1. University of California - Berkeley

    • 4 Year
    • Berkeley, CA
    • 4,073 reviews
    #46 Best Colleges in America

    Freshman : I am currently an out of state freshman at Berkeley over halfway through my second semester. I was wary of having high expectations of Berkeley and buying into the cultivated image of perfect inclusion, challenging and inspiring intellectualism, and care for social justice/activism. Even though I tried to manage my expectations, they were disappointed. THAT BEING SAID, I'm glad I am a student at Berkeley. It is the best and the worst, wonderful and terrible, and for me, that feels like a fairly accurate representation of how the world is today. If you would describe yourself as an idealistic person, yes, come to Berkeley! But be prepared to hold onto your values tightly.
    Read 4,073 Reviews

    • A+
      Overall Niche Grade
    • 15% Acceptance Rate
    • $17,862 Net Price
    • 1320-1530 SAT Range
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  2. Davidson College

    • 4 Year
    • Davidson, NC
    • 303 reviews
    #47 Best Colleges in America

    Alum : It is hard to write a review of a college, let alone Davidson, that takes into account all of the information and auras one wants to convey. And plenty have yet to settle for most alums, for whom Davidson remains a lifelong quest to define. That alone speaks to the effect the school has. A good place to start is alum involvement. Davidson has one of the most committed collection of alumni in the world. For those like me 2 years or so out, I think relaying that statistic is huge. Odds are we will follow suite.
    Career services are better, but the 2020 economy, especially if you want to do finance, is tough. Davidson pulls no punches about continued severe grading, so while the academics are remarkable, you may leave smarter yet less "qualified" than weaker peers who went to worse schools and learned less. No interviewer wants to hear or will believe excuses about a school he/she might not know. Alums do amazing things beyond that. I'm in that annoying in between phase!
    Read 303 Reviews

    • A+
      Overall Niche Grade
    • 19% Acceptance Rate
    • $26,565 Net Price
    • 1290-1450 SAT Range
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