<p>To make a long story short, I'm deciding between a school that is better that doesn't have my major or a worse school who DOES have my major.</p>
<p>What would you pick and why?</p>
<p>Opinions please!</p>
<p>Specifically what major are you going into? If you want to do something like Biomedical Engineering, for instance, then the lower ranking of a school really won’t matter as long as it’s ABET certified. If you want to do pre-med, though, then you don’t necessarily have to have a specific major and it’d be, at that point, a judgment call with all factors considered. Also, if you want to pick a school based on its ranking, nobody’s stopping you; however, it’d probably be wiser to look into how a program specifically suits your interests (e.g., major, location, cost, job prospects, etc.). Remember, too, both rankings and majors are subject to change, so your confidence or personal desire for either can play more of a role than we can subjectively judge for you.</p>
<p>What is the major, and how seriously are you committed to it?</p>
<p>How much “better” and how much “worse” are these two institutions?</p>
<p>Have you received any aid packages yet so that you know that each institution is equally affordable for you and your family?</p>
<p>Happykid is at a nearly no-name university. However it fits our family budget, and has an absolutely smashing program in her relatively rare field of study. If that is your situation, go for the field of study.</p>
<p>If however, you can’t afford the “worse” place and/or you aren’t permanently welded to that major and/or you can cobble together something like the major you want at the “better” place and/or your second, third, and fourth choice majors are significantly stronger at the “better” place, then seriously consider that institution.</p>