Help me choose a college please! Only a couple days left. Panic approaching.

College Search & Selection
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So anyway, I’ve been lucky enough to be accepted to the following schools and I have no clue which to attend. Each seems to have its own benefits and drawbacks, and none really stands out above the others as being the best. Here is a short pros and cons list for each. They are in order of ascending net price. Please feel free to disagree with me on any opinion and give input on which one would be best from your experiences.

About my preferences: My main life goal is to be happy and have great moments with other people. I see financial stability as fairly important toward this goal, but I’d like to make a positive impact on the world through research or discoveries if possible. I am primarily interested in physics, but I’ve recently begun to worry about whether this is actually a viable career option (not many people can end up being well paid physics researchers and its an extremely competitive/difficult field) so I’m very seriously considering engineering as well, which I also think could be interesting and fulfilling. These interests are not set in stone, so I’d prefer to go to a relatively well-rounded school in case of a major shift in interest. Of this list I’ve only been able to visit UChicago and Johns Hopkins. Unfortunately, much of my knowledge how “good” a school and its departments are comes from rankings, which have differed from source to source and have not been of a great help. I don’t yet have any preference for a large/small school. I’d probably prefer a rural/suburban campus but hey cities have fun stuff too right?

UChicago: Pros: Extremely cheap for me after merit and scholarships, Parents would basically be paying nothing if I get a campus job. Is probably the most selective/prestigious (I feel most accomplished for having gotten into here). Has a great physics. Cool Architecture. Everyone there loves learning about what interests them. Have a scholarship that would fund two summers of research. Accessible to cool Chicago stuff.
Cons: No engineering at all, could possibly get an engineering masters later on if I wanted after physics?. Trimester system seems like the exact opposite of chill. Weather seems depressing (especially bc I’m from Florida) but I’m down to choose a great school over weather any day. I visited and the people I met were very quirky/weird, which was fun half the time but kinda off-putting the other half. People there seemed to not care/worry at all about what they would do after college, mainly focusing on learning what interests them at the present.

Vanderbilt: Pros: Beautiful weather and Campus. Could hike nearby. Seems much more relaxed and fun than some others while still having great academics. I was a CV and Curb scholar but that scholarship basically just replaced my grant money anyway.
Cons: I’ve heard their engineering program is lackluster compared to their other schools. Haven’t heard much about physics. Would graduate with a couple thousand dollars of debt but whatever.

Northwestern: Pros: Pretty well ranked engineering. Campus spirit.
Cons: Climate. Honestly nothing really pops for me when considering northwestern at the moment (feel free to change my mind though). Still a lil debt.

Johns Hopkins: Pros: Fairly fire physics and engineering from what I’ve heard. I visited and liked the actual campus more than UChicago’s (some green hills and trees) but the architecture less. Seemed laid back and with pretty cool students. Lots of history with exciting research. Close to my girlfriend who will be at UPenn. I’ve heard double majoring here is very easy here with their curriculum. planning on a physics/electrical engineering path could leave a lot of options to explore for careers or higher education after hopkins.
Cons: Baltimore seemed pretty unappealing to me, at least from the south side of campus on the rail line from the airport. Unfortunately couldn’t see the rest of the city. The campus did seem kinda crammed into a space (albeit a very nice one) surrounded by the rest of Baltimore. Slightly more loans needed, but still pretty low compared to what I imagine other students take out for college (and much less than if I went to my state school).

Cornell: Pros: Very good physics and engineering as well. Awesome campus from what I’ve heard. Got a research scholarship. People and environment seem fun.
Cons: Even colder than Chicago and NU. Has a reputation as the worst of the ivies. Slightly more expensive than those directly above. Kinda in the middle of nowhere. Travelling to and from seems to be more expensive and difficult for this reason.

UPenn: Pros: Lots of general prestige. Solid choice for a lot of majors. The campus appears to be as nice as a school in a major city can get. Really cool architecture. Girlfriend will be here, instant person to hang out with. The people seem cool, I’m fairly confident I’d feel comfortable here from the get-go.
Cons: I can’t really find a good measure of how they stack up in physics and engineering, but they don’t seem to be as good as JHU/Cornel/NU. Is relatively expensive for me compared to those above.

Carnegie Mellon: Supposedly better at engineering than my other choices. School seems very STEM-oriented, which I’d probably enjoy. I’ve heard great things about the ease of finding jobs after graduating.
Cons: Pretty expensive. Not well known for areas of study other than STEM, if I decide to explore other areas. I slightly dislike modern architecture.

Duke: Probably the nicest campus out of all of them from what I’ve heard. I love North Carolina’s terrain and climate. Has a huge amount of money for research. Great offerings in seemingly all academic areas. People seem great. Duke Basketball would probably be fun to get into. Would definitely have a fun time
Cons: Most expensive choice out of all of them. I’d have debt that I’d consider to be fairly significant (especially compared to the zero debt I could have after UChicago or maybe Vanderbilt).

