<p>Trying to decide between attending Wheaton College or Bryant University. They are very comparable in terms of location, campus, and merit awards. I had my heart set on Bryant and was wait listed. I was accepted to Wheaton College, which seems to be a better school, academically. Now Bryant has accepted me off of its wait list.</p>
<p>Both are similar schools academically, in my opinion. Congratulations on having two choices you like!</p>
<p>Thanks! Truth is, I would probably be happy at either one. But Wheaton has a program that allows you to take classes at schools like Brown, Wesleyan, and Dartmouth if they don’t offer them at Wheaton, which is appealing.</p>
<p>By similar merit awards, does that mean that your net costs are similar as well?</p>
<p>Not quite. Wheaton would be about $6000 more per year. I haven’t received my complete financial aid package yet from Bryant because they just called me to let me know I am off the wait list. They mentioned they merit aid, though.</p>
<p>Will cost be a factor in your decision?</p>
<p>Bryant WAS your first choice it seems. Bryant will be $6000 a year less expensive. </p>
<p>Why are you having second thoughts about Bryant?</p>
<p>S1 has a good friend that goes to Bryant and loves it - it has more of a pre-professional environment than Wheaton. We visited Wheaton with S2 and liked it. Wheaton is definitely more liberal arts focused. So it depends on what you want to study.</p>
<p>@jym626, my parents have said that cost is not a factor but if all other things are equal, it should be considered. @thumper1, I am having second thoughts because I have been told that Wheaton is more prestigious and it was a real stretch for me to get in. Although I intend to study business, I would also like the opportunity to explore other possibilities, such as environmental science. I’m reviewing the course catalogs later today.</p>
<p>OP, one of my twin daughters is a sophomore at Wheaton…I would be happy to answer any questions that I can. She really loves it there and especially enjoys the small, tight-knit community, while still being able to get to Boston or Providence easily by bus and train if she wants “the big city”. She is a psychology major with education and theater minors (at the moment anyway :))</p>