Help me (choose), please. I am very lucky and very lost

College Search & Selection
1

<p>Four months ago I was frantically writing some fifteen essays, scrambling to finish all of my applications before January 1st deadlines, working down to the wire at the last possible moment, per usual. I opted to take something of a shotgun approach, figuring my chances at the schools I legitimately wanted to attend were impressively low at best, applying to sixteen schools. It would appear that I was wrong.</p>

<p>I found out today that I've been admitted to Harvard, Yale, Princeton, Penn, and Columbia, in addition to Chicago, Brown, and Amherst - I have no idea what happened, how, or why. I was expecting to get rejected by the vast majority. I'm completely blown away and I couldn't be more ecstatic. But now that I've collected myself a bit, I'm beginning to realize that I have a huge decision to make very shortly, one I've been thinking about for months on end. I've read most every thread comparing Harvard to Yale to Princeton, Chicago to Penn, Amherst to Columbia, liberal arts school to Ivy League school, so on; through the glimmers of each school that I've been able to glean from these, I've certainly gained a better understanding of them all. Unfortunately, it's not enough for me to choose just yet. Hopefully, that's where you all come in! Here we go:</p>

<p>I think that, foremost, I'm kind of an intellectual, which is why I applied to these schools in the first place. I like to talk about books (Nabokov, Dostoevsky, Joyce, Vonnegut, and Camus are some favorite authors) and music (mostly stuff that isn't mainstream today) and sports (football, baseball, tennis, college basketball, will maybe watch World Cup soccer); I'm more or less open to whatever, but I don't want a huge sports emphasis at school and I'm probably not going to be playing much (maybe club something). I'm aware that in terms of the quality of education I would receive at any one of them there is little difference, so I'm placing more importance on other factors. For an intellectual, though, I'm pretty outgoing, love to party, and am absolutely looking forward to meeting tons of new, interesting people. I'm also open to use of pretty much any non-physically-addictive substance and both casual and serious relationships and would definitely prefer those sorts of opportunities to be available. I probably prefer small-ish parties to campus-wide events, but can enjoy both, and I don't really care much about things like school spirit. I'm politically very liberal in pretty much every sense and not religious at all. I like lots of independence and freedom and prefer to be able to take initiative when possible.</p>

<p>I'm really laid back, so I don't want to be in a ridiculously intense environment (e.g., stereotypical Harvard, though hopefully not actual Harvard). I'm willing to work as hard as necessary, but I don't want to kill myself, and I definitely want plenty of time to relax and have fun. More importantly, I'm planning on going to law school (at the moment, subject to change), so Princeton's notorious grade inflation and the reported difficulty of getting solid grades at Chicago are a bit worrisome. Hard work is one thing and I've never shied away from something because it was challenging, but I don't want to put myself at a disadvantage if I don't have to, especially if the overall quality of education will be roughly the same. I'm definitely going to visit as many of these as I can as well, but I want a little more to go on than gut feeling.</p>

<p>I appreciate your taking the time to read all (or some) of this and graciously accept any helpful advice on where anyone thinks I would fit in best! Thanks a bunch.</p>

2

<p>I'm excited for you.
If I were in your shoes, I'd eliminate from your list Columbia, Chicago and Penn. </p>

<p>and make the choice between Harvard, Yale, Princeton, Brown and Amherst.
Even at that though, I would even group Brown/Amherst together vs Harvard/Princeton and maybe Yale.</p>

3

<p>Wow. That's great. Congratulations! How lucky you are to have such amazing schools to pick from. The good news is, I'm sure you will be happy and successful no matter which school you choose. I'd personally pick Yale. But that's just me.</p>

4

<p>This is like being lost in a forest, each way laden with sticky briers and noxious gas. My deepest sympathies go your way. Choose Amherst just because.</p>

5

<p>I'd personally choose Harvard or Columbia. My friend attends Harvard said it's nothing like people make it out to be (snooty)</p>

6

<p>Congratulations! All great schools, obviously. Personally if I were in your shoes I would pick Princeton, but that's my opinion of course.</p>

7

<p>From how you describe yourself I see Columbia, Harvard, Chicago. You sound more intellectual than pre professional.</p>

8

<p>You mentioned that you want a school that does not have a "ridiculously intense environment". I think that out of all of these, Amherst best suits what you're looking for. The compromise for a more laid back college is that Amherst's reputation and academics are not quite up to par with your other schools. Good luck!</p>

