<ol>
<li>A tight-knit community</li>
<li>Nice campus and food</li>
<li>Great academics</li>
<li>Good study abroad program</li>
<li>Good pre-med program</li>
<li>Freedom to take several courses out of my major/requirements</li>
<li>Nice theatre program (preferably in a city w/ acting opportunities, but not to the point were it's super hard to get any without much experience)</li>
<li>Lots of things to do on campus</li>
<li>Several things to do off campus, but not so many that people don't want to hang on campus</li>
<li>Would prefer to go out-of-state (TX)</li>
</ol>
<p>Rice: Cog. Sci, also I got a $20,000 annual merit scholarship from there
Penn: Bio. Basis of Behavior
Columbia: Neuro. and Behavior
Duke: Psychology</p>
<p>I received no need-based aid. I can afford these schools w/ out loans, but my parents aren't paying for med. school. However, money saved from Rice would go toward med. school fees.</p>
<p>I'm definitely not basing my decision of this thread, but I'm looking for some advice. Help me please?</p>
<p>A tight-knit community can be enhanced by big sports (if you are into that), which would lead itself to Duke. It was my first choice, and if you were more lucky than I was (in that you got in), go there if the fit is right. But, also 80K in the bank to pay for med school would be nice. But, I guess it comes down to how much (and why) you want to leave Texas.</p>
<p>Oh, also: Not a big fan of huge Greek scenes. I don’t mind sports if they don’t overshadow academics. But unfortunately, a lot of sporty schools are super-Greeky.</p>
<p>I got into all the schools I’m asking about. One of the thing that stands out to me about Rice is the residential college system, which, IMO, creates a tighter-knit community. Yale was my top choice and I loved that about it.</p>
<p>@SurvivorFan, I’d like to leave TX, because I wanted to try a new environment. If I did study abroad at Rice, and then went OOS for med. school, I’d be okay with that.</p>
<p>While Duke is not super Greek (25-30%), sports, especially basketball and even football now, are huge there. With what you are saying, I would go to Rice. Apart from its location, you really seem to like it (plus the scholarship).</p>
<p>@makennacompton Haha… Reasoning would be helpful. Additionally, I know everybody has their preferences, but I’m asking based on mine. But, thanks for answering! :P</p>
<p>Also, if you are at all conservative or right-leaning, I would avoid Columbia. The other three should be fine regardless of where you fall politically.</p>
<p>Honestly, all of the schools have all of your requirements, although it will mostly likely be much, much harder to get into serious acting in New York (although there may be more amateur productions in sort of non-Broadway, non-professional venues, and then there are at least two and probably several more Columbia student productions I can think of where non-theater/drama majors play major roles). Columbia also has “so many things to do off campus…” Whether or not you hang on campus depends on your circle, but having worked in res life, I can attest that it’s sort of difficult to get upperclass students to come to our in-hall activities sometimes because they tend to hang out off campus.</p>
<p>Is there a reason that you’re not majoring in neuroscience at Duke?</p>
<p>Anyway, I would recommend Rice, just because it has everything you want and the scholarship is a nice motivating factor and will save you $80,000 for grad school (which is nearly half the cost, depending on where you go). I’ve heard good things about Houston as a town, and it seems like one of those places where there’ll be a lot to do but not so much that students won’t be on campus. Plus Rice is a small undergrad community, so that allows opportunities for close-knit bonds. But if you really wanted to get out of TX, I think Duke would be my next choice. There’s not much to do in Durham, so most of the fun happens on campus; Duke’s campus is really pretty, from what I hear, and Duke kids have tons of school spirit.</p>
<p>^ Ditto to most of that.
All the schools on your list meet pretty much all of your requirements.<br>
Given those similarities - or the lack of any clear stand-out - the $20K/year trumps everything else (especially if you’re serious about med school).</p>
<p>Houston has great professional theatre, and Rice offers numerous opportunities for involvement in campus (e.g., Rice Players) and residential college (e.g., Baker Shakespeare) productions. Rice’s relationships with & location across the street from the Texas Medical Center make internships & research pretty easy. Has a more collaborative feeling than the other schools on your list, IMHO.</p>
<p>Rice is not out if state.
And three of these schools are plunked right into some of America’s largest cities, potentially offering the most temptations to leave campus in the entire country.</p>
<p>One way to help organize your thooughts in situations like this is, you assign weights to the various critieria,
in proportion to how important they are to you, assign points to each, and see where they fall.</p>
<p>Take a close look at Penn, which has virtually all of what you’re seeking. Great campus (300 acres) with terrific campus life (including one of the largest, most comprehensive, and vigorous student performing arts communities at a school without a large academic performing arts program), but also providing close and easy access to Center City Philadelphia, and all of the arts, culture, and night life that it has to offer. Additionally, Philly now has one of the largest–if not the largest–professional theatre scenes outside of NYC and Chicago, with over fifty (50) professional theatre companies and over two dozen theatres in the area.</p>
<p>Coincidentally, in terms of Penn’s on-campus theatre opportunities, I just posted this in a thread in the Penn forum:</p>
<p>I like environments that are competitive, but not cutthroat. I’d like some collaboration. Additionally, I’d really love to study abroad at Oxford or Cambridge for a year. And I’d like a school that doesn’t have so many reqs. that it makes it too hard for me to major in what I want to, be a pre-med, and study abroad. Also, I do have an interest in acting, and although I know it’s very unlikely, I’m more interested in pursuing film acting, so I’d prefer a city that I could get theatre experience but also opportunities for film (aka agents, if ever possible).</p>
<p>@julliet, The reason I wouldn’t in Neuro. at Duke is because I want a major that greatly incorporates psych. into it. So I might take Psych. with a more neuro. focus.</p>
<p>Also, that’s one reason I was looking to avoid NYC. It’s much harder to get into acting there, because the competition is so intense. Connections are everything there.</p>
<p>Columbia has a very big core curriculum, so you may not have as much choice as you are looking for. Do summer programs in cities where you think acting options might be better. </p>
<p>I understand the urge to do something different, and to try a new place…but $80K in the bank towards med school is pretty huge- that is 1 year at Penn. Graduating with $320K in debt or $240K in debt makes it an easy choice to me. Especially as you can do a year abroad during undergraduate as well as summer work in other places.</p>
<p>Is it bad to feel weird about turning down Ivies? I don’t know… Sometimes, I feel like I’m cool w/ leaning toward Rice, and then other times, I feel like I’m stupid. I don’t know… I have a lot of mixed feelings right now. </p>
<p>It’s not bad to feel weird with turning any of them down- ivy or not. You worked hard to convince each of them that you would be a good student for their school and now they are working hard to convince you that they are the best for you. The siren call of the Ivy- yes, that is an Ivy League college bumper sticker on my car!- is very strong. But- they won’t be paying off your grad school debt for you. </p>
<p>And, if you go to Rice and do the Oxford year abroad, Teddy Hall and LMH (unless your housing is in the housing for 2nd years- find out before you commit!!) are recommended amongst the colleges Rice places people in :-)</p>