Bucknell, U. Richmond, Holy Cross, Trinity

<p>These are my final four acceptance letters to choose from.I have pretty much discarded Trinity, Not as good as the rest and can't get beyond how bad Hartford is. But i really like the other three. Bucknell is a little rural but once you get there it's fine and the academics of Richmond, Holy Cross and Bucknell are on a par. I do feel that Holy Cross has the best alumni connections which are really important for good jobs after college.Generally i am leaning towards Holy Cross.</p>

<p>HC has the best location of the three.</p>

<p>Holy Cross is certainly the best of the three. You are correct in pointing to the HC alumni network as being one of the strongest in the nation. There are former crusaders at the top of nearly every professional field who are too willing to help out students or alums. HC is located in Worcester, a city rivaling Springfield and Lowell for the title “cesspool of Massachusetts”, however the area immediately around the college is very safe and there are a number of other colleges in the area whose students help populate a lively bar scene. Holy Cross (at least in the northeast) has much more prestige. The academics at Holy Cross are regarded to be some of the hardest in the country (leading to the tongue-in-cheek Bostonian saying “a 3.4 at Holy Cross is a 4.0 at Harvard”). Forbes ranks the school 27th out of all colleges and universities nationally and above the Ivy League’s Dartmouth College which ranks at number 30. Bucknell ranks in at 48 and Richmond at a distant 129. Holy Cross’s campus is breathtaking. Students are welcoming, its a small school: you meet a lot of people fast and most faces become familiar. The sense of familiarity means you’re essentially always welcome at parties and you end up becoming friends with many of the upperclassmen who regularly host them. I’m not sure about Bucknell, but I know this is very different from the culture at Richmond where social circles are fairly dependent on what greek society you have connections to. Holy Cross is definitely the best choice.</p>

<p>Thanks for your input, itsagoodschool. That was very helpful. I chose Holy Cross. My final choice came down to Holy Cross vs. Bucknell . Richmond is still pretty unknown here in the NorthEast and most people feel that Trinity is on a downward slide.
I may opt later on for engineering which Bucknell has for undergrads but Holy Cross has a 3+2 program with Columbia University which means i could get degrees from both in 5 years which is a fantastic option.</p>