<p>W&M, no question. It's a fantastic school. Unless you have some compelling academic reason to choose Chicago (i.e., the program you want isn't offered at W&M) it's a no-brainer. Chicago's not <em>that</em> much better.</p>
<p>Personally I would to go to William and Mary regardless of the cost in comparison to the other schools, because I like southern LACs, but you should follow your dream. Go to Chicago. Just go wherever your heart tells you to go, money is not worth it in the end especially if you have the financial means to feasibly go wherever you want.</p>
<p>UChicago, definitely.</p>
<p>Renin-</p>
<p>Im in a similar situation. Im down to choosing between a full ride+stiped and Maryland or debt at Chicago. Im 95% sure I'm headed to Maryland. At first, I though the atmosphere are Maryland would not be conducive to the kind of learning I wanted: the Chicago kind. But I realized you will find great people anywhere; college is what you make of it. Chicago was my dream, but I let it go. You can always go there for grad school. Thats what I plan to do. You'll have a blast at W&M. I say go there.</p>
<p>I haven't read all the posts here, but I'd just like to point out that for high school students who have no real interest in a particular school--one that they simply find "just alright"--to allow themselves to be nominated by their high school (which effectively eliminated someone else from being nominated), and go through the entire scholarship process and ultimately be awarded the full scholarship for which they are competing--and then, in the end, not really want to go there, because they don't really love the school--really disturbing. </p>
<p>I know that when my daughter's high school can nominate (a limited number) of students for any particular scholarship to specific universities, the faculty and counsellors make it clear to students who are being considered for one of the few nominations--that they should be clear in their own minds that this is a top choice school for them-- one that they would be happy to attend, if ultimately awarded the scholarship. To not really like the school itself, and still go forward with the nomination and the entire process, is unfair to those kids who were up for the nomination, but who didn't receive it; it's unfair to the school (and future nominees) as <em>some</em> scholarship programs stop looking seriously at nominees from a particular high school, if those nominees are ultimately awarded and consistently turn them down; and once you are awarded the scholarship (but don't really want it, because you don't care for the school), then you have also eliminated the prospect of someone else who would have been thrilled with that school and the scholarship. (At least one has expressed that on this board already). </p>
<p>I think you should spend the money, and go to your "dream school" or to Michigan, which you seem to like and which also offered you a scholarship. You might want to also call W&M and ask if that scholarship will go forward to an alternate (someone who really wants to go there) if you don't accept. If you'd be happier at the other 2 schools--well--you'd be happier. And if the scholarship rolls forward to an alternate, then you've done something to make someone else happy, too.</p>
<p>Another perspective to consider:</p>
<p>In choosing among these schools, remember that only W&M has selected you to make this major investment -- well over $150,000, isn't it? This means that they will be your partner in success during undergrad days and most likely for life. That translates into opportunities that are likely to make your UG days amazing (Oxford!) and your future very bright. Bonus is the money you will have to go to that great grad school that being a "big fish" at W&M helped you get into.</p>
<p>Couldn't you always transfer out of W+M if you don't like it there and go to Chicago? The $$$ and the opportunity at W+M is a one-time thing, if you go to Chicago and say "yeah, this is okay", you won't ever be able to get the scholarship at W+M back. Also, even if you don't like W+M, at least it is FREE. You don't put yourself in financial difficulty if you go there, unlike every other college on your list. Even Michigan's total costs for in-state are around 21K/year. People go to a community college for 2 years to save money - you don't have to because you've been given this opportunity.</p>
<p>You can always do well at W+M, and then transfer to another one of your choices if it doesn't work out. You wouldn't have applied there in the first place if you didn't see yourself there. I think you should take the $$$. But remember, you still have all those air tickets you're going to have to pay for, unless you want to make a horrendous 12 hour drive (really it's not fun at all - i've done it before all the way to Virginia Beach). There's rountrip for orientation, roundtrip there and back for the school year, roundtrip for 3 breaks - Thanksgiving, Semester, Spring. At $250/rountrip ticket, that's about $1250 a year you're throwing towards transportation costs (of course you won't have to do Orientation again).</p>
