<p>Hello,everyone
I'm a student from China. I want to go to US for my bachelor degree. And my major is psychology.
I got 2 admission letters. But now I don't know which one to choose. So if you know something about these 2 schools, tell me and help me to make a decision.
1. Elizabethtown College(PA,Elizabethtown)
total scholarship 25000$
2. Guilford College(NC,Greensboro)
total scholarship 15000$
Help!
Thx</p>
<p>I would go for the one that gave you more money, Elizabethtown.</p>
<p>I agree: Go to the one that would cost the least for you. Both of the colleges are ranked similarly.</p>
<p>I am curious, however. Is there a real advantage in your country to going to an American college? If there’s not, it may be best to not pay big bucks to attend either of the colleges you’re considering. Neither college is well known in the U.S., and I doubt that either is known abroad. They both are ordinary second tier colleges.</p>
<p>Northstarmom, thank you for you reply.
I want to go to US for my master degree. So I think maybe I can go to a good school easier if I graduate from a US college not a Chinese college.
Of course, my family is not rich and not easy to pay for my tuition.
Now I feel very worried.</p>
<p>How coming to a U.S. college would help you is by strengthening your English skills, something that’s far easier to accomplish when one is immersed in an English speaking country than when one is trying to learn English while living in a non English speaking country. Right now, you are making some grammatical mistakes that could keep you out of excellent U.S. schools for graduate work, though you probably could gain entrance to less demanding graduate schools here. </p>
<p>Please don’t be offended by my comment about your English skills. I know how hard it is to learn another language, and I am sure that your English is far better than is my ability to speak or write the two other languages that I have studied!</p>
<p>I have a friend who is a recent graduate of Guilford, and was pleased with her experience there. She was a very bright person who could have gone to a better college, but chose Guilford because she is a Quaker (It’s a Quaker college) and because of its relatively low cost compared to other U.S. private colleges.</p>
<p>She said that while the classes were relatively easy for her, the professors were delighted to help her delve deeper into subjects than they were doing in the classroom. She is now headed to a graduate program that is excellent in her field, and also gave her virtually a full ride. </p>
<p>I am not familiar with Elizabethtown college, so can’t comment on that. </p>
<p>However, it would make sense to me to select the college that is most affordable. I think that as long as you take full advantage of the opportunity (and professors at those kind of small colleges tend to throughly enjoy helping students learn) either would provide you a good opportunity to achieve your dreams of going to an excellent American grad school.</p>
<p>sorry, I forget to post the tuition and fee
Elizabethtown College 39000$
Guilford College 15000$</p>
<p>Go to the cheaper one! The colleges are ranked similarly, and since finances are a consideration, it’s fine to select the one that will cost less.</p>
<p>In that case, definitely Guilford! Quakers schools are very special. They have a strong element of caring. That would be a warm environment for you. And yes, the better your English skills are, the better your grad school experience will be.</p>
<p>zoezrhpt</p>
<p>Are you sure about the costs? When I look on the websites of both colleges, I see that Elizabethtown costs approximately $39,000 and Guilford costs approximately $34,000. If you received $25,000 from Elizabethtown, then it would cost less than Guilford, which only offered you $15,000.</p>
<p>I’m sorry. I type something wrong…
Elizabethtown College: 39000$ I need to pay 15000$
Guilford College:34000$ I need to pay 19000$
I’m sorry</p>
<p>Since Elizabethtown is cheaper, pick it.</p>
<p>Seriously, is it worth it to come to US to pay $15,000/year, that’s 102,500 Yuan, not cheap. If your family is not wealthy, are you sure they could afford this and is this the best use of your money. Why not go to school in China, then come to the US for master?</p>
<p>Elizabethtown is a lovely college. It is in very nice little town and the students are great. My husband has had many dealings with students and faculty from the school and he invariably says what nice kids he meets from Etown. I think you would love your time there.</p>
<p>You also could consider going to school in China and then doing a year abroad in the U.S. during your undergrad education. I know that Hong Kong Baptist University offers this because there were students from there who spent a year at Rollins Colllege, where my son is in school.</p>
<p>zoezrhpx</p>
<p>I don’t know much about Elizabethtown. It has a Christian affiliation, but apparently does not require mandatory church attendance or courses. On the website, I found a link for you to contact an international student at Elizabethtown to ask questions. Here’s the link [Ask</a> a current international student](<a href=“Elizabethtown College - Page Not Found”>Elizabethtown College - Page Not Found)</p>
<p>From the limited amount I know, it seems like a nurturing school with nice kids. I don’t know how convenient it would be for you. Most of the kids have cars (the school seems to be about a mile from the town) and it’s not that close to any major cities (about an hour and a half from Baltimore).</p>
<p>However, I agree with Northstarmom. I would pick the less expensive school, since it seems that Guilford and Elizabethtown have similar academic profiles.</p>
<p>Thanks for everyone’s reply.
