HELP! Williams vs Northwestern vs UNC Honors

<p>(Sorry if this ends up cross-posted to other forums, but I have been mulling over this for the past week and want to hear from a diff perspective)</p>

<p>A little about myself:
I'm a Floridian girl interested in the humanities, specifically English/CreativeWriting/PoliSci, in the hopes of becoming a writer. I don't know where that will lead (lawyer? journalist?), but I'm hoping that's what college is for. All 3 schools seem to have enormous school spirit and pride of their athletics even though sports isn't a big factor in my decision. I was already accepted at Tufts, UF honors, Sarah Lawrence, Occidental, Dickinson (anyone who's thinking of applying here, please note that the admissions officers are the nicest ppl ive ever met), but have narrowed it down to the three listed.</p>

<p>Here's the pros and cons I've made so far of each: </p>

<p>UNC-CH Honors
Pros- Strong English and Communications department, cheapest college of the 3, beautiful campus and weather, strong school spirit
Cons- No family in the state, huge class, would I feel like just a number? I know in the honors college you can take smaller classes though... Being an OOS might make it harder to fit in with NC kids who have all gone to high school together</p>

<p>Northwestern
Pros- Evanston is a cute town, but more importantly, CHICAGO. Hands down, best location. Strong English department, close to family
Cons- Greek emphasis...I can deal with the arctic tundra that is a Chicago winter, but unlike a smaller liberal arts college, it seems that it would be very hard for me to explore my interests like journalism outside my general arts and sciences school since all journalism opportunities seem dominated by Medill students. Also, I've heard rumors that a lot of the classes are huge and impersonal and that grad students take priority in research opportunities. </p>

<p>Williams- Though it is vastly smaller than the other two, Williams holds a special place in my heart. I love the idea of tutorials, strong English department, the built-in-friends that an entry offers, quirky traditions and the overall vibe of the place.
Cons- "you can make a big school small, but you can't make a small school big" ...I love rural nature as much as the next girl, but I've never been surrounded by it for 4 yrs. Would I go stir crazy? Is Boston easily accessible? I'm afraid of Williams being too much of an isolated bubble that will not prepare me for real life after college. Also, my dad seems to think that Williams not having a president yet is not a good sign. </p>

<p>What do you guys think?</p>

<p>Trying for one of every kind? Pretty diverse trio you’ve narrowed down. Great options, all. Sorry for the random order of responses:</p>

<ol>
<li><p>I presume you know that the current Williams president (Morton Schapiro) will be the new president at Northwestern starting September 1st. He’s an economist with an expertise in higher education. Think he’ll be a great booster of undergrad education at NU. Differ with your father, though. Don’t think this is a problem for Williams. They’ll fill his post pretty quickly. While he’s been very popular, new blood there (like at NU) may ultimately be the best thing for them. </p></li>
<li><p>Boston is not accessible. Nature is accessible. Williams is a beautiful school in a beautiful setting in the Berkshires, rightly one of the great liberal arts colleges in the nation, but one of the absolutely most isolated geographically. Wiliamstown makes Amherst (the town, that is) look like a veritable metropolis. Only you know how much “civilization” you need.</p></li>
<li><p>Journalism opportunities are everywhere at Northwestern and are not controlled by Medill kids. They obviously have a heavy presence by virtue of their interest but hold no monopoly. Lots and lots of magazine, radio and TV options are easy to penetrate. In addition to The Daily Northwestern, check out North by Northwestern online. A relative newbie, it’s won lots of awards and is about as egalitarian as a print/online venue can get on a campus. Work for them daily, weekly, blue monthly. If you want to write/publish, Northwestern is a really great place to do it. Dying to become editor of the Daily? I’ll refer you to Anne Hathaway for tips. Outside my personal knowledge base.</p></li>
<li><p>Intro classes at NU are large but average by standards of most other top tier private U’s. Even freshman year, WCAS freshman seminars offer an opportunity for class sizes in the low-mid teens. Things scale down very, very quickly after that. Expect that sophomore year, a quarter of classes will be largish. Junior/senior year, it’s possible to finish 24 classes without ever seeing an enrollment over 50, most classes possible under 25. Profs are very approachable, especially once out of intro levels, and research opportunities are indeed plentiful. Grad students don’t dominate this campus.</p></li>
<li><p>I love UNC but agree that there are two - possibly three - compromises you’ll have to make. Yes, the school is more than twice the size of NU and class size will be much more of an issue. With 82% of freshmen by state law native North Carolinians, I understand your other concern about geographic inbreeding and feeling a bit out of the loop coming OOS. My 3rd concern rests with the economy and fear that state university budgets in general will suffer disproportionately compared with (most) private colleges. Do your due diligence and make sure cuts comparable to places like ASU and the Cal system are not coming to Chapel Hill.</p></li>
</ol>