<p>My niece is stuck on figuring out which school to attend - both small liberal arts schools - admitted with similar merit scholarship. Overnights at both and liked them - climates and locations are different - but other than that she can't figure out how to make the decision? Any suggestions on how to proceed other than with 'gut' feeling?</p>
<p>what are her 3 favorite extra curricular activities? look and see how many students participate in those at each school.</p>
<p>Did she sit in on classes at each?</p>
<p>or does one have better food than the other, if all else fails;)</p>
<p>She preferred these at one school over the other…</p>
<p>Go with the one with better academics, smaller average class size, extra curricular activities (student groups), condition of the classrooms and buildings, larger endowment as a % of annual budget (or number of students).</p>
<p>How about which one offers the major(s) she is interested in? Majors in other areas she might be interested in (just in case she decides to change majors).</p>
<p>Which one has students from socioeconomic class slightly higher than her (marry up), but not too much higher (might feel left out when the other kids go skiing for the weekend)?</p>
<p>Has she read the sites we’re not allowed to mention by name here where students weigh in on many aspects of the school? Those were very helpful for my kids. Google Student reviews of colleges to find the sites.</p>
<p>If she cannot decide and the cost is the same, then she should pick the school that is in better financial shape because every college in America is going to be rocked hard over the four years she is in college. </p>
<p>Harvard is cutting their operating budget by 19%. These cuts are deeper than fiddling around the margins. Look at the annual financial statements, per student endowment, debt load, endowment spending rates, and liquidity. Some colleges go into the cost cutting in better shape than others.</p>
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<p>Very practical thought…look at future SIL possibilities.</p>
<p>I wholeheartedly agree with interesteddad!</p>
<p>But all other things being equal, how about ease of access:
Is one 7 hours of driving on 2 lane roads?
Is one 3 hours drive to the airport then a 2 stop flight?
Is one 10 minutes to home airport, a non-stop flight, then 15 minutes to the campus?</p>
<p>Unless on campus housing is required all 4 years, food/dorms/bathrooms isn’t a factor.</p>
<p>Read the campus newspapers (they’re probably online). That’s often not only a way of judging the student satisfaction vibe, but of checking out what passes for enlightened thought among the student body.</p>
<p>all of the above is GREAT advice and not the usual pat answers. This site is amazing.</p>
<p>My D is in the same situation (even the climate/location difference), I think the final choice in her case will be based on quality of research opportunities and acceptance rates to grad/medical schools, everything else seems to be equal or close to equal. Also make sure that both merit packages are for all four years, not just a one-year thing that could be adjusted later (downward would not be too good). Good luck with her choice, whichever it is!</p>
<p>gadad - at every college we visited the first thing I would do is hunt down the student newspaper. I loved reading all of them! They are an open book into the student body.</p>
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LOL. seriously though, some LAC’s are seriously lacking men.</p>
<p>bottom line - if money is not a factor then go with pure gut feeling.
If that doesn’t work, flip a coin. seriously.
Flip the coin for your daughter. When you say School “A” came up look at the expression on her face. If she beams - she has her answer!</p>
<p>Consider which school allows easier travel home. I’ve noticed that many kids in my area who go to schools far away transfer to the state flagship the following year. Even when kids love college, it’s nice to be able to come home for an occasional weekend, or have Mom and Dad come for a quick visit.</p>
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<p>No! Read the alumni magazine, you’ll be stuck with that much longer.</p>
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This can potentially be misleading, especially wrt medschools admissions.
Some colleges support only the applicants they know will get in. They usually have 99-100% medschool acceptance rate, but it is misleading.</p>
<p>from ‘marrying up’ to checking endowments of the schools to checking out what the kids are saying online</p>
<p>Thanks!</p>
<p>I did a spreadsheet last night and included this very fact - the door to door time.
A big factor however is climate rain vs sun… I think that she’s 16 is a factor - only child leaving home - so it might not be she can’t decide as much as what deciding ultimately means.</p>
<p>Another possible factor consider for the breaking the tie.</p>
<p>Check out the distribution credits. What classes would she need to take to graduate? Does one of the schools have much less flexible/more restrictive requirements, or what she considers to be “too many extra requirements”?</p>
<p>Any differences in requirements to keep merit scholarship.</p>
<p>Completely agree with nngmm concerning acceptance rates to grad and med schools. These rates can be manipulated dramatically, especially in a small LAC. They can impact and alter their number of actual applicants so that their numbers reflect only the best of the best. There are many ways they can do it from strongly discouraging potential applicants to look at other career options to something as overt as the pre med committee refusing to write a letter of recommendation (which is the kiss of death for an applicant) forcing them not to apply. It does happen.</p>
<p>Making an undergrad decision when all other factors appear to be equal should be based on the best fit and where the student thinks they will be happiest AFTER classes are over for the day. For those on a pre med track don’t undervalue fit and happiness because the coursework is difficult, the competition is intense and in some places cut throat. That "happiness’ quotient can be a big factor in determining academic success. Without trying to be redundant, it is a very bad practice to base an undergrad decision on med or grad school admission rates especially in smaller schools.</p>