<p>I have heard so many different things about all of these schools but i don't really know what to believe, so here's what i want/ a little about me
- I don't want to be the only one not wearing what i slept in to class
- I like crazy nightlife and want parties and things to do every weekend
- Interesting professors
- Hard classes/ I'm pre- law and want to get into (& be prepared for) a good grad school
- Financial aid. </p>
<p>Out of colgate, bucknell, urich and wake, which school has these things?</p>
<p>Richmond has great need-based aid. Colgate is need-aware for admissions, but has great aid if you are accepted. The other two don’t offer as generous aid, but WF is looking for cash to be more generous.</p>
<p>JohnGalt,
This is a very attractive group of colleges and I congratulate you on making a target list of schools that share a lot of the same characteristics. </p>
<p>Re your attire, the degree of sloppiness probably increases as you move from South to North, but in the case of these four schools, the differences are minute.</p>
<p>Re nightlife, you’ve got to consider the locale. Colgate and Bucknell are pretty isolated so while there is an active social life on both campuses, it is pretty self-contained. Wake in Winston-Salem and U Richmond also offer a good social life and most of it takes place on these campuses, but there is an element of off-campus socializing that is available. But I don’t think anyone will ever mistake W-S’s or Richmond’s nightlife with something like you’d find in Boston or DC. </p>
<p>The professors at all four are TERRIFIC. These schools aren’t research factories that seek to trade on a brand name developed in some grad-student dominated dept. Instead, these colleges have a much deserved reputation for delivering an excellent classroom experience for undergraduate students. I would also suggest that in some cases (Wake in particular), it may be more demanding than you expect and you really have to work to achieve. It’s not accident that the nickname is Work Forest. </p>
<p>Re law school, all four will put you on a good track. Do well at any of these, get a good LSAT score, get some good recs from some of the many profs you will have the opportunity to get close with and you will have plenty of choices. </p>
<p>For Financial Aid, bluebayou has it right-U Richmond is probably going to be the best. That school has several very generous beneficiaries and has a very strong financial aid program, but the others can be helpful as well. </p>
<p>Finally, re campus beauty, all four are GORGEOUS and would be very pleasant places to spend your undergraduate years. Matriculate to any of them and I think you’ll enjoy your surroundings a lot. Good luck!</p>
<p>Since social life is important to you, you may want to be aware that D-I athletics at Wake create a social climate at Wake that’s different from the other three. All four have football programs, but while D-II ball is a little low-key, at Wake it’ll mean big tailgate parties that start of Friday night, alumni returning, high-tech extravaganzas and big crowds at the game, postgame events that run through the weekend, etc. Basketball will be a huge social event, full of tradition.</p>
<p>Just to clarify about the sports scene at Colgate…</p>
<p>Colgate (and Bucknell) are also D1 schools and have exciting sports schedules within the Patriot League and outside the league with Ivys and much larger scholarship schools. Check out the league and consider its objectives and you will see the caliber of competition alongside the quality of its student-athletes. </p>
<p>About football specifically, Colgate and the other PL schools do not offer scholarships although that may change next year given the decision by PL associate member Fordham to do so.</p>
<p>Colgate is unique in the PL with its D1 ice hockey programs as part of the ECAC. Further, the level of play is terrific and is very popular. School spirit especially abounds at football and ice hockey games as well as soccer and lacrosse- both for men and women. These are Colgate’s top sports perennially.</p>
<p>I expect you will be impressed with the fact that Colgate (and Notre Dame) are the leading D1 universities in terms of athletes’ graduation rates as well!</p>
<p>Might look at fellow Patriot League school, Holy Cross which has nice location and campus 1 hour from Boston. Colgate and Bucknell are remote. Like Richmond, HC has very good football team and is only Patriot League school with Div1 basketball, hockey, baseball , and football. Holy Cross has great alumni network-in politics-1 Supreme Court Justice, 1 US Senator, and 3-4 US Congressmen.</p>