9

<p>Hmom makes a GREAT point. I agree with her although I would add Yale to the list or replace Harvard with Yale. Don't be intimidated by Chicago it is underrated in my opinion and on par with HYPS. Amherst might be an option as well. BUT if I choose 3 schools to visit it would be Yale, Columbia and Chicago. (But I'd find a way to squeeze Harvard in haha)</p>

10

<p>"I have no idea what happened, how, or why."</p>

<p>Oh yeah. You worked your rear end off and took the initiative to apply to all these great schools!</p>

11

<p>Thanks to everyone so far. I’m glad to hear that there’s at least someone out there doesn’t think Harvard is as stuck-up as the woven image that’s been burned into most of our brains - comforting! I agree that academically Chicago is on par with any school, definitely, I just don’t know if it’s what I’m looking for socially (I wish I had more specific information on social life there) and whether or not it’d be a smart move all things considered with respect to future schooling.</p>

<p>I’m honestly kind of leaning toward Yale, but I’m not really sure why… It’s a feeling based on basically nothing especially meaningful, but maybe that’s all there really is to go on here. I don’t know!</p>

12

<p>Congratulations! Understand the confusion–my son is in the same mental place with a different set of schools, and reaching out for clues to the right choice. I’m familiar with many of those schools. Superficial guess for you: Columbia, then Yale. (don’t know Chicago). Have fun.</p>

13

<p>i would eliminate Chicago if you want to have any semblance of a social life.</p>

14

<p>Personal choice: Princeton. And eliminate Brown.</p>

15

<p>Just out of curiosity, what were your stats when applying?</p>

<p>My personal pick; Columbia. No doubt.</p>

16

<p>I think you’re drawn to Yale because the social scene and tenor of the campus probably fits what you’re looking for best. Expect to work hard though load is generally not overwhelming. Princeton is a very different place physically (upper middle class suburban NJ vs gritty New Haven). You’re right - most everyone would agree a more stressful place since grade limits were imposed.</p>

<p>I wouldn’t dismiss Brown. Absolutely the most “laid-back” of your options. Probably less intellectual than Y or P. A very self-directed place. As liberal as Yale. Grade inflation into the stratosphere.</p>

17

<p>Stats-wise I was probably slightly above to fairly above the median for most of the schools mentioned with respect to GPA and SAT scores with a very strong upward trend and the most demanding courses possible at my school. I think my essays were rather good (topics included Lolita and creativity and clouds) but I’m the only one I know who’s read them so I dunno but I’m generally a pretty decent writer. Recommendations were probably solid and not generic but I didn’t see them. Extracurriculars were all right, fair share of leadership and I guess I sold them pretty well to demonstrate passion and well-roundedness. I am pretty mystified as to how I got into most of these schools and I imagine I’m something of an anomaly so specific details probably wouldn’t be very helpful.</p>

<p>Anyway, Brown does seem like a very attractive place. Financial aid is something of a concern though and while I’m expecting to be able to afford everywhere based on guesses and estimates so far it may come up later. I like the idea of an open curriculum although in practice it probably wouldn’t mean much since I really enjoy almost every subject except chemistry kind of so I’d probably end up just taking more calculus and physics and lots of literature (Russian!) and French and Spanish (maybe German eventually) and history of somewhere or something and an -ology here and there; what I mean is that I’m not intimidated by Columbia or Chicago’s core stuff but utter freedom of choice sounds nice.</p>

<p>How would you classify Yale’s general social scene? Compared to Brown’s or Harvard’s? I know everyone says you can find everything everywhere but there have to be trends and themes and differences and I just want as many opinions as I can find to put together like a big, awesome puzzle to try to get a reasonably clear picture.</p>

18

<p>i would narrow it down to princeton, harvard, columbia, and yale, with preferences in that general order.</p>

19

<p>I think I’ve eliminated Amherst and Penn. Harvard, Princeton, and Columbia are presently in the back of my mind with Yale and Brown at the forefront (and Yale still very tentatively in the lead), but it was different yesterday and will maybe be different again tomorrow after a meeting with my counselor. </p>

<p>Why do you think Yale should be at the end of that list?</p>

20

<p>I would go with Harvard. Consistently ranked as one of the best schools in the country, and in a great location next to Boston.</p>