Gonzaga, Seattle U, U San Francisco, U Denver or UH Manoa?

College Search & Selection
1

<p>I was recently accepted to Gonzaga University, Seattle University, University of San Francisco, University of Denver and UH Manoa, but I'm having a hard time seeing which college is truly for me.</p>

<p>I first decided to go to wherever gives me the best scholarship (Gonzaga), but there's more that I'm beginning to understand about choosing the right college. Seattle U and U Denver are tied for second best scholarship, then U San Francisco, and lastly UH Manoa.</p>

<p>I've been hearing more and more about how Gonzaga is in the middle of nowhere, but on the other hand it is supposedly a more "prestigious" school compared to the others. Is this true? Prestige does not matter the most to me, but I have always wondered.</p>

<p>Looking to go into the field of psychology, I want to know where is best for this major. I haven't come across much facts about the psychology programs offered by these colleges and I am interested in seeing which would give me the best opportunities.</p>

<p>I am taking a lot into consideration when choosing which college is for me. This includes ease of flying to and from the college (I live in Hawaii), scholarship, city, etc., but I feel as if there is more to know about these places. I am looking to find out about tuition for these colleges as well, because I am not finding much through research.</p>

<p>What should I do? Where should I go? Which college is the best?</p>

<p>Mahalo, in advance.</p>

2

<p>Prestige dosen’t figure in this particular equation. Very few folks would character your list as a group of “prestigious” colleges. Nevertheless, a very fine education is available certainly at most of them. As a rough guess, I’d say that Denver may be the strongest of the group, academically.</p>

3

<p>^^^ Good grief. What a horrible and WRONG thing to say. Classic elitism. I’m sorry but that really irks me. These are not third tier bottom of the barrel schools. </p>

<p>All Jesuit colleges are prestigious in their own right. The OP should be congratulated. Seattle U and USF have a long history of educating Hawaiians…for decades! (Mahalo to you too OP!) </p>

<p>The pecking order for those schools exists…USNWR ranks them in the West Regional Schools. There are small differences.</p>

<p>Gonzaga is in Spokane and that is eastern washington and for some that is not optimal for flights and culture. Spokane is a nice town (yes, I have been there several times) and Gonzaga is a fine school. But its not Seattle or San Francisco in terms of things to do and entertainment. </p>

<p>Choosing between USF (a very pretty campus near the Golden Gate Bridge) and Seattle U is a matter of preference for the respective cities. Seattle U is a pretty campus with oriental gardens, but its urban in its style and “culture.” </p>

<p>At any of these three schools you will receive a superb education from the Jesuits and lay faculty. They all boast very strong graduate school admissions and many have gone on to prestigious jobs in business and government…or the military. (Seattle U has at least one four star General in its alumni.) All three have long basketball histories, though Gonzaga has been the more successful lately…as Seattle U just recently returned to Division I play. </p>

<p>Denver is also an excellent school. Staying home and going to UHawaii you have to judge for yourself, and how important it is for you to attend college away from home or not. </p>

<p>No wrong answers here with your choices. You will receive a very good education at all of them, make lifelong friends and have a very strong multicultural experience. The Jesuits emphasize giving back to community in a major way, as well as strong study abroad programs…some of which are socially conscious types of programs, e.g. Latin and South America. </p>

<p>In the end its up to the OP to decide what she feels is the best option for her, as she will own the decision. Congrats to her!</p>

4

<p>One thing that you may want to do is to contact the psych departments at each school. Find out if there are any undergrad internship or volunteer possibilities that the department sponsors. Does the school have a grad degree in psych? If so, what is the reputation of the grad division?</p>

<p>Generally speaking, your life will be easier if you can get to and from the schools without the huge hassle of multiple airline transfers.</p>

<p>Although you may not know the answer to this yet, how do you feel about snow? Rain or fog? Cooler weather in general?</p>

<p>One more thing to check out are any diversity or international student percentages. Are there other Hawaiian islanders at the schools? Are there clubs or support groups?</p>

