<p>Hey all. I'm trying to decide between 9 different schools, and I would like some opinions. The schools which I have to decide between are Colgate, Middlebury, Colby, Bucknell, Dickinson, Reed, Grinnell, Washington University, and Connecticut College. Hm.... May 1st is none too far away, and I like a lot of these schools. Any help would be greatly appreciated.</p>
<p>Grinnel, I think Grinnel is a very good school on the rise, and people I know love it there.</p>
<p>Wash U has the best repuatation. </p>
<p>Personally, I like Colby. :)</p>
<p>Grinnell and Middlebury are my favorite in that list, but Colby, Colgate, Reed and Wash U. are all excellent too. What kind of environment do you want? Colby, Colgate, Grinnell and Middlebury are pretty rural and isolated. Reed and Washington U are more urban.</p>
<p>I would give Middlebury and WUSTL the closest looks on that list.</p>
<p>Vergil, since you're only planning on attending the college for one year (or even one semester?) before transferring to Harvard, any place that you want to spend one year should make your decision. It should be a place where your academics will shine and your ECs will help. Also, it should be a place where you'd want to be for an additional three years if you are denied admission again to Harvard. You're going to select your college for the wrong reason. Make sure it's a place you want to go to and not just an overnight stop at a place to get you to where you want to go.</p>
<p>Dear Collegeparent, </p>
<p>Thank you for the advice. However, as I have stated in a previous post, I will only be trying to transfer to Harvard if things don't calm down before the Spring of next year (and I hope that they will). As someone else said to me, I'm going along with my parents plans right now, but I'm also hedging my bets that the emotional rollercoaster that has been the college admissions process has been the strongest contributing factor to their current pressuring and hopes. Things could be looking completely different next year once I'm in school and hopefully enjoying myself. And, as for chosing colleges, I've thus far been able to have overnight visits at Colby, Washington University, and Reed, and I'm planning on having overnights or at least visits at all the rest during my Spring Break (next week). Hopefully, once I have completed all of my visits, I will have a better idea of which one suits me the best and will be able to make my decision for all of the right reasons. But, until then, I'm just trying to garner opinions.</p>
<p>Of all the schools to which you've been accepted, the one that comes the closest to being Harvard is Washington U -- if that helps any to appease the parents.</p>
<p>The one I've liked the most so far is actually Reed.</p>
<p>Although all are great colleges, I would probably choose Reed or Grinnell, but you should choose Reed because it is your favorite. All of us have our favorites for reasons that may not be important to you.</p>
<p>On another note, I noticed that the colleges on your list seem very different from one another. What did you want in a college that made you come up with this list?</p>
<p>I hated the campuses and the atmosphere at both Connecticut College and Dickinson, and they aren't the best schools on your list either... personally I would choose Grinnell or Reed- and yemama is right- if Reed is your favorite you should go there!</p>
<p>In my (biased) opinion, Middlebury has the best reputation of all the schools on your list, but don't go there if you plan on transferring, b/c there is grade deflation at Midd.</p>
<p>You do have some very different locations and social environments on your list, but all the schools are very good to excellent academically. I think you will be able to make a good choice after you have made more visits next week.</p>
<p>What are your academic and career goals? Would any of these schools be significantly more or less expensive for you than the others?</p>
<p>None of the schools would be significantly more expensive than any of the others in terms of the financial aid that they have offered. I would say that I want a solid liberal arts education at this point, and that I am currently most interested in the study of English and foreign languages (most people that I've talked to and the research that I have done lead me to believe that Middlebury especially has a great reputation for both). However, in terms of social environment, I would typify myself as sort of independent, and quirky (which is what led me to apply to Grinnell and Reed). Partying is not very important to me. Colgate, Middlebury, and Colby attract me in terms of academics, but worry me because of the overly preppy atmosphere that I think that I might encounter at these schools (I'm not really opposed to prepiness or anything though, as long as I can find a small group of friends, I'm fine).</p>
<p>Given your interests and comments, a case can be made for any of your schools. Among your options, I think the most annoying strain of preppiness (the entitled materialist crowd and their wannabe satellites) is a bit more noticeable at Colgate, Bucknell, Dickinson and Connecticut College. (I don't know that much about Middlebury or Colby.)</p>
<p>If you liked Reed I guess I would think you would end up deciding among Reed, Grinnell and maybe Washington University. Anyway, I go back to my original comment and predict you will make a a good choice after a few more visits and a little more time to consider your options.</p>