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SAT: 1530
GPA: 3.3

I'm looking for colleges that are:

3000-15000 undergrads (I'm pretty flexible, as long as it's not one of the 2 extremes)

In or extremely close to a large city with a lot of culture (e.g. Boston, NYC, Philadelphia, DC...)

In the Northeast or Mid-Atlantic

A loose core curriculum (I don't mind core requirements but I don't want to be doing lots of core classes in sophomore/jr. years)

Anyone have any names to throw at me? At the moment I'm looking at places like BU and Georgetown. Thanks.

By Slipper2002 (Slipper2002) on Tuesday, August 24, 2004 - 05:24 pm: Edit

EMORY is a good bet for you too, its in the South but its very cosmopolitan and Atlanta is literally Chicago or Philly but happens to be in the South.

Northwestern, but midwest...apply ED with your stats, 50% accept rate early

NYU (not too much community but in NYC)

By Slipper2002 (Slipper2002) on Tuesday, August 24, 2004 - 05:38 pm: Edit

Tufts, Brandeis, Johns Hopkins

By Alexandre (Alexandre) on Tuesday, August 24, 2004 - 05:43 pm: Edit

Don't limit yourself geographically. University is about broadening one's horzions, not about comfort zones!

Boston College
Chicago
Columbia
Emory
Georgetown
Harvard
Johns Hopkins
Northwestern
NYU
Penn
Rice
Tufts
Vanderbilt
Washington U.

By Candi1657 (Candi1657) on Tuesday, August 24, 2004 - 06:01 pm: Edit

I wouldn't recommend Columbia or UChicago to the OP since they have pretty tight cores.

By Slipper2002 (Slipper2002) on Tuesday, August 24, 2004 - 06:09 pm: Edit

Like your list Alexandre and totally agree!! Unfortunately I would say Columbia, Harvard, and Penn are slightly out of reach due to GPA. Unless you have great EC/ Sport or some other way to get in!

By Kk19131 (Kk19131) on Tuesday, August 24, 2004 - 06:24 pm: Edit

Raise your GPA and come to Northwestern

I agree with Candi on Chicago and Columbia, epically Chicago.

By Rubbernecking (Rubbernecking) on Tuesday, August 24, 2004 - 06:36 pm: Edit

Thanks all. A quick follow-up:

Penn's a pretty clear first choice for me...is it so far out of reach that it's a waste of my ED?

By Slipper2002 (Slipper2002) on Tuesday, August 24, 2004 - 06:38 pm: Edit

Need more info, have anything special to offer?


Otherwise I would do Northwestern early, a much better strategic move than Penn.

By Rubbernecking (Rubbernecking) on Tuesday, August 24, 2004 - 07:03 pm: Edit

BTW, I have a sick relative at home that I'd like to be able to visit as often as possible, which is one of the reasons why I don't want to go too far away.

I did look into Northwestern a while ago, and it looked OK, but I wasn't really bowled over by it, and as I found some schools that I liked a little better it sort of drifted to the back of my big group of potential "reach schools".

I got some mixed signals from some past threads on the boards about Tufts (which, after visiting, I consider one of my top choices). Is Tufts a more realistic reach than Penn?

By Liek0806 (Liek0806) on Tuesday, August 24, 2004 - 07:16 pm: Edit

usc and occidental

By Kk19131 (Kk19131) on Tuesday, August 24, 2004 - 07:27 pm: Edit

Rubbernecking: What did you not like about Northwestern?

By Slipper2002 (Slipper2002) on Tuesday, August 24, 2004 - 07:36 pm: Edit

For the criteria you outlined and chance of getting in, there is no doubt Northwestern is the best bet...Tufts isn't worth wasting ED on, you'll get in regular probably

By Rubbernecking (Rubbernecking) on Tuesday, August 24, 2004 - 07:47 pm: Edit

The distribution requirements looked like they were a little bit rigid, and the Greek system seems to be pretty prevalent (which is a bit of a turn-off for someone who doesn't plan to do much drinking). Admittedly, I just browsed the website and the brochure for a couple of hours; I didn't visit or anything like that. I'll certainly take a good second look though, and maybe try to fly out there one of these weekends. Thanks for your quick responses!

