okay so here it is, my list of US colleges:

1. Chicago (IL) : because the students are quirky intellectuals who are interested in life, and i just have a pretty good feeling about this school. a good enough feeling about it to make it my EA.

2. Brandeis (MA) : good theatre program, small liberal arts college located in massachusetts. enough said.

3. Barnard (NY) : WOMENS' COLLEGE. yup. but i decided what the heck. it's in NYC! and the Columbia-Barnard theatre department is one and the same for both schools. so it's not like i'll be taking lessons in an all-girls' classroom. plus, students there have a reputation for being artsy, definitely a good thing in my books.

4. Boston U (MA) : Robert Pinsky and Ha Jin teach English there. ought to be interesting. furthermore, they've got a lot of film resources to drawn from (including collaborations with Dreamworks, which is interesting) - and, it's in Boston.

5. Brown (RHODE ISLAND) : i really doubt i'm going to get in, but i'm just applying anyway. partly parents' expectations and partly 'what-the-heck'. 'only the impossible is worth the effort'.

6. Emerson (MA) : liberal arts college in boston geared completely towards communication and the arts. not all that prestigious, but i like it.

7. Vassar (NY) : Anthony Bourdain's school (and Meryl Streep's and Lisa Kudrow's. i'm sure many other peoples' as well but these are the names that come to mind). but that's not why i'm applying there. frankly i really don't know why i'm applying there because i'm not all that fond of it, but i wanted to apply to one more LAC in NY and this one was well-known enough for my parents (skidmore, hamilton didn't please them).

8. Reed (OREGON) : the only school on the west coast i'm applying to. i really like this college. very little is known of them because they refuse to submit material to the rankings systems on a matter of principle. i love that attitude. also one of the only (possibly the only) school that requires its undergrads to write a thesis before they can graduate. apparently they have some ritual where the seniors parade with their completed theses. quirky? yeah, i think so, but i like it.

so that wraps it all up. 8 schools. mark lo dropped his jaw today when he saw how many envelopes i brought to school. it was kind of funny. well, all this agonizing over US schools is done with because i gave out all the envelope stuffies to teachers, counselor etc today. so it's final. no more changing my mind over and over again. i'll only worry about the essays etc after the As and even then it won't be that big a deal because i can recycle my Chicago one somewhat. so all i can do now is study for the As and see where God leads me.

+ posted by M @ 10:48 PM