<p>I'm trying to decide between WashU and Grinnell. Grinnell is A LOT cheaper and is closer to home (I live in Iowa), but WashU seems to have more oppurtunities and more majors to choose from (I'm still an undecided major). Which school do you feel is mor prestigious? Which school would you pick?</p>
<p>Depends on what you want to go into. Grinnell is a well respected liberal arts school, and WashU is also a very well respected institution. I decided not to go to WashU because they didn't give me enough money, but I'm beginning to realize how much better Grinnell is probably going to be for me. I think that I will get closer and more personal attention at Grinnell, as well as in many ways getting a better education on the whole. I don't know, I probably would have gone to WashU instead of Grinnell if they had given me the money, but they gave me 100,000 dollars less, in which case, WashU isn't worth a 100 grand.</p>
<p>WUSTL will give you more range and certain specific majors that aren't available at a LAC, Engineering, Architecture and Business are all options which are either unavailable or limited at Grinnell. On the other hand if you plan to go to grad school anyway Grinnell will guarantee small classes, an undergrad focus and close contact with your professors. My D didn't apply to WUSTL after our visit. She felt it would be nearly impossible to get the level of merit aid we would need and that as an educational experience she would prefer it for grad school. </p>
<p>If you think some of the majors available at WUSTL are important to you to pursue as an undergrad then go for it. But if you're really vacillating and exp[ect to go to grad school I 'd save the debt for later.</p>
<p>Do any of you think that a WashU education is worth 15,000 more dollars per year?</p>
<p>It really depends on your family's financial circumstances and how badly you want to go to WUSTL. Don't worry about prestige. Both of these schools are highly regarded. As SRMom and Targan said, WUSTL will have more to offer in the way of majors and classes - which may or may not matter. My daughter went to Grinnell as an undecided major and spent the first year sampling one of everything. She's decided on a major that we never would have anticipated, and finding no shortage of classes to take. However, she's recently developed an interest in a profession which she will not be able to study at Grinnell - but I doubt she would be able to study for this particular profession at WUSTL either. If you think you might be interested in engineering, architecture, business, something obscure -- then you may be better off at WUSTL (altho at most universities there's a separate admissions process for the professional schools). If you think you want a liberal arts education, then either would be OK and it's a matter of what feels right for you and your family, taking the finances into account.</p>