If you’ve made it this far thank you very much, please share your thoughts and experiences if applicable :slight_smile:

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Sounds to me like you want to go to Vanderbilt. A few thousand of subsidized student loans is a reasonable debt load in most situations.

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Chicago…the first controlled nuclear reaction took place there so the Physics program is top notch.

Vandy is more or a BME/premed oriented place.

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You should definitely talk to Duke’s financial aid office and attempt to renegotiate. The girlfriend being at Penn might actually be a bit of a con. You might be less inclined to meet new people.

Congratulations on all your fantastic options.

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I’ll vote for Vanderbilt. Chicago will be especially cold coming from Florida. Small debt second to zero debt at Chicago, Nashville small city fun, food, music and academic ranking is high. Good luck!

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OP,

I like that you have carefully considered your options, creating a list of pros and cons. I also like that you strike me as thoughtful and mature (there are some who would just say, “Cornell. Ivy. Done.”)

That said, perhaps you are overthinking things. Your incredible list of acceptances are all peer institutions. There is no wrong choice. Correction: there is one wrong choice–choosing a school that is not the right fit. So, if you can, try to make it simple. Which school do you love? Is there a school where you most see yourself next fall? Sadly, you weren’t able to visit most. I think that is your true dilemma. I understand that not all students can afford to fly all over the country to visit colleges. In an ideal world, if you could have visited all of these colleges, half of the schools you listed would have been eliminated.

I don’t know. Chicago or Cornell maybe? You visited Chicago, and it sounds like you are very excited about this choice. The few concerns you have feel minor, not deal-breaking. Cornell is an Ivy (it’s not a lesser Ivy or the worst of the Ivies; there is no such thing), and it has engineering. Ithaca is also a great college town (Ithaca C. is also located there), so you will not feel isolated. Plus, Cornell’s size is good in a sense. You’re getting Ivy prestige but get to experience many aspects that are much more common at a flagship.

Try your best to identify the school that you love. Really, you have no bad options here.

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Agree with @JenniferClint Call Duke’s Financial Aid office and tell them that you want to come but can’t because U Chicago is giving you a feee ride but for $X. (Whatever X is). Ask Duke if they’ll match the offer, and let them know you’ll be happy to send them a copy of U Chicago’s offer. Good luck!

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i agree with trying to negotiate a better deal from duke. there’s no hurt in trying, and you might just succeed. however, if you still can’t afford duke after negoiating, i say go for vanderbilt.

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JHU, nice campus but a really horrible city. Have heard it’s super serious.
One of the highest crime rate cities.

Cornell worst of the ivies ? It’s the best of the ivies for Engineering.
And multipe Nobel winners. A dorm is named after Hans Bethe, look it up.
That said, my son found the undergrad physics “teaching” to be no teaching at all.
They did homework style problem sets during the class, no lectures.
A new style of teaching that the dept head was experimenting with on my son’s section.
It was not useful. Probably great Physics dept for grad students, not undergrad.
But I agree with your statement, engineering is a more practical choice and Cornell is a top engineering school.

Penn is not bad for engineering too, Cornell, Penn are the top two in the Ivy for engineering.

Carnegie and Cornell IMO are your top choices for engineering.
JHU is a good tech school but much worse location.
Ithaca NY may be isolated but it is a beautiful place. As a parent, my favorite campus of all visited.
City nearby is not much but not dangerous like Baltimore.
I hear Pittsburgh is nice, can’t say much.

Would be a tough choice but to me CMU or Cornell, maybe Penn if you want a more urban environment.
People rarely stay with a high school gf, though I married someone from hs, so you never know.
I personally dont love Philly much more than Baltimore but both are great schools.
Would not go somewhere for prestige, especially U of C if engineering is of interest.

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Congrats on some truly fine choices. As others have said, there’s no bad choice
and at this point it’s about fit – and cost.

I would recommend that you start eliminating some of the more obvious options.
For example, since you aren’t sure about your final major or career direction,
CMU might not represent a great choice for you at this point, while JHU would give you flexibility within your major selection.

My vote personal vote (just a stranger on the internet) would be for JHU or Vanderbilt, they’re in the range of affordable and tick many of the academic and non-academic boxes that you’ve described.

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@Hapworth

The OP got into Penn as well. In the recent past, Penn has been more highly regarded than Cornell (overall). Additionally, Chicago and Duke were more selective than Cornell and Penn this year. Why would the OP say “Cornell. Ivy. Done.”?

Cornell loses cross-admit battles to virtually every Ivy Plus school.

https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2014/09/04/upshot/college-picks.html#s=342

In fact, Cornell has a policy of matching financial aid (for Ivies + Stanford, MIT and Duke).

http://finaid.cornell.edu/special-circumstances/appealing-your-aid-decision

This policy was presumably enacted because Cornell was not successful at recruiting students who also received acceptances from these universities.

^ I have nothing against Cornell. It’s a great school.

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Johns Hopkins is not laid back. At all. Just commenting because you said that in your pros/cons.