<p>You have many wonderful choices.
Best of luck.</p>

5

<p>Sovereigndebt, you COMPLETELY misinterpreted my post. Good grief, how about a bit more critical analysis before firing off?</p>

<p>If you’ve been on CC for any length of time you’d realize that a number of people soundly reject the notion of “prestige” as promoted by some on this site. Count me among that number. And unlike yourself, I didn’t say “third tier” and “bottom of the barrel schools.”</p>

6

<p>When you say that certain schools gave the best scholarships, do you mean in raw numbers or in “net cost” after scholarships?</p>

<p>It sounds like you live in Hawai’i, so how much would UH cost you?</p>

<p>How much would Gonzaga cost after your scholarship? (also include flights to the mainland)</p>

<p>How much would the others cost after scholarships?</p>

<p>How much was each scholarship per year?</p>

<p>Unless these scholarships are quite large, UH may be the least expensive (including travel considerations.) </p>

<p>From what I understand, buying one way tickets to the mainland (and vice versa) can be quite expensive…and then there’s holiday travel costs.</p>

7

<p>Meeeee- don’t listen to Buzz Killington, you have some great options here, and all fine academic institutions.</p>

<p>UH- you probably don’t need any info on this one, and other than walking through campus once I couldn’t help.</p>

<p>Denver - Sorry, can’t help much on this one other than to say that it is well respected for academics and they have a great hockey team. </p>

<p>Seattle U. and USF both are located in urban environments that will lure students away from the campus. My nephew lives in SF and applied to USF, but would prefer not to go there. After 15 years in the city he wants a change in scenery. A (Hawaiian) friend of mine graduated from Seattle U. and loved it, but thinks he may have been more successful in more of a self-contained campus environment. Seattle U. tempers this somewhat by requiring freshman to live in campus housing.</p>

<p>Every year Gonzaga attracts some of the top students from my son’s (Seattle suburb) high school, including one who is a sophomore studying psychology. Spokane is a perfectly suitable small, middle-class city and the campus is adjacent to the downtown area, right on the Spokane River. The students he knows are very happy with both academics and college life; one kid would prefer a bigger urban area (“nothing to do on the weekends but drink”). This would have been son’s first choice except for them not having his desired major.</p>

8

<p>Yes Meeeee, my post was intended as a rejection of the idea that if those schools don’t fit someone else’s idea of prestige, then you shouldn’t consider them. Nonsense.</p>

<p>Incidentally, I am very familiar with Seattle University and am personally friendly with successful and happy SU alumni, including a well regarded fiction writer.</p>

9

<p>Thank you all for your replies!</p>

<p>The scholarships I received were just bonuses for me for my academics. Costs to go to and from the colleges and home wouldn’t be a major problem. And neither would be tuition, but I was just wondering if anybody knew more recent figures for each college since a lot of costs that I’ve researched are outdated.</p>

<p>Although I would love to stay home, I really think that going away for college would be one of the best experiences of my life. I think that the mainland would provide more opportunities for me. As for the weather, I am very used to wind and hot temperatures, but lately it has been storming and rainy. Right now, I don’t think I would mind adjusting to different climates.</p>

<p>From what I have heard, Gonzaga has a large Hawaii Pacific Islanders Club and Seattle has a great group as well. I have not heard much about any Hawaii clubs at the other schools, but I’m sure they exist and that many are involved with these groups.</p>

<p>Which college is on top, academically?</p>

10

<p>What do your parents have to say about the money? Are they truly comfortable paying full-freight, or is the truth that a lower net cost will make a difference in their lives and yours?</p>

<p>Look for the “Award Letter Comparison” tool in the list of calculators at [FinAid</a>! Financial Aid, College Scholarships and Student Loans](<a href=“http://www.finaid.org%5DFinAid”>http://www.finaid.org) and then run your numbers through it. There may be bigger differences than you think.</p>

