Help me pick a college!

College Search & Selection
1

<p>Hi, I am trying to pick a college, and I am in need of advice. I have narrowed my choices down to three colleges: Case Western, Wisconsin, and USC. I am going to major in biochemistry, unless I go to Wisconsin, where I would major in Pharmacology and Toxicology. </p>

<p>I've tried to lay out my thoughts on each of the three schools:</p>

<p>Case:
- Cheapest out of the three (25k for tuition, room/board)
- I liked the campus
- Cleveland is nowhere near as bad as I thought it would be
- Lots of research opportunities
- Small class sizes, easy to switch majors
- I got the impression the education will be more "hands on" with more teacher/student interaction and better advising
- Really cold (for a Florida native)
- While I don't intend to get drunk every night, I can't go to a school where the kids sit in their dorms all weekend. Is Case a boring school to go to?
- On a similar note, the boy/girl ratio isn't great</p>

<ul>
<li>Overall I really liked Case, but I'm a little concerned with the anti-social reputation I often hear associated with the school.</li>
</ul>

<p>Wisconsin:
- 32k for tuition, room/board
- I LOVE Madison, the city is amazing, the music scene is incredible, very liberal college town feel
- Wisconsin is very highly regarded in the biological sciences
- The Pharmacology and Toxicology major is very unique, and is a definite + for me
- Also really cold</p>

<ul>
<li>I really like Wisconsin. My main concern is will the education at a big state university, even one as highly regarded as Wisconsin, be as good as the one I would get at Case?</li>
</ul>

<p>USC:
- 32k for tuition, room/board (after NMF scholarship)
- Great weather
- I don't know as much about this school, I didn't visit it
- I got accepted for Spring semester, which turns me off but isn't the end of the world
- Reputation for having a ton of spoiled materialistic people, I don't know how true this is</p>

<ul>
<li>I am kind of leaning away from this school, I applied on a whim not really expecting to get in, but it is such a highly regarded school I have to at least consider it</li>
</ul>

<p>I would really appreciate any advice on this decision. I know I would be happy and make the best of anywhere I pick, but any input would be greatly appreciated. </p>

<p>Just FYI:</p>

<p>Other schools I got into:
University Of Illinois Urbana-Champaign (too expensive OOS)
University Of Texas At Austin (too expensive OOS)
Tulane (too expensive)
University Of Georgia
University Of Florida
Florida State University</p>

<p>Schools I got rejected from:
University Of North Carolina</p>

<p>Stats:
3.4uw/4.1w
Act - 34(superscore) 33(single sitting)
National Merit Finalist
Top 15 public high school</p>

2

<p>Hi,
I am having the same problem…different colleges however.
I am trying to choose among Grinnell College, DePauw University, and Trinity University.</p>

<p>Maybe when you look at my problem you’ll have a better perspective of yours. By the way, if you feel like giving me some advice… go right ahead!</p>

<p>Grinnell College
-Very far away from home, which means about $1000 worth travelling expenses
-Extremely cold

  • Secluded area
    -Reputation for being very liberal and not strict enough (drugs, alcohol, such things)
    -I have doubts about the dorm quality…
    -I have to pay about $5000 more for this college (compared to the offers I got from other schools)
    -Great academic reputation
    -Job offer
    -Small class size</p>

<p>DePauw University
-Social scene is dominated by greek life
-Travelling would still be expensive, though not as much as Grinnell
-I got into the Science Research F. Program
-Small class sizes</p>

<p>Trinity University

  • Closer to home (least travelling expenses)
  • Nice weather
  • Great dorms, no communal bathrooms
  • Since it’s in San Antonio, I’ll get more research opportunities
  • Small class size</p>

<p>So these are just a few of the pros and cons… but my dilemma is similar to yours. I do not know much about the colleges you applied to ( I have heard that USC has a nice social scene, however I have been told that students are divided into cliques reigned by snotty rich kids), but maybe the list helps you see what other student are thinking of as they choose their college.
What I CAN tell you is that a small class ratio is high on my priority list since you can get more personal with the professors. I also want to follow a pre-med program… so the academic reputation matters to me alot.</p>

<p>Also it’s hard for me to afford Grinnell, so that’s a minus… I don’t know…
What do you think is the best choice regardless of the financial side: Grinnell, DePauw, or Trinity?</p>

3

<p>I didn’t realize this post was from last year!</p>

4

<p>???</p>

5

<p>same problem…help!</p>

<p>I was just recently accepted into Hobart & William Smith Colleges & received Financial Aid Awards that total up to $53K. I’m an HEOP student & need some advice on making my final decision! Hobart is very far away from where I live which is in LI, and I’ve heard that the atmosphere of the campus, along with the students, is not a great one. My other choice is SUNY Oneonta. I recently visited&absolutely loved it, the only thing that turned me off was that most of the students were all LI, NYC & Staten Island. I’ve already had enough of that living on LI for all my life. I still don’t know how much money I’m going to be receiving from Oneonta but I know it will be a lot as well, considering I’m EOP there and I’ve been recruited for their Track & Field Team. I’m the first in my family to attend college and I just want to make the right choice for my future & for my major, which is Biology and my CC will be Pre-Med. Any feedback on any of these schools would be great, Thanks!</p>

<p>p.s. I’m majoring in Biology, my CC is Pre-Med</p>

6

<p>Haha this is some great advice…</p>

7

<p>10char bump</p>

8

<p>Go to UW…</p>

<p>I don’t like the USC spring admit.</p>

9

<p>Ithink my decision has come down to DePauw and Trinity. Grinnell is way too expensive for me…</p>

10

<p>The spring admit is weird. Why would you recommend UW over Case? Thank you for your advice btw.</p>

11

<p>Because UW can give you the full campus experience that CW can’t. Unless you’re an “all work and no play” kind of person, I think you’d like UW and Madison better. What do you think???</p>

12

<p>*Ithink my decision has come down to DePauw and Trinity. Grinnell is way too expensive for me… *</p>

<p>I think Trinity is a better school than DePauw…isn’t it? Trinity is like one of the best kept secrets…at least that’s what I think.</p>

13

<p>anybody else have any input?</p>

14

<p>Wisconsin. They top for anything Biology, and you’re right about Madison being awesome.</p>

15

<p>Have you made a decision yet, egibson16?</p>

16

<p>Really? Taking into consideration that I got into the Science Research Fellows Program at DePauw, do you think Trinity is still better?
What can you say about Trinity’s bio program?</p>