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UChicago is world-class in many programs, including Physics. I’m sure the Engineering programs they do offer are stout; they just only offer three.

Cornell, Duke, Hopkins, Northwestern and Penn are academic peers, in my opinion. Penn gets a very slight prestige edge due to Wharton, but you aren’t going into Finance, so I’d consider these fairly even. Cornell is not the weakest Ivy academically; certainly not in STEM fields.

CMU is very strong in some STEM programs, Business, and Dance (?). Definitely would suit your Engineering interests, but not quite as strong overall as the aforementioned schools.

And Vanderbilt has some STEM strength, but I think their bread is buttered in the social sciences and humanities mostly. Their academic strength is more evenly spread than CMU’s, while CMU has spikes. I have them as academic peers overall, with CMU the safer STEM bet and Vandy the winner for SS/Hum.

That’s the hair-splitting academic synopsis – my take, anyway.

But…

Any of these schools will be strong enough academically that if they offer the majors you might want, you can be confident that they’ll deliver the goods. Definitely do consider fit – academic, social, environmental, girlfriend dilemma – and cost.

You could draw a name out of a hat and probably be fine – these are all awesome – but I think by considering fit and using cost as a tiebreaker, you’ll make the best choice you can.

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I’ll add my two cents about the schools I know something about, but want to agree with the others that said you have amazing choices and can’t make a wrong decision here!

U. of Chicago - if you have inkling you may want to go into engineering instead of physics, this could be a problem. They are not ABET accredited which again, could be a problem for some employers.

Cornell - highest ranked Ivy for engineering/STEM. Awesome campus, great facilities (I’m an alum so know I have a bias). Agreed that traveling to/from is not the easiest but the location is stunning.

Hopkins - Baltimore gets a bad wrap. It’s a great city! Saying crime is high is like saying crime is high in Chicago. Sure, statistically true but where you will be is a safe area, inner harbor is fun to explore, super museums and arts scene. Plus, easy train ride to DC. That said, lots of students go on to med school from Hopkins so we found their career services a bit lacking.

CMU - Super school for STEM but definitely focuses on CS more than everything else. My daughter was concerned that their investments were going to CS over other STEM majors. Not sure how that accurate that was but our tour was definitely centered around the new CS facilities and lots of talk about how CS was integrated into the overall engineering curriculum.

Good luck with your decision. Again, you wont go wrong anywhere!

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Vanderbilt and northwestern are your best value schools. Since you don’t like the cold, it means Vanderbilt.
Among the others, I’d pick Cornell if you want a college town and JHU if you want suburban but both will be high pressure.

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When I read your list, it strikes me that you didn’t really like Chicago.
And you don’t like urban? So I’d strike it.
Beyond that, I’d get rid of the more expensive options—who needs loans when they are peer schools and you are ambivalent. So that would leave Vanderbilt, Northwestern, JHU.

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Chicago, Northwestern, Cornell, Johns Hopkins, Duke, Vanderbilt, UPenn & CMU.

“Of this list, I’ve only been able to visit UChicago and Johns Hopkins.”

Now I understand your ambivalence toward Northwestern University.

You visited the University of Chicago, but did not make the easy trip to NU ?

You were in Baltimore for JHU visit, but didn’t go to nearby Penn ?

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@MaybeCollege2022 :

Because Duke & CMU are expensive, they should be off of your list.

You are trying to force Chicago into the top spot, but it is obviously not your first choice.

Cornell’s location appears to be a major concern to you.

Your impression of Baltimore is correct, but your observation of JHU students as “laid back” is not typical.

UPenn is “relatively expensive” & not a great match for your intended major. Girlfriend will be there.

Leaves Vanderbilt & Northwestern.

One visit to Northwestern should quickly clear up your ambivalence.

You are blessed to have 8 outstanding options. It is foolish to have only visited two of those eight outstanding options.

In some instances, ignorance is bliss, in this instance it is foolish.

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@JenniferClint Cornell for ENGINEERING is vastly superior and more competitive than most of the other schools.
Yes their overall selectivity is not the highest for the entire university, but they are one of the largest private schools in the US (after NYU, BU), and some of the colleges/programs are less rigorous (Hotel Management and others). But for engineering your comments are not relevant, it is competitive to get in and very difficult to succeed and graduate.

@momofsenior1 I have visited JHU campus multiple times and have close family nearby. The campus is pretty but it most definitely is in a bad area, just as is U of C. I personally witnessed police activity and arrests just blocks from the JHU campus during our visits, and I was really uncomfortable with the immediate area around the school. I just don’t agree. I live near NYC, and yes we have less safe neighborhoods but NYU is not right there next to them.

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Put all the college names on pieces of paper, put the pieces of paper in a bowl, close your eyes, pull one out, if you’re not thrilled with it you really didn’t want to go there.Keep going until you are thrilled. You are running out of time to negotiate financial aid so don’t shilly shally. What a wonderful pickle you find yourself in.