<p>Hi,
I want to major in Environmental Science and go to medical school.</p>
<p>I got into the following schools:
Yale
Princeton
Stanford
Duke
Dartmouth
Columbia
UPenn</p>
<p>To those who are in a similar predicament, how do you choose?</p>
<p>Which school would be the best for environmental science and for medical school admissions acceptance? I'm looking into Yale, Princeton, and Stanford... leaning more towards Yale, but I live in California. I somewhat want to be closer to my parents (I think I would be too worried about them)...</p>
<p>I got into Yale, Dartmouth, and Brown... but my father was really pushing for Yale, so even though I still am waiting on like four or five college decisions, I sent in the thing telling them I'm gonna be an Eli last night.</p>
<p>Best of luck with your decision, and maybe I'll see you at Bulldog Days!</p>
<p>Last year I had the same problem, a wealth of great colleges to choose from, but when it came down to it, I made a decision on instinct. I had naturally dropped to three choices that would be best, but after visiting each campus I could just tell which college was going to be best for me. So basically, try to visit each of the colleges you truly see yourself going to and then ask the importan question: "Can I see myself living here for the next four years of my life?" And if you give yourself a resounding yes then you'll know. Just make sure not to doubt or regret your decision. good luck with everything though, tough decision, but it can be made.</p>
<p>Oh yeah forgot to add, proximity is definitely a big deal so if you think being close to home is very important definitely consider it, but if make sure not to limit your choices solely because of this, but yeah shouldn't really talk since all but one of my colleges were in the northeast, so...</p>
<p>Stanford seems a pretty good choice geographically (everything can be the make and break factor, I only applied to northeast schools for the same reason, wanted to be able to go home if I wanted). Find out about the programs, talk to some people, and take in everything that could possibly affect you decision (environment, weather, housing, fin aid, programs, etc.). I ran into a similar situation, deciding between MIT, Princeton, and Columbia. It became a easy decision when I considered what I wanted to major in, and the geopraphy of the campuses.</p>
<p>thanks for all the replies.
yeah i never expected it and honestly my stats are not as strong as many people here on cc. but my extracurriculars were strong and focused (they basically involved environmental activities) and my essays depicted a whole different side of me (one was very personal and another was about my aspirations). </p>
<p>well right now, i've made the decision that it is really between yale and stanford. princeton doesn't have an environmental science degree and i really do not want to major in anything else (but i am going to use princeton's financial aid package as leverage for the other schools). the great thing about yale and stanford is that they both have a 5th year masters program.
i still need to do research about the pre-med life at yale and stanford. </p>
<p>aside from visiting, what can i do to find out the 'gut' feeling?
also, which one has more grade inflation?
which one has a better connection among its students? Yale through its residential colleges? </p>
<p>to those who live far away from your parents, how difficult was it? did you regret your decisions? </p>
<p>i want new experiences. while i like stanford geographically, i don't like the idea that there are many californians at stanford (not that i don't like californians...i'm a californian...but, i dunno, i can't explain it). </p>
<p>I have just found myself in the same predicament too! </p>
<p>Okay, not the SAME, as I'm not trying to choose between the Ivy League schools, but I am stuck between NYU, Vassar, and Georgetown. </p>
<p>NYU is... well, it's NYU, New York City is amazing, I've wanted to go there since freshman year. However, I'm a little uneasy because I've heard a lot lately that it's not worth the money. And I don't like that I couldn't really participate in the arts (particularly dance and theatre) through the school because it's dominated by the Tisch kids... </p>
<p>Vassar... I am REALLY looking toward this school. It sounds like my kind of place - hippie kids who are into politics, great academics but not stuffy, beautiful campus, a library that is pretty much THE most gorgeous thing ever, and their dance company looks AMAZING. On the flip side, though, it's in Poughkeepsie. And I like cities. hmm. </p>
<p>Georgetown - I got into the School of Foreign Service for international politics. I LOVE the idea of studying this for four years in freaking Washington, D.C. My only problem is that their arts don't seem particularly strong, and also, my sister just graduated from Georgetown and will probably be going to their law school in the fall. This is a good thing and a bad thing for me - I love my sister and would enjoy living in the same city as her, but I am kind of hell-bent on forging my own path and have been since I was 13... </p>
<p>Well I really can't suggest much else on this gut feeling, other than visiting, but just thinking about what you know about the colleges, just which environment will be the most rewarding for you. Granted sometimes it will just click and you know, and other times it will be difficult. As for difficulty for living from home, I have three roomates that lare very far from home (two from Cali and one from Kenya) and they are for the most part holding it all together, though any decent opportunity to go back home is surely taken (though the one from Kenya has yet to go home, though I'm sure he somewhat misses it). But I can assure you that all three of them don't regret their decisions as well as most of the other people who are considerably far from home,, so...</p>
<p>Are you looking for a place with grade inflation?</p>
<p>I don't know for sure, but Stanford is probably easier than a lot of the others. I wouldn't go to Duke; it might be even harder than Stanford and the degree does not open as many doors. Same goes for some of the other less prestigious ivies. In terms of medical school, you are better off at Yale, Princeton, or Stanford. Dartmouth may have some pretty intense humanities classes, too. I was choosing between Dartmouth and M.I.T. and was impressed by the rigor of Dartmouth's english classes.</p>
<p>I've heard stories of rampant grade inflation at Stanford and the top ivies (Harvard and Princeton.) I don't know for sure about Yale, though. I don't know about Dartmouth, Columbia, or UPenn. Specifically, I have heard the bio classes at Princeton are easy to get "A's" but that the chemistry major is very harsh (average GPA about 3.1/4.0). </p>
<p>You might want to inquire about what percentage of Stanford undergrads get into Stanford Medical School. </p>
<p>Another thing to consider is that you may really not like the East Coast, especially in the city. The culture there is very different than the West Coast.</p>
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Another thing to consider is that you may really not like the East Coast, especially in the city. The culture there is very different than the West Coast.
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<p>totally true, many west coasters tend to complain and claim that their city counterparts (L.A. and Portland usually) are superior to Boston and NYC, but oh well...</p>
<p>I'd rather go to Stanford than Yale b/c of the weather and stuff, but I think that which college you go to depends on the type of college experience you want. Would you rather go to the fast-paced, preppy, and cold (temperature-wise) Yale, or to the more laid back/Californian but still as demanding Stanford? I'd suggest visiting both campuses one more time and talk to the students there to decide where u'd rather go.</p>
<p>Btw, getting into all those colleges is amazing! Good job, I wish i'll have the same problem next year haha</p>