By Slipper2002 (Slipper2002) on Tuesday, August 24, 2004 - 08:28 pm: Edit

Yeah, I totally would do that! The greek thing IS big, but NU is 7000 students, so there are about 4500 students not in the greek scene. A good friend went there and didn't do a frat and had a ton of friends who were very cool.

By Tkdgal (Tkdgal) on Tuesday, August 24, 2004 - 08:35 pm: Edit

Brown. For freedom of curriculum. Providence supposedly isn't so bad.

By Slipper2002 (Slipper2002) on Tuesday, August 24, 2004 - 08:46 pm: Edit

Brown is perfect, but the last person who got in with a 3.3 and no special hook or status was probably in 1989.

By Alexandre (Alexandre) on Wednesday, August 25, 2004 - 02:22 am: Edit

Rubbernecking, why is your GPA so damn low? Did you tak an impossible courseload? Did you hold a full time job? Did you have problems at home? Help us out here. Did you take AP exams and score 5s on them? How are your SAT IIs?

By Rubbernecking (Rubbernecking) on Wednesday, August 25, 2004 - 07:29 am: Edit

My first school didn't allow you to take APs until junior year, and I changed schools after two years there. I really hate the new school, and I just got fed up with it and became lazy, which was a real killer because the work is a lot harder and it's tough to come back once you fall behind. No full-time job or family problems or anything.

I got pretty good SAT IIs (800/790/650) and I'm taking a different subject in November to replace that third one. If practice tests are any indication, I'll probably get around 750.

By Alexandre (Alexandre) on Wednesday, August 25, 2004 - 09:39 am: Edit

That is sad. You really had a shot at any school in the nation were it not for your GPA. A 3.3 GPA will really hurt you. You have a shot at top universities thanks to your standardized tests, but you need safeties.

By Dudedad (Dudedad) on Wednesday, August 25, 2004 - 09:51 am: Edit

U of Rochester has only one required core class in English.

By Slipper2002 (Slipper2002) on Wednesday, August 25, 2004 - 10:37 am: Edit

Alexandre, that is why I think a top 20 school like NU ED is the way to go for her.

By Kk19131 (Kk19131) on Wednesday, August 25, 2004 - 12:57 pm: Edit

Slipper2002: She will not get in to NU with that GPA, ED or not.

By Alexandre (Alexandre) on Wednesday, August 25, 2004 - 03:44 pm: Edit

Slipper, Kk, she loses nothing by applying to two or three schools that are really tough, like NU, Chicago and Penn. She can also tempt her luck with Vanderbilt. But she also needs to apply to several matches, like George Washington, Tulane, BU, Rochester etc.... Finally, she needs safeties.

By Rubbernecking (Rubbernecking) on Wednesday, August 25, 2004 - 03:52 pm: Edit

For safeties I've been looking at Emerson, Northeastern, and American...any other suggestions?

By Slipper2002 (Slipper2002) on Wednesday, August 25, 2004 - 04:53 pm: Edit

Emerson and northeastern are WAY too safe...BU is a better safety. My brother got in with a 3.4 1280.

Apply to BC/ Vanderbitl/ Northwestern (ED)/ PEnn/ Chicago (I think you have a good chance RD), Tufts/ Gtown etc. Safety BU and others like it...

By Good_Gal (Good_Gal) on Wednesday, August 25, 2004 - 05:39 pm: Edit

university of rochester

By Rubbernecking (Rubbernecking) on Thursday, August 26, 2004 - 03:20 pm: Edit

Would Rochester be a match?

By Dazed04confused (Dazed04confused) on Sunday, August 29, 2004 - 11:11 am: Edit

If you are worried about core curriculums, then BC, Fordham Chicago and Columbia may not be for you. Those four schools may have the most intense cores in the country based on either number of classes a student has to take to fulfill the core, ie. BC and Fordham, or the intensity of the classes within the core, ie. Chicago and Columbia. From what I looked at, cores are true liberal arts curriculums and they seem fascinating, but certainly not for everyone. I do think it's amazing though that you can know that on one campus all of the students have taken a similar courseload and it seems to make the degree from the institution particular to the school and also seemingly more valuable. In other words, all students have to be well-rounded academically.