<p>Wishing you all the best.</p>

11

<p>Okay…lets repeat here for clarification.</p>

<p>First, LakeWashington, it wasnt meant to insult you, so no offense intended. But I was a bit put off by your comment, "Very few folks would character your list as a group of “prestigious” colleges. " I consider the schools she got into prestigious…or enough so to applaud her. I adore Jesuit colleges. All of them. No, they are not Berkeley or Stanford, but who cares? If you support her choices, then we are good. Its about her, not us.</p>

<p>To the OP: </p>

<p>Picking a college is serious business. Its not easy. Crunch time is near. My kid did this 5 years ago and it was gut wrenching…involved long friendships, big cultural changes, and huge differences. (Fordham vs. Furman). To make it worse, the money was nearly identical! Arrrgh! We had lots of tears. We made the right decision in the end: Fordham. But that was our personal decision, and not intended to be another’s. Everyone has their own matrix of factors. Its your life, your college decision and your first opportunity to grow as an adult! </p>

<p>That being said, picking between USF, Seattle U and Gonzaga really is more about the environs and cities. The academics are very close…though USNWR will rank them separately. All three schools are well known enough to find outstanding jobs all up and down the West Coast and back in Hawaii. To some extent, you might consider going somewhere new and away from high school friends, if you are adventuresome. </p>

<p>I have a preference for cities (Seattle). But that is me. You have no wrong decision here, no bad decision. But it is YOUR decision. Visiting campus is preferable before making that selection. If that is possible. I can tell you that Hawaiians are at all three schools in numbers. Seattle has the most rain, but not by much over SFO. Spokane is the smallest and hardest to get to…no direct flights to Hawaii from what I know…you must change in Seattle. But Spokane is also relatively near some other big (or well known) schools like Washington State, Whitworth College…and Whitman down in Walla Walla. So you aren’t alone. </p>

<p>Money is not an issue for you it seems, so go with your heart. Are you someone who likes activities off campus? Theatre? Music? Athletics? Hiking? Skiing? Museums? Art galleries? Shopping? SFO, Seattle and Spokane have unique cultures and vibes. </p>

<p>You will get a superb education at all three schools. Good luck</p>

12

<p>I think coming to Denver, you will be struck by:</p>

<ul>
<li>dryness (very little humidity here)</li>
<li>how BROWN everything looks during the fall/winter months</li>
<li>how weird it is to live in a landlocked place after spending your childhood surrounded by the ocean!</li>
</ul>

<p>That said, most people do like living in Denver. It’s a relatively small city but one that has a fair amount of lot cultural things to offer. There is a pervasive culture of sports here: people who move here do it because they love to ski/snowboard, hike, mountain bike etc. The biggest parks in the city are full of runners, year round. Everyone seems to be into football.</p>

<p>DU didn’t used to be a school that attracted top students. In the past decade or so, it began actively recruiting top graduates locally as well as from other states. Its strongest departments are in music, business and on the graduate level, law. It also has respected programs in international relations. The school has very good ties to the business community, and offers good internship opportunities - though I am not familiar with its psychology department. </p>

<p>I would agree that this decision depends in part on what kind of an environment you’d prefer. San Francisco and Seattle are bigger and wetter, lol and overall more liberal. (Denver itself is very progressive, but the suburbs and much of the state are much more conservative.) Public transportation within the city is OK, though not great. Outside of the city - compared to SF or Seattle - it’s kind of bleak, and a car might be necessary to really take advantage of what the state has to offer.</p>

13

<p>My opinion is Gonzaga. Its a beautiful school. I visited this past summer and I liked it</p>

14

<p>I assume at this point the OP has made their decision…but I wanted to add a quick note…in case it may help someone in the future.</p>

<p>DS is in a Jesuit HS and would like to continue in that tradition through college. He is a STEM kid. I just spoke with admission at SU and asked quite bluntly what would be considered the difference between Gonzaga and SU. The answer is obvious is retrospect…but it surprised me. Basically, since Seattle is a bigger city than Spokane and thus has a much larger base of companies, both large and small, the SU admissions contact thought that the biggest difference would be ease of internships and jobs. In my son’s case, it seems that research opportunities would be more easily available in Seattle than in Spokane. But, this was just one (possibly biased) opinion.</p>