Hey guys! Can you please provide me with some insight? I keep going back and forth and don’t know which one to choose.
Cornell: approx $23,000 per year
Wellesley: approx $29,000 per year
Bowdoin: approx $21,000 per year
I really like the community and women empowerment at Wellesley and I really like the opportunities all three have for Pre-Med. The main thing that concerns me about Cornell is its grade deflation. Also, how manageable are the classes for the Pre-Med track with this grade deflation? If anyone has any inside info on the Pre-Med experience at any of these schools, please let me know. I’m a really hard worker but I don’t want the stress to kill me either.
My family can pay 20k per year so anything above that, it will be on me which I am cool with.
I’ve been thinking Wellesley is the best fit personality-wise and I’m also really excited about being close to Boston and the small school experience, but now I am second-guessing myself. Also, I’m not really interested in Greek Life mainly due to time commitment.
if you like Wellesley I would go for it. I have no issue with turning down Cornell for it- it’s got great prestige itself to anyone who matters and you seem to prefer it’s LAC environment. there doesn’t seem to be a question here. will there be people who think you are nuts for turning down an Ivy League school? maybe- but they are ignorant.
it’s going to cost you 32k more over 4 yrs than bowdoin and 24k more than cornell. to me those are not dealbreaking numbers.
Since you’re footing the bill past $20K, how will you be paying the difference? I ask b/c I think the max loan amount is $5500; others may know better. In any case, have you applied for FA to fund the difference?
Cornell or Bowdoin will work with a small direct loan or small amount of work earnings.
Wellesley will require the maximum direct loan ($5.5k) and a significant amount of work earnings (and you may have less time to work for pay due to the time commitment of expected pre-med extracurriculars and studying to get all A grades in every class).
@oldlaw and @ucbalumnus This is the exact conversation that my family and I had today. They said that if I am willing to take the max subsidized and unsubsidized federal loan ($5500 this year, etc.) and work over the summer to earn my spending money, that they will make up the difference in tuition if I choose the more expensive option (Wellesley).
@joecollege44 Thank you. These are some of my thoughts. Although I feel like I will be happy at any of these, I think the smaller LAC is more of a fit for me, I can get to know my professors more, etc. You are right though: I think some of my friends and family already automatically assume I will (or should) choose Cornell because it is an Ivy.
Wellesley is a superb school in a great location; Boston is a great city. It sounds like you’ve got the finances worked out-so congratulations! Enjoy the journey!
“I think some of my friends and family already automatically assume I will (or should) choose Cornell because it is an Ivy.”
Bowdoin and Wellesley college are just as prestigious as Cornell. These are all great schools. I would ignore what might or might not impress friends and family. You are choosing from three of the top schools in the world. From an academic point of view they will all be tough and they will all provide an excellent education.
“I think the smaller LAC is more of a fit for me,”
We toured Bowdoin twice (once on an official tour, once we just walked around). It is a great school. I have a daughter currently attending a different small school and I am very impressed by the quality of the education that a small school can give. You will have smaller classes than at a larger university, and you will get the opportunity to get to know your professors. You will not need to compete with graduate students for the opportunities to help on research.
I would try to minimize debt. If you prefer Bowdoin and with its being the least expensive I would think that it is a very good choice.
Wellesley’s size, historical legacy (women’s education), social atmosphere (no sororities) and proximity to Boston all appeal to you. Based on your criteria, it appears to be the school to beat in this comparison.
In favor of Cornell, it’s highly noted for strength (both in range and depth) in biological sciences. However, it would not offer you an edge in premed planning over your other choices. Also, at CALS it seems important to be comfortable with your intended major. The 22 majors it offers are substantially fewer than you would have available to you at Wellesley or Bowdoin.
People differ.
We thought Bowdoin was too small. YMMV.
D1 almost went to Wellesley. Ultimately chose a Co-ed school over it. She thought campus vitality dissipated on weekends and didn’t like that they bussed to MIT frat parties for social life. They even had a very unflattering name for the bus that took them there…
Academics seemed great but students were stressed; no easy place at all.
Cornell is obviously completely different. You will have large classes. On the other hand your available course selection in the upper years will be immense. It’s true that as a student in CALS you must meet major, distribution and college requirements of CALS, which is not a liberal arts college as your two other choices are. You should look at the requirements
As for grading standards who knows. There was a Cornell pre-med, later med student, later MD who used to post here, he was pretty emphatic that Cornell grading standards were not different than most of the other good schools. I personally have no idea.
FWIW most Cornell students are not part of Greek life.
Bowdoin’s a great school and does a nice job with instruction in the sciences, based on feedback from students who’ve gone there. As much as you might prefer Wellesley, I can’t see it being worth the debt. Your call.
