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Which college should I apply to?

So, I am going to be applying to college in a few months and I've narrowed it down to ten so far, but I really want to narrow it down further, to 8. So, here is my question:

Looking at this list, which two colleges, looking at my preferences, would you recommend I ELIMINATE from my list, and which two or three colleges do you think would be the BEST fit for me?



Colleges:

Babson College

Boston University

Pepperdine U

Northern Arizona U

Purdue U

Syracuse U

University of Pennsylvania

University of Southern California

Washington University in St. L.

Western New England College





Here is what I want in a college:



a safe yet interesting area, friendly, open minded students, good weather, approachable teachers who know your name, a college with a good study abroad program and a lot of opportunities. Also, a college with a good advertising, business: entrepreneurship program.

Thank you soo much!



Please specify if you recommend I eliminate, or if I should keep said college on my list,

also it would be a big help if you told me why.

Thanks:)

The reason i am asking is because i do not have direct experience with these colleges, and other people who perhaps have relatives who went there or went there themselves would know which programs the university was strong in.





I forgot to say: I'm not eliminating NAU because it's my one in state school, safetysafety school. I know it's not great.



Also, I'm not eliminating on account of not getting in, because I think I have pretty good chance at any and all the schools on my list.

One of my favorites based on student works: Miami Ad School

But overall the best advise is to not rely on the scool but do your own stuff - make your own business, freelance ad work, etc...

Babson has a great business program, though UPenn (Wharton) is obviously the best business program in the country. However, UPenn doesn't fit your criteria: it's not in a safe place and it's quite big, so you aren't likely to have much face time with your professors.
Babson is smaller, so you will get to know your professors. Boston is great. Weather is kind of bad (cold winters)
Wash U St. Louis is bigger, but a very good school.
Syracuse is safe, but it's in the middle of NOWHERE. Classes are huge. Weather is bad (as in, the winters are REALLY freezing.)
BU is relatively safe, but it's once again, it's a big school, so the classes are big. Weather pretty bad; winters are cold, but not as bad as at Syracuse. Liberal students.
Pepperdine fits most of your criteria, except the students aren't open-minded--it's a religious school, and many people who go there are socially conservative.

All in all, I would recommend Babson first.


I would recommend looking into adding these to your list:
Villanova. Beautiful school, safe area, close to Philly. Rated as having the 11th best business program for undergrads. Smaller classes
Richmond. Also beautiful, and in a gorgeous area. Nice weather. 12th best business program. Smaller classes.
Boston College. 17th best undergrad business program. All the benefits of BU, minus the big classes
Georgetown. Nice weather. D.C. is incredible. Pretty safe area. Smaler classes. 24th best business program. Liberal students.

I would say eliminate Purdue since you're looking toward business and Purdue is known more for its engineering. Definitely keep UPenn though since Wharton Business School is fantastic. Plus, it's considered the social Ivy.

I visited Western New England College. The vibe I got was mixed. It was small (smaller than my high school), but definitely in a safe area. The people there seemed pretty friendly and I liked the surrounding area (near suburbs). Keep in mind that it is in Massachusetts and it snows like crazy up there during the winter. You are from Arizona...not sure if you're ready for the New England winters. I'm from Maryland and I can't handle New England winters. Another thing, Western New England was definitely NOT a diverse school in terms of ethnicity. The only person of color I saw was my tour guide. If you're a minority, you'll stand out a bit.