Which Ivy League school is the best match for me?

Question

I applied to all the Ivies as a transfer student (except for Princeton--they don't admit transfer students)...I'm a west coaster and am hoping to visit the Ivies during my spring break. In the meantime, I wanted to ask those who were well-acquainted with these schools the differences between the Ivies and which one (in your opinion) is a good fit for me.

I'm not referring to their ranking per se, but their social environment. I'm a liberal, laidback type of person...I'm not huge into partying, drinking, or drugs...I love the outdoors and nature...I'm a bit artsy...I enjoy a setting that's small and intimate, but is accessible to metropolitan life. I'm not extremely competitive with other students; I'm more competitive with myself. I can handle all types of weather, but prefer mild weather. I'm majoring in anthropology.

Academically, Harvard and Yale are far reaches. My stats match up pretty well with Brown, Columbia, Dartmouth, U. Penn and Cornell.

Any recommendations?

Answer 1

Dartmouth is in a beautiful small town in NH. It gets cold there. A lot! Kids ski to class sometimes! They have a reputation for being more conservative.
Columbia is in Manhattan. Their campus is mostly cement and you would definitely know that you are living in the Big Apple. They are at the 116th St subway stop. Get on the subway and ride to Greenwich Village or Broadway or Times Square.
Cornell is a lovely school in upstate NY. THey also have a lot of cold weather. It is a larger school and larger town than Dartmouth but still not very large. They are generally not as intellectual as the other Ivies, although plenty of very smart kids go there.
Penn is in urban west Philadelphia. I personally see this as a kind of warzone but some young friends of mine are there and they totally love it.
Brown is in Providence RI, a small historic city with about 7 universities so, many students all over. They have a reputation for being the happiest of all the Ivy league students. The curriculum there is the least structured of any of the Ivys (basically take whatever you want). It is 50 miles of Interstate to Boston, and about 3 hours drive to NYC. So you can get out of town to the big city if you want, but PRovidence has plenty of things going on. All the kids I know who have gone to Brown have totally loved it.

Answer 2

Why not apply to the seven sisters? Barnard College, Bryn Mawr College, Mount Holyoke College, Radcliffe College, Smith College, Wellesley College, and Vassar College.

But from a environmental viewpoint, Dartmouth would be the best place to fulfill your love of the outdoors (if not milder weather). In case you hadn't noticed, all the Ivy League schools are in New England, sweetie, and its cold up there.

Answer 3

You might want to consider Smith, Amherst, and Mt. Holyoke as well. I can't promise mild weather, but they sound like good matches otherwise. They are all out in western Massachusetts, about two hours from Boston and four hours from New York City (good bus system as well).