Help needed

<p>I have been accepted to couple of colleges which one should i pick? I have been accepted to Barnard, UC Berkeley, UC San Diego, UC Davis, Swarthmore, Carleton, Uni of Rochester, Smith. I am from Bay Area, California and have been in the US for only four years. So which school do u recommend and why?
I think that I would major on Biology and maybe minor in Political Science.
Fin aid is not a problem , i get a lot of fin aid from the private colleges but for the UCs mostly I get some grant then loans.
I am from Iran, and during my HS years I did not have a great time even though I live in CA, so I was looking forward to a great experience where i could meet open-minded people, get involved in many activities, and get a good education. So any advise?
Thanks</p>

<p>waaay different schools you have on your list! It definatly depends on what you want. I know the UC schools are much larger and you'll probably tend to feel a little lost. I know that the small, liberal arts schools (ie Carleton and Swarthmore) seem to be more focused on students-you'll get more attention from your professors there than anywhere else. I think you noted a couple women's colleges on there. I'm partial to co-ed colleges, but this is usually the question I ask people-if you go to an all women's college, what happens next? All womens workplace? all womens companies? I dunno, it just seems like you have to be able to work with men some time, it may as well be in college (where you grow and mature sooo much). I hope this helped a little bit....oh, and at Swarthmore it seemed as if ALL the students were interested in doing is studying. That's really all they do, it felt like they don't have fun at all. Carleton seems more laid back, and I'm sure you'll be able to find someone to relax and play frisbee with ;). Hope this helped.<br>
P.S. After that long winded response....I would pick Carleton. But then again, I AM on the Carleton forum and a bit biased...</p>