GW, Michigan, Vassar, or U of Washington

College Search & Selection
1

<p>I've been accepted to these four an now I can't really decide. I'm looking to major in bio (or something related) and I'm looking to be pre-med. I'd like to minor in poli sci too. I can afford any of them, but spending less would be good, considering future med school expenses. Also, I'm gay and, while I understand that all of these places would be accepting, I would really like to have a large gay population on campus.</p>

<p>I've come up with some points on each:</p>

<p>GW: Great location (love DC), lots of internship opportunities, reasonable weather (comparatively), great for a possible poli sci minor, like the urban campus (though I wonder if I might regret missing a "traditional college experience" later), fairly nice size, gave me 25k per year (so it's least expensive on the list)
Academics seem to have a good reputation, but I'm not so sure about academics/reputation in my field. I'm not sure if it's a great place to be pre-med/apply to med school.</p>

<p>Michigan: out of state, Ann arbor is all right (weather sucks), great bio science reputation, good research opportunities, has a more specific microbiology major that I might prefer, generally strong stats and reputation
I worry a little about pre-med being competitive and cutthroat. Also, I'm sort of a quiet person, and I worry that I might not really fit in with the Michigan atmosphere/spirit or that I might get lost in the crowd</p>

<p>Vassar: Great reputation (though not necessarily in science), would have small science classes, very pretty campus, I think I would fit in pretty well with the liberal/social justice feel of the campus, people seem to be similar to my personality
Location is terrible and weather sucks, I worry about the campus and social life being too insular, might be too small, most expensive on the list since they gave no aid, not sure about internships and research</p>

<p>Washington: out of state, good-ish academics (pretty good reputation in bio), social life seems a little quieter/more my speed than Michigan, great location (love Seattle, and sorta like the weather), gave me 7k per year in merit aid, probably good research/internships
Academically it's not as strong as the others and their 4-year grad rate is terrible, not sure how it is to be pre-med there, it seems that very few actually live on campus (I'd rather not go to a commuter school as an oos student)
I applied to honors and I'm still waiting to hear back</p>

<p>I've pretty much narrowed it down to these four and I'm really not sure what I want to do. I'd appreciate and advice, suggestions, and recommendations.</p>

<p>(I've also gotten into Brandeis and McGill, but I think I might not be so interested in those)</p>

2

<p>If you’re doing pre-med, common opinion on CC is that you gotta go to the school that’s the least expensive… my big problem with this list is that all the schools are out-of-state or private (and as you stated you didn’t get much aid). </p>

3

<p>@jibler Right. I recognize that, but this is what I have. I can afford any without going into debt. I want to know which would be best for me and whether or not it’s worth spending more for Vassar or U of M.</p>

4

<p>I can comment on Vassar and Brandeis. There are only a few distribution requirements at Vassar so many people double major. Vassar is building a new science building. The sciences at Vassar are excellent , S1 was a science major at Vassar and is now in grad school at a top program in his field. Vassar prepared him to succeed. The area around Vassar is nice and included some lakes, a farm and a golf course. There is also a small neighborhood of shops and restaurants right across the street from campus. The weather is consistently warmer in the valley of the Hudson River than in most New England areas. Brandeis also has excellent sciences and a newer science building so if you want a school of that size, don’t discount it. I think you need to see if you feel more comfortable in a university or a LAC environment for your undergrad years. There is always time for the large universty for grad school. I hope others can comment on your other schools. </p>