GW v. UVA

I got into both George Washington and UVA for biomedical engineering and I’m not sure which college to attend next year. I might be interested in doing pre-law as well with a political science major, which makes George Washington the better college to attend. Also, GW gave me their presidential scholarship which is 30,000 per year. I’m in-state for UVA so they will probably end up being the same cost in the end. At the moment, I like George Washington a lot more because of its area. However, I know UVA is more prestigious. Which school do you think is the better fit?

UVa is a better option overall. Better in Engineering, better overall academics, better placement in top law schools (although that is more a function of GPA and LSAT), nicer campus, better overall undergraduate experience (unless you wish to live in a more urban environment). Even in Political Science and potential diplomatic careers, UVa is considered on par with GW.

By the way, I am fairly certain that even with that nice $30k scholarship, GW will end up costing roughly $10k more than UVa annually ($40k over 4 years).

If it’s the same cost, then go where you like. Have you visited the schools? Which did you like better and why?