College you like better OR college you know better

College Search & Selection
1

<p>Ok, if you were to choose between</p>

<p>College X
-know your way around campus (really well)
-know professors there, good relationships with them
-campus is okay, not much grass...
-research opportunities are good</p>

<p>College Y
-don't know the campus well, but like it better than college X's
-don't know professors there
-less high school classmates will be attending here (a plus for me)
-research opportunities are good
-more plentiful scholarships (very important for me)</p>

<p>Without scholarships, the cost is about the same (within a few hundred dollars). Which would you choose and why? I'm leaning towards Y...</p>

2

<p>Why wouldn’t you go to the college you like better? Who cares if you know the college, go where you feel like you belong.</p>

3

<p>You can learn your way around campus in a week or less. I don’t see why you’d choose a school because you might get lost during the first week or two. </p>

4

<p>I also know professors at X, which could help me obtain a research internship… That’s really the only reason I’m still considering it.</p>

5

<p>I don’t know, Bouncer, that OP does like X better. OP calls the campus “okay” and complains about the lack of green space and the opportunities to bump into classmates. </p>

<p>As far as having more high school classmates at X, if the school is large enough, OP, you won’t be seeing those classmates unless you want to or by accident. However, could there be a Parent Factor in this equation? Might a parent work at X?</p>

<p>Fortunately for OP, Y’s merit announcements will be complete before OP has to decide. If OP gets the merit OP is looking for then I’d say that’s enough to tip it to Y. OP can still use those connections to professors at X to work internships if OP is back home for summer.</p>

6

<p>Jkeil, thanks. Your post was very helpful (as always). </p>

<p>-No, neither of my parents work at a university. They don’t have a preference.
-Also, I never considered that I could use connections to get an internship at a university that I wasn’t attending. Good point. Summer internships are usually open to students from other universities…</p>

7

<p>You can make new connections with professors, particularly if the school has great research opportunities. I’d go with the less familiar one if only to get out of my comfort zone a bit, but I’m obviously not you. What schools are we talking about?</p>

8

<p>Assuming the instruction quality is the same, I’d choose the school with the more intelligent student body.</p>

9

<p>How strong is X versus Y in your area of study? How do the graduation rates compare? Does one school have stronger graduate school or job placements? If Y is the same or better in these areas, then I would suggest Y. Good luck!</p>

10

<p>College is a great opportunity to try new things and expand your horizons. If Y is equally strong in your major, go for it.</p>

11

<p>Both of the schools are about equally as strong in my major. Thanks for the input, everyone! I think breaking out of my comfort zone and going with the more unknown school may be beneficial. </p>

12

<p>It sounds like you like College Y better and that it is potentially cheaper after scholarships, so… it doesn’t sound like a Shakespearean dilemma. You’ll get to know people at College Y. If you managed to work in a lab or with a professor as a HS student, I don’t see why you couldn’t do it as a college student ;)</p>