<p>My daughter is trying to decide between 5 colleges, which all seem to me to be pretty good. The choices are: UVA, William & Mary, NYU, Bowdoin and Middlebury -- it's really tough to compare them because they are like apples and oranges. She is interested in pre-med, possibly majoring in biochem. Oh, and she is from a small high school (70 kids in her graduating class). Can anyone give us some help?</p>
<p>mmm i've been to all except bowdoin and i go to uva.</p>
<p>Middlebury is a place my sister nearly went to - i went on a few tours there and an accepted days student day there with my mom and sister. Its really small - less than 2000, really pretty, and from what i could see, really boring. The town (if you could call it that) consisted of about 1 block where the big time store was a radio shack. Also, it was mid april - and there was 3 feet of snow on the ground. They do own their own mountain so if your daughter likes to ski she can do that. I'm pretty sure their hallmark program is the foreign languages - but I'm sure (as with all these schools listed) that she can get a spectacular education in biology/chemistry (i bet anything she drops one).</p>
<p>william & mary is another boring school. one of my best friends from high school goes there and in his own words "we sneak into the woods to smoke pot...and thats about where the fun begins and ends." colonial williamsburg isnt exactly a bustingly place. The school is very pretty though - but i always got the sense that it was just really nerdy.
I don't know if this helps at all...but his first choice was bowdoin and he didn't get in...so he went to w&m. Also...he has said since he doesn't really go out that much he gets a lot of time to work...he has like a 3.9 - which is about a point higher than me lol.</p>
<p>NYU doesn't have a campus...its just a random mishmash of buildings in new york - distinguishable only by the nyu flags hanging from their walls. Its also HUGE around 40,000 total students - but thats besides the point as its in the biggest city in the country. I understand theres no school spirit - and its also going to be really expensive - too expensive for what it is imo. If your daughter went to a school with 250 students it might be too big of a change for her - although i think people make too much a big deal over that. </p>
<p>uva is another big school - about 13,000 undergrads (19,000ish total) but it never feels that big. the campus is beautiful and so are the students - everyone is extremely well put together. Also be weary as a lot of the students are extremely snobby - but not really towards other students - just towards the outside world. I am one of these people lol. i have never taken a bio/chem class but i understand atleast from my best friends that organic chemistry is the baine of their existence - incredibly difficult. I believe 4% of the undergrads at uva go to med school - although i am not sure of the acceptance rate. The surrounding city is nothing more than a big town. Near the school there are a bunch of bars - which are basicly next to fraternity row. If your daughter is a partier - she'll be able to do it here. If she ventures further away from the school (all by school buses - 1st years cant have cars) theres barracks road - a pretty sweet shopping center actually and the downtown mall - which is apparantly one of the largest walking malls in the country. Its really nice - but be weary of townies - extremely sketchy.</p>
<p>anyway - i obviously endorse Virginia, but she can get a great education anywhere. I think the first thing she needs to do is decide first the size. she has like 1500 students vs 40,000 students. once she decides to go big or small, she can cut out virginia and nyu, or bowdoin and middlebury. w&m is kinda in the middle there. after that I think she should go and try to visit the 2 or 3 remainders if possible - its getting really close to may 1st so it may not be. But in general - if I were you - if you go big I'd take UVa if small I'd go middlebury. While w&m is a great school - i don't think its that great of a place.</p>
<p>A few minor corrections to jags861 description of Middlebury. Midd's student enrollment is 2,400--not "less than 2000." Middlebury is the county seat and a town of around 8,000. It is highly unlikely that there was "3 feet of snow" when he visited in April. Middlebury has tons of great shops, bars, and restaurants, and is about 45 minutes from Burlington, Vermont's largest city.</p>
<p>There can most definitely be a lot of snow on the ground in April in Vermont -- there have been major snowstorms at the end of April and early May. Sometimes the leaves don't come out until mid May. Burlington is a great college town, but it too is small -- less than 40,000 -- and a car is really needed to get there. Middlebury is a cute town, with some nice stores and restaurants -- but "tons" is an exaggeration.</p>
<p>sorry about the enrollment error. and - yes - there was 3 feet of snow on the ground in april (it was an accepted students day). And I definitively recall the tour guide opening the door to a building and having all the snow on the roof collapse on him. He wasn't happy. The people on the tour were amused tho...</p>
<p>I'm not arguing that there can be snow on the ground in April--but three feet? what year were you on the accepted students day tour? And maybe not "tons" of restaurants, but I can name at least 15 off the top of my head...</p>
<p>hmm i guess this was like april 2000?</p>
<p>Midd is a great place to spend four years of college. You'll get great preparation in chem for premed. Bowdoin is good too.</p>
<p>Thanks for your input. She hasn't even decided between big or small. I am wondering how it feels to be at a big school like UVA - do you feel like a number? How is the academic support system -- are professors or ta's available to answer questions?</p>
<p>Midd or Bowdoin. If she's from a class of 70 in hs, she might not mind that Bowdoin is only ~450, otherwise at 600+, I'd say Midd. I think Bowdoin may be a little more highly regarded (especially in sciences than Midd), but considering that major isn't necessarily known with certainty yet, would say both are comparable and it's more what you make of them. NYU to me would be the worst college experience in the country. And having been at Dartmouth in the early 2000's, can attest that, yes in April 2001 and possibly April 2000 there was three feet of snow on the ground. It actually snowed 30 inches on March 31, 2001.</p>
<p>I have never felt like a number at UVA...intro level classes can be somewhat large and you do have discussion sections and things of that nature, but I've gotten to know several professors very well and I never walk around grounds without seeing a few of my good friends. </p>
<p>Maybe I'm lucky because I'm in a 20 person major, but who knows. I don't think too many people here feel like they're just a statistic.</p>
<p>Come visit UVA. You'll probably fall in love with it.</p>
<p>It is beautiful.. but then so are W&M, Bowdoin and Middlebury. I suspect the number of biochem majors is probably huge. During our visit, I had her sit in an intro bio course -- she said she couldn't really see the professor... but she could see the powerpoint.</p>
<p>UVA if you want a big school
Bowdoin if you want a small school.</p>
<p>Why Bowdoin and not Middlebury? Is it the academics or the atmosphere (or both)?</p>
<p>Bowdoin is very strong in the sciences, definitely more so than Middlebury.</p>
<p>Thanks bobbobbob. My understanding is that Middlebury is stronger on languages.</p>
<p>Have you seen Bicentennial Hall at Middlebury? The college is pouring tons of money into equipment, facilities, and professorships. More Middlebury students major in sciences than all languages combined.</p>
<p>It is. Middlebury is definitely better in the languages but if you are doing pre-med, Bowdoin would probably be the better place in terms of academics.</p>
<p>We just did the Middlebury "admitted students" tour -- they seem to emphasize languages and international-related studies.</p>
<p>Personally, of the five I think UVA would be the best choice. I think 3 feet of snow is pretty intimidating to live in for four years; however, I think that based on what your daughter is looking for in Majors she might want to consider transfering to Emory University for fall 2007.</p>