Help Narrowing College Decision?

College Search & Selection
1

Hi everybody!
I know that this should be a very personal choice, but I’m hoping for any kind of advice or anecdotes that can help me in my college decision process. It is truly, as of now, an impossible decision. My choices are:
-Brown University (Biomedical Engineering, No Aid)
-Swarthmore College (Engineering, No Aid)
-University of Southern California (Biomedical Engineering + Viterbi Honors, Half-Tuition Scholarship)
-University of California Los Angeles (Applied Mathematics, $10k Scholarship)
-University of California Berkeley (Applied Mathematics, No Aid)
-Claremont McKenna (Engineering/Management 4+1, $10k Scholarship)
I was waitlisted at a lot of my schools, but I only accepted a place at the University of Pennsylvania; I will go there if I get off the waitlist, but for now I have to make a decision with what I have.
All the schools feel so different, yet somehow emphatically love all of them equally!! Aid would certainly be nice, but it is not a make-or-break decision, especially if the education will be relatively worth it. I hope to do pre-med, and go to medical school, but I have also been interested in business for a long time so want to keep that as an option at least if my interests do happen to change in college.
I come from a really small school, but I am very sociable. I wouldn’t mind going to parties and having a lively atmosphere, but am by no means a party animal. I don’t want a “dead” social scene, but also want to avoid a heavy “frat-like” scene.
My main concern is the opportunities I will have coming out of the school. I know it’s mostly about what you put into a school, but I am wondering if there are any distinguishable features between the schools. I am quietly competitive; not cutthroat at all, but can handle the pressure. Since I can’t visit most of them (minus USC because I had to go to interview for my scholarship), this means a lot to me.

Thanks for everybody’s help!

2

First of all, cut Berkeley and UCLA. The pre med, engineering, and all the STEM fields at those two schools is very cut throat and competitive. Your grades will suffer and especially med schools will look down on you. UC Berkeley had a 60 percent placement for its undergrad premeds into med school. UCLA only had 50 percent. These don’t even include everyone who was weeded out (which is a lot). The national average is about 50 percent but UCLA and Berkeley students are much smarter than average yet these acceptance rates don’t reflect that. See what im getting at? Anyways im rambling. I can’t tell you which to pick out of the rest of them but USC does seem very tempting with that $$$ although Brown hands down is the BEST school you can go to for pre med. Grading is notoriously easy there and it is GOOD for med schools (86 percent acceptance into med and not as many are weeded as at bigger schools) USC is a real frat school but you’ll find something for everybody. Brown is a little nerdy but youll find something for you too. Ultimately, it comes down to fit (except for LA and Berkeley unless you REALLY love them) I would choose Brown hands down for pre med unless money is a concern, then go USC.

3

EDIT: Don’t know anything about Swarthmore or CMC but I know Brown is the best for premed! Good luck

4

I don’t know much about these schools but I would say USC because of the amount of aid. Frees up money for grad/med school down the line.

5

I would say USC alone based on the aid you received. No one else gave you as good of a FA package as USC did. USC is a very good school where you will receive a strong education. It is imperative–whether you go onto grad/med school or you change your desired major/path–that you keep undergrad as cheap as possible, which is another factor behind me voting for USC.