<p>I sometimes wince when I hear a school called a dream school. Indeed, the word "dream" relies upon imagination to fill in what isn't known. I couldn't really tell why Chicago (beyond the physical campus look) is your dream school.</p>
<p>All three schools are great. I'm fond of W&M, having gone to grad school there. As a grad school, it didn't have the prestige of some others schools in the city in which I chose to work - Chicago. If you're going to go to grad school, the prestige of the grad school will be more important than where you went to undergrad. I expect that even today the name of the University of Chicago as a grad school carries farther geographically than W&M's.</p>
<p>The process you went through to get the full ride at W&M was very involving, so I'm a little surprised at your hesitation, but not completely. Chicago and UMich are great schools, and it can be hard to follow through with the third - W&M - it's making a commitment (even though, yes, you can transfer, but is that a card you really want to give much value to in your analysis?). It might feel like a marriage. That said, you should not feel in any way obligated to choose W&M. It's your life. Simply think through why you were so interested in W&M in the first place, how you felt about it along your college search path, and how you think it would be a springboard to your next step.</p>
<p>LSA Honors at UMich is also an excellent opportunity. I expect it involves special focus, attention and faculty-student relationships, making the school feel much smaller in its experience. The school has many strong departments and, if you care, Div 1 sports.</p>
<p>Good luck!</p>
<p>actually going to chicago will make you cry... it has a rep for students who work too hard and dont have a life</p>
<p>umich honors with in state tuition is, i think, a deal you shoul not pass on... but it depends on what you want/if sports are important to you. i think it comes down to W&M and UMich, and if you like sports go with michigan</p>
<p>Go for your dream UChicago... it's a great school... plus u said ur grandparents have been saving... so why not???</p>
<p>Honestly, if name cachet is an consideration, I think W&M carries more clout than the others, all of which are outstanding. Chicago is one of the intellectual centers of America, but I'm not sure the man on the street recognizes that.</p>
<p>I think Chicago's name recognition is stronger than you think Gadad. In these days of USN&R rankings and Good Morning America announcements regarding #1 overall undergraduate whatever coming from Princeton Review, I'd say it's a fair bet that all the people who look no farther than the top ten schools have heard of Chicago.(And that's apparently a whole lot of people)</p>
<p>WM has a rep of being very hard and producing excellent scholars. I don't remember the exact figures but a very high number of WM grads go to Grad school within 5 years of graduating. They get into top law schools, med schools etc. WM may not be a household name but it holds a lot of power within academic circles. As a graduate of WM, I have gotten jobs because of it. I got into a top graduate program with a weaker gpa and similiar test scores because of it. Professionals(judges and lawyers) are always impressed. The clerk at the shop n stop may not have heard of WM, but a lot of important people have. </p>
<p>Also, going to WM will allow you to interact with professors and conduct research etc... as an undergrad. At the larger state schools, I've heard that those opp are not as easy to come by. </p>
<p>Go be a Murray scholar, be a big fish. You'll be surprised by how great WM is once you jump in!</p>
<p>I'm actually choosing W&M without any sort of scholarship (in-state tuition though) over University of Chicago. I'm not sure what you saw during the Murray scholars weekend, but during the regular admitted students day I was very impressed by the professors I talked to at the informal departmental visits. It also seems like they're very involved at teaching undergraduates.
At Chicago, on the other hand, it seemed like a lot of classes were taught by TAs or postdocs they brought in. From talking with students, it seemed like the core would be more burdensome and less interesting than I'd previously thought. I couldn't consider choosing Chicago over W&M if I was in your position.</p>
<p>I'm glad you made a decision you're happy with, barbarus, but I think it's important to keep in mind that when it comes down to it, it's a matter of taste.</p>
<p>W&M is a great school, and you should be happy to have been accepted. At the same time, Chicago was my dream school too and it continues to be my dream school. Somehow, I like the school MORE now that I'm actually a student there than I did when I was poking around at various colleges.</p>
<p>Would I have been happy at another school? I'm sure. But I would have lost the Chicago-ness of Chicago. Or I would have never known it was there to begin with.</p>