, it might be harder to get into, but you had Pomona so I'm guessing there is a chance that you are from CA.

By Paradisegirl (Paradisegirl) on Monday, April 14, 2003 - 06:05 pm: Edit

A good way to find out what schools are good matches is to go to princetonreview.com. If you go to their "counselor-o-matic" and fill out all the info about you and your preferences, it'll give you a list of schools that are good for you. Also, after you've done this(and you sign up for free), you can type in any college, and when you get to their review, you can hit the button that says "what are my chances at this school" and it will tell you Reach, GOod MAtch, or Safety. I HIGHLY reccommend this. Good Luck!

By Bjturlington (Bjturlington) on Saturday, April 19, 2003 - 07:24 am: Edit

Lme...

How about:
1. University of Wisconsin-Madison
2. University of Texas-Austin
3. College of Wooster
4. Earlham College
5. Kenyon College
6. University of the South
7. Skidmore College
8. Bard College
9. DePauw University
10. Denison University
11. Hendrix College
12. Centre College
14. Reed College
15. The Evergreen State College
16. Lawrence University
17. Hobart & William Smith College
18. St. Lawrence University
19. Ohio Wesleyan University
20. Knox College
21. Indiana University
22. St. Olaf College
23. Trinity University
24. University of Richmond
25. Wheaton College, MA
26. Austin College
27. Southwestern University
28. Furman University
29. University of Kansas
30. Rhodes College

Hope this helps.
Rob.

By Lethalfang (Lethalfang) on Monday, April 21, 2003 - 02:50 am: Edit

If you want to go to a laid-back school, Berkeley is not for you. It's very competitive, especially in science and engineering majors.

By Calif (Calif) on Wednesday, August 13, 2003 - 02:00 am: Edit

If you're looking at schools in California, consider the University of San Diego (USD). It has a very good academic reputation, and the students there are bright, but not overly competitive. The campus is one of the most beautiful in California, and both students and teachers rave about it. If you don't feel like hanging out on campus, the beaches of San Diego are nearby.

Everyone I have known who has attended USD has loved it.