<p>So... Basically these are my top three choices so far.</p>
<p>WashU</p>
<p>Good- Loved the campus, the teaching quality seemed to be quite high. Tons of brand name goodness</p>
<p>Bad- As a January Program student, I'm basically set a year behind in science (Pre-med) classes. I'd end up applying to med school a year later than my peers.</p>
<p>Carleton</p>
<p>Good- Trimester system, gives me more time to intern, etc in order to help me decide if it's Med School or Law School (or both) that's right for me.</p>
<p>Bad- Accelerated pacing, without the 1 class at a time benefit that Colorado College gives me. And there was just a gut feeling I had about it, can't place it yet. When I visited it felt a bit <em>too</em> small.</p>
<p>Colorado </p>
<p>Good- Block plan seems to be the best thing for how my mind works. I visit next week, but from what I've gleaned so far, they have a nice pre-professional community, with the older students giving the younger ones pointers about specific classes, etc</p>
<p>Bad- Extremely fast paced, with loads of homework (although the schools with more classes may have the same total amount of homework anyway). But the biggest problem with CC is its ranking/prestige. At least with Carleton, its in the top 10. </p>
<p>I don't want to have to defend my degree from Colorado College.</p>
<p>Any sort of input would be awesome. The deadline's looming and I'm no farther than I was a month ago.</p>
<p>My S is a first year student at Colorado College and absolutely loves the school and the block plan. Yes, I know, CC is not one of the very most prestigious LACs, but it does attract klds who turn down some of those schools. You would not be the only one. They have a good record for pre-med admissions and are one of the only LACs in America with a human cadaver dissection lab.
[Colorado</a> College | Bulletin](<a href=“http://www.coloradocollege.edu/Bulletin/March2005/healing.asp]Colorado”>http://www.coloradocollege.edu/Bulletin/March2005/healing.asp)</p>
<p>I’m not saying that Colorado College is necessarily the best choice for you. I’m very familiar with Carleton and think it’s excellent (though, in my opinion, CC’s physical setting and climate are far more desirable). WUSTL has a fine reputation for life sciences and pre-med. But it’s not like you are comparing Harvard to an average community college. The academic differences between #8 and #24 are not huge. I think that they are more than outweighed by a strong personal preference and better fit for your learning style. The block plan opens up many possibilities because the scheduling of field work or off-site research is so much more flexible. The academics are intense but manageable. My S says he averages maybe 3 hours of homework per night and is getting excellent grades (though the load varies greatly, and his HS preparation was very strong).</p>
<p>It has been climbing in the rankings, too. The president is a former Governor of Ohio, Ambassador to India, and Peace Corps Director. He has lots of connections, ambition, and drive. Keep in mind, too, that it is virtually the only top LAC for hundreds of miles around. So, for a bright kid who wants to stay close to home, Colorado College is likely to be a first choice destination. That means it can and does attract many of the region’s top students. Colorado is a fantastic place to settle down and live after graduation. Great climate, great recreation, fine place to practice medicine. If you make that choice, you’d be a graduate of the most selective school in your state.</p>
<p>So, see what you think about the atmosphere and how you’d fit in.</p>
<p>Great choices, but each schools environment is very distinct. And so is the student body. So visit and try very hard to put prestige aside, because it won’t matter if you are not really happy which often means lower grades and maybe a transfer- uh-oh for med school. CC block system is a very effective way to learn. I think they have a lot of freshmen activities, camp out ect. to get the class together. Carlton, fantastic academics, brutal winters. Are you from a warm climate? Think of this, not because it is cold, but the lifestyle is indoors a lot. And people from warmer climates often experience the blues. Huge transfer rates from East Coast back to the west coast for this reason. Kids are surprised of how weather dictates the lifestyle.</p>
<p>Have fun with your choice- all are expensive, so be happy whereever you land.</p>
<p>Do you have some data to back up the “huge transfer rate” statement?</p>
<p>When we lived in Minnesota, we were pleasantly surprised that although it was cold, it was often very sunny. We also found Minnesotans to be a hardy, active lot, who don’t let cold stand in the way of getting outdoors and having fun in the weather.</p>
<p>You won’t see the flip flops year-round, tho.</p>
<p>After I visit Colorado College next week, I’d have visited all of them. I like both Wash U and Carleton for different reasons, so really what my choice boils down is whether or not the convenience of the block plan would be hurt by the ranking of it. </p>
<p>I realize that going to Carleton may be a plus in the minds of graduate or professional schools, but would Colorado College be necessarily be a minus? That’s my big issue.</p>
<p>CC is very much against WashU because of it’s rapid rise in the rankings but if you’re going to a med school, WashU would easily be your top choice.</p>
<p>Now if you’re thinking about Law, I would lean towards Carleton.</p>
<p>If you browse through applicant profiles on mdapplicants.com, you’ll find that even the most prestigious medical schools accept students from a very wide variety of undergraduate schools. </p>
<p>So, in comparing several good schools, the impact of prestige or rankings per se on professional school admissions probably should not be a big factor. Choose the school with the best fit, one where you think you will thrive.</p>
<p>The retention rate for Carleton is 5th highest among all LACs. FYI,</p>
<p>Carleton 96.5%
Wash U. 96.5%
Colorado 94.0%</p>
<p>As OldbatesieDoc mentioned, Carleton can be cold winter trimester but is very sunny - you don’t find the grey days there that can dominate the great lakes areas and New England.</p>
<p>My son is also deciding between Carleton and Colorado College (and others). There are valid reasons why you might prefer one over the other, but I honestly don’t think prestige or rankings should be one of them; both will provide great academic opportunities, and both are very well regarded for grad and professional schools. However, being LACs, both will be little known outside their regions or outside people in academia. As tk suggests, I think the decision should come down to where you feel you can accomplish the most, both personally and academically. Good luck with your decision, and please let us know!</p>
<p>It isn’t bad, unless you want to go to Med School. See, you can only take the intro chemistry courses in the fall. Of course, J-Progs are gone during that time. Biology is taught in the Spring though, so maybe there’s hope? Nope, because you need to have taken Chemistry as a prerequisite! </p>
<p>So you don’t start until sophomore year. Fine. Surely these classes won’t take too long to knock out, right? Sure. One problem though. Because of the one year delay, you can’t take the MCAT until senior year. By then, it’s far too late to apply to med school in order to matriculate into the next year.</p>
<p>tl;dr: Most people won’t be affected by this. J-proggers who want to go to med school <em>will</em> have an empty year in between, however. This still may work for people, including me, but it’s something everyone should know.</p>
<p>So I am deciding between the same exact schools! I stayed overnight at CC and it was amazing, the area is beautiful and the people are all really chill. I still need to see WashU and Carleton, but it will be very hard to beat CC! </p>
<p>I do have a question about WashU… is the workload overwhelming? I want time to enjoy the social side of college and I am sort of worried about fitting that in with such rigorous academics</p>