I’m now in a university in China but I’m not satisfied with it. So I apply again to US schools.
To my family, my parents can affored the cost from 15000$ to 20000$. But it is not so easy. I just want to know which one is better, which I can learn more, which I can go to a good grad school when I graduate from there.</p>
<p>I did a little research on both schools and the results show some advantages and disadvantages of both schools. I would suggest that you go to this website and do you own research as well [College</a> Navigator - National Center for Education Statistics](<a href=“http://nces.ed.gov/collegenavigator/]College”>College Navigator - National Center for Education Statistics)</p>
<p>Elizabethtown–</p>
<ol>
<li> Relatively high freshman retention rate and 6 year graduation rate–this is important because you don’t want a school where a lot of people are leaving and not graduating and it generally speaks to the fact that kids are satisfied with the school. The first year retention rate is 86% and the 6 year graduation rate is 70%.</li>
<li> The Psychology Department is fairly small. There were only 12 seniors in the program last year (but I should note that history, which is usually an extremely popular major, only had 15 seniors). On one hand, that could mean that you get lots of attention, which is good. On the other hand, it could mean that the school is fairly pre-professional and not geared to liberal arts students. </li>
<li> Availability of internships–because of the school’s location, it’s unlikely that you would get an internship that you could get to without a car. I would suggest that you email the head of the program with some questions, i.e. its a relatively small department, are all classes given each year, are internships available to those without a car, can she tell you something about graduate school admissions–how many people who want to go to graduate school in psychology get into a program.</li>
<li> Elizabethtown is not a particularly diverse school. 91% white, 3% black, 2% hispanic, 2% asian and 1% international students.</li>
</ol>
<p>Guilford</p>
<ol>
<li> Weaker retention and graduation rates. Only 72% freshman retention rate and 58% 6 year graduation rate.<br></li>
<li> School had 55 seniors in the psychology department–much bigger department.</li>
<li>Guilford is located in Greensboro, the third largest city in North Carolina. It probably has more internships available and it is likely, although I don’t know for sure, that some of them are reachable on foot or by some form of public transportation.</li>
<li> Guilford is a more diverse school, 67% white, 22% black, 2% hispanic, 2% asian, although most of the difference is in the percentage of black students. It too has 1% international students.</li>
</ol>
<p>well, midatlmom, you really help me a lot! I appreciate it.
But I have some questions. For Elizabethtown, what do you mean by 12 seniors? Is it mean there are only 12 senior students in psychology department? That’s really small.
What is ‘Availability of internships’? To go to another school? Or work?
Sorry, my English skill need to improve :)</p>
<p>Both of these are good small schools where you would probably find friends, get good instruction, polish your English, and learn how the grad school system works here. The ranking/profile details are probably less important than the financial aid in making a decision. Go where there is good financial support and make the most of it! Congratulations on taking on such an adventure at a young age. And a small department may be fine if it means there is good attention to each students studies and mentoring as you head to grad school. 12 senior students in one major is not unusual in a small college. I would make your decision based on financial aid and the overall community of the college–since you could decide to change your major once you get involved in the curriculum</p>
<p>Many psychology majors want to get practical experience in the field. Unpaid work in a mental health facility, school or hospital is called an internship and it is extremely useful and very common. It is looked upon favorably by employers and graduate schools. Here’s the link to the Elizabethtown page on internships [Internships[/url</a>]. </p>
<p>Also important for graduate schools is research. Here’s the link to the Elizabethtown page on research opportunities in psychology [url=<a href=“Elizabethtown College - Page Not Found”>Elizabethtown College - Page Not Found]Professional</a> Presentations](<a href=“Elizabethtown College - Page Not Found”>Elizabethtown College - Page Not Found) </p>
<p>As to the number of seniors in the psychology department, under the college navigator site I gave you, it said that there were 12 psychology “completions” in 2007-2008. I assumed that meant that only 12 seniors had completed the requirements for a bachelor of arts in psychology. Once again, I would recommend that you email the head of the psychology department for confirmation of that number and to ask questions about the department.</p>
<p>Elizabethtown sounds like a warm and nurturing place. A small department can give you greater opportunities and access to professors than a larger department. Also, even though there may not be a huge number of seniors in the department, there will also be juniors who are majoring in the subject and a large number of students who take courses in psychology.</p>
<p>And mmaah is right. Financial aid is very important and you could well change your mind about a major.</p>