<p>I made a mistake by applying to way way way too many colleges and worst of all... I'm undecided. Which is fine and not a bad thing at all BUT it also does not let me really narrow down my options by the strength of certain programs. I applied for neuroscience/cogsci for a few schools but am not positive I will pursue it. </p>
<p>So, what does it come down to? Should I just go to the best school I got into? </p>
<p>advice please! I can list the schools I am considering too.</p>
<p>“So, what does it come down to? Should I just go to the best school I got into?”</p>
<p>No! Go to the school that has the best combination of a) financial affordability b) fit- where you see yourself attending the most, and c) academic programs in areas you think you want to pursue.</p>
<p>affordability really isn’t an issue; my parents will support any school I want to go to. But, I always find great things about schools and then see the problems. For instance</p>
<p>UCSD is a great school but lacks social aspects I want. Also, I’m not even SURE how i can preform in big classrooms vs small classrooms. Time is running out and quite frankly, I’m freaking out.</p>
<p>Post your list along with your top criteria for a school.</p>
<p>Elkayy - in another thread you said that you’d just visited the U. of San Diego and absolutely loved it. Have you seen a problem with USD tat has dampened your enthusiasm for it? It sounds like a great option to me!</p>
<p>UCSD, USD, FORDHAM, GWU AND CUA (CATHOLIC UNIVERSITY OF AMERICA)</p>
<p>I want a fun school, and somewhat near a city. I love public transportation (weird, I know) but I also want a school that is well rounded with both people and academics. I have a good work ethic so I hope I can succeed anywhere but there is always the variable of the rest of the student body (I really wouldn’t like an extremely competitive environment) </p>
<p>I also hope to eventually do pre med but I am not positive I can haha, negative but realistic. we’ll ese. any input?</p>
<p>I DO love USD but because I am currently undecided and I don’t see that they have many options for majors. I don’t really see myself doing business but they don’t seem to have a very strong science program (really no upper divs in bio or anything)</p>
<p>I would choose GWU, based on the limited amount of information you have provided.</p>
<p>In the Parents Forum, one poster suggested this link: [CollegePick</a> - Define colleges](<a href=“http://www.collegepick.us/]CollegePick”>http://www.collegepick.us/)</p>
<p>I haven’t tried it, so I don’t know how hard it is to use.</p>
<p>[FinAid</a> | Calculators | Advanced Award Letter Comparison Tool](<a href=“Your Guide for College Financial Aid - Finaid”>Your Guide for College Financial Aid - Finaid) includes non-financial criteria as well as financial ones. I haven’t tried it either.</p>
<p>So, how about you run both of these, and give us parental units some feedback on whether either of them were helpful so we know what to recommend next year?</p>
<p>You will be fine wherever you end up, but in DC I’d pick GW over Catholic U for transportation. GW is closer to a Metro stop. If you want to work out how easy (or hard it would be to get from anywhere in DC to either of those two places, use the Trip Planner feature at [Metro</a> - Home page](<a href=“http://www.wmata.com/]Metro”>http://www.wmata.com/) GW is also on the DC Circulator bus route which is more frequent (and cheaper) than most of the Metrobus routes [System</a> map](<a href=“http://www.dccirculator.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=27&Itemid=11]System”>http://www.dccirculator.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=27&Itemid=11)</p>
<p>But of the two, I think Catholic might be a bit more “fun”.</p>
<p>I would say GWU but I’m not sure if it’s known for science. If not, then UCSD.</p>
<p>I’d remove UCD and that other school.</p>
<p>AHHH! Well, GWU is a lot and my parents would pay for it but to not be sure what I want to do I don’t think I’d feel comfortable asking for them to pay. But UCSD is out of state as well but since my parents are moving there next year I’ll have in state for 3 years. hmmm…</p>
<p>Thanks for the advice.</p>
<p>Be very careful with the uc system. For those who are not aware California is having a major education crisis right now. My sister goes to ucsd and the time to graduate is an estimated 6 years. It is not because she is a bad student but because the ucs are accepting too many kids and classes are being cut which makes it harder to get the classes you need to graduate. As time progresses this problem is only going to get worse.</p>
<p>"Be very careful with the uc system. "</p>
<p>don’t speak of things you have no clue about unless you want to provide FACTS besides “i know someone blah”</p>
<p>Anyhow, UCSD is the far superior school on this list - the only other option would be GWU - the rest are not in the same class. I would go with the cheaper cost option between UCSD and GWU.</p>
<p>Okay here’s a fact. As of today the average time to graduate at a uc is 5/6 years. While ucsd is an amazing school, for me personally it would be a necessity to graduate in four years. Unless they could guarantee graduating in four years I would seriously have to consider going there. </p>
<p>Back to the op ucsd social life doesn’t resemble your likings very much. Why are your parents moving to Cali? Is it only for you because that would not qualify you for instate ( which btw is not that much better). GWU would be a great school for you. It has the atmosphere that I think you would appreciate.</p>
<p>Where are you getting your info from? The time someone takes to graduate is completely relative to many factors and depends on the individual student.</p>
<p>now the REAL FACT is that UCSD is the superior school by far. Check every reputable ranking system.</p>
<p>Would you like me to email you the letter sent to my sister?</p>
<p>Where did I say that it wasnt an amazing school? Theres no doubting that ucsd is highly ranked especially for their science department. I’m just stating that in my personal opinion I would stay away from the uc system. Ever since schwarzenegger took office funding for education has been minimal. The purpose of this site is not to bash other people’s opinion but rather state your own. This website is not an encyclopedia and shield never be used that way. The op was asking which school she/he should attend and I warned her/him of the possible problems. You said what you needed to say now just leave it at that. I think we all can agree that ucsd is a superior school.</p>
<p>I wouldn’t enter a impacted major. And my dad already lives in California but they have been waiting for me to graduate so they can finally move into the house he has here. (they are moving from the east coast) </p>
<p>ANYWAY, yes the UC thing is tricky and the budget crisis does worry me. I really am concerned with the social thing too–and greek life seems like the only solution for that. But i’ve decided i wouldnt join a sorority until my second year. </p>
<p>this is a hard decision. Any other input would be appreciated!</p>
<p>Although gwu isn’t ranked as high as other schools on your list it has the university atmosphere that I think you would appreciate. Small classes accesible professors a social life.</p>
<p>hannahj65:</p>
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<p>Hannah, Hannah, this is so wrong. The average UC student DOES NOT graduate in 5-6 years. UC would be the laughing stock of academia if this were true.</p>
<p>Now if you said, CSU, that might have a some truth. But I doubt if this is the case for even this system.</p>
<p>The average UCLA student graduates in a little > 4 years. Same is undoubtedly true for Cal and UCSD. Maybe UC Riverside, UC Merced and UC Santa Cruz students may take longer but not 5-6 years.</p>
<p>yes, CSU’s are terrible, those are last resorts for most people (whether its due to money or other contributing factors). Graduating from one of those in six or seven years is not ideal. People right now are graduating on time. however, these next four years are going to be chaos in the UC system. You can choose not to believe me but this is what i have come to understand. The only way to guarantee graduating in four years from a UC is being an athlete. They have priority when it comes to picking classes.</p>