<p>I've been agonizing over my college selection for what seems like an eternity, and I've asked several counselors for help, but none of them seemed particularly reassuring one way or the other.</p>
<p>Here's my dilemma.</p>
<p>Before all the scholarship stuff came in, my clear-cut first choice would have been Amherst. I loved the amount of academic freedom it offered, I loved the philosophy and the program itself. And I got in.</p>
<p>The problem now is that they're barely offering me any money, which means that attending Amherst will be a severe financial strain on both my parents and myself. And now I'm having problems justifying my attending their school when both BU and Rice are offering me almost full rides.</p>
<p>The amount of money I would be paying for both BU and Rice is comparable as I also got some sort of a scholarship on top of the century scholars thing from Rice. The program at BU for trustee scholars, however, seems more appealing as it offers (supposedly) a community-type feel to it, and, of course, it's in Boston, which is my absolute favorite city in the world. The Century Scholars program at Rice seems appealing, yet I'm not sure if I'm ready to surrender the first two years of my undergraduate career that quickly... then again, it seems to be advertised as a far better school than BU.</p>
<p>And, actually, it never really was much of a concern before, but I seemed to notice a significant amount of BU-bashing on these boards... am I missing something?</p>
<p>Rice would be the best overall choice, I think, as you are getting a FANTASTIC education pretty much for free. On the other hand, BU and Rice students are VERY different (just how urban and independent are you, or do you need a tight-knit community). You haven't said anything about your chosen major and I don't know anything about the Century Scholars program, but I would definitely take to consideration whether you will need to pay for grad school later on...</p>
<p>My chosen major is English, and I know alot of people switch their majors part-way through undergrad, but I'm pretty much set, and I honestly can't see myself changing out of that field. Another advantage to BU is that I looked up the profiles of their professors, and they have some very impressive faculty members in their English department.</p>
<p>I love the urban setting, and I'm utterly in love with Boston. I've been to Boston and Houston both, and I'm much more of an east coast person. I grew up in Arizona, so I guess the Southwest just doesn't seem all that exciting to me...</p>
<p>Rice and an almost free ride sounds like a winner to me. No "severe financial strain", a beautiful campus with wonderful facilities, plunked in the middle of an amazing city, Houston, with endless possibilities. If you are concerned about graduate school or future employers, the Rice name will open those doors very easily along with an excellent GPA. There's is also a lot to be said for a university that demonstrates they want you via the $$$$. Having zero or minimal debt come college graduataion will also provide lots of options for you down the road as to graduate or professional school or what job out of college you decide to take. Chalk up another "x" in the Rice column.</p>
<p>Did you call up Amherst and see if they'd do anything to change their finaid plans?
One of my friends got a better offer from hopkins than she did from Georgetown, and Gtown beat/matched hopkins offer.
She's now going where she wants to for a price that she doesn't mind paying.</p>
<p>Rice is a really good school, I think you'd have more opportunity there. You just have to figure out which you like more and where you'd find yourself more comfortable. Good Luck picking!</p>
<p>Yeah I asked Amherst about it, and I think they're unwilling to raise my financial aid package, so it's all but crossed off my list. It's just entirely depressing as it was my favorite school when I started applying, and for me to get in and still not be able to go... well, that's just disappointing.</p>
<p>Although Rice is a university, it feels like an LAC. I think you (most people, really) would be happy there and it would be a great deal financially for you. Amherst is a great school, but I don't personally think it's worth $100,000 more or however much extra it would be for 4 years. BU is not on the same level as Rice or Amherst imo. Check out the faculty to student ratio. I know it is very low at Rice and Amherst, and I suspect it is higher at BU. For me, that was very important because I like small classes.</p>