<p>" @keepittoyourself, to be honest, I don’t see any of the schools as top tier or 2nd tier. They each have wonderful qualities & will provide a wonderful education. Each speaks to me and love them the same."</p>
<p>I see they didn’t admit you for your irony detection skills.</p>
<p>I really like kawkitten’s advice. There is no rush to decide. Look at the financial picture when it comes in, and eliminate the most expensive ones, and then weigh the others with regard to fit. You sound like a wonderful kid, and my bet is you will make the most out of whatever school you pick, and there are no bad choices here.</p>
<pre><code>I do think you’re smart to worry a bit about the smallness and remoteness of places like Williams and Dartmouth. They are wonderful schools too, of course, but having grown up in New Haven, the adjustment is worth thinking about. At Yale or at Penn, you would feel less out of your comfort zone. Some people think leaving your comfort zone is a good thing. For kids who have been sheltered all their lives, I would agree. But I think that sometimes it doesn’t work so well in the other direction. Too small could be stifling for four years.
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<p>Whichever you choose, look into study abroad, or at least plan to study abroad over a summer. I know it’s possible to get grants from Yale to go all over the place on the university’s dime. Look into what the individual academic departments have to offer on that front. </p>
<p>Relax and have confidence that you’ll know what is best choice for you in time, but you need to sit with this for awhile and process it all. Congratulations! </p>
<p>As others have said, look carefully at the financials. Med schools is very expensive and even if you change your mind on that, having extra money can really be a bonus wherever you go. . Travel can also be expensive so going to Yale may well free up some additional cash for semester abroad, trips etc. </p>
<p>Another suggestion: Talk to other inner-city kids at Dartmouth and Williams, and ask them about the adjustment to a rural life. I think this can really go either way. In fact, I’m sure there are other New Haven kids at Yale, talk to them about your concerns. </p>
<p>You have a month to make this decision, so take all the time you need. Wake up one morning and spend the day telling yourself you’re going to Yale. The next day, make Dartmouth the choice. Etc. See how you feel after each day. </p>
<p>Consider transportation. How will you get from New Haven to Hanover or Amherst, for example? (New Haven to Philly is easy.)</p>
<p>And a sincere congratulations to you. You clearly deserve this. Your writing style, the way you describe yourself – I can see why all these colleges accepted you. (As a Brown alum, I’m disappointed this was your one miss – they obviously made a mistake!). Your comment:" to be honest, I don’t see any of the schools as top tier or 2nd tier. They each have wonderful qualities & will provide a wonderful education. Each speaks to me and love them the same." – was perceptive and honest and mature. Congrats again. </p>
<p>Have you considered the admission rates to medical schools? Also, perhaps attending the Admitted Students Days at a few of the would be helpful.</p>
<p>I think you should go the Dimensions at Dartmouth to get a better idea of how it would feel to be there. I know that many people here love to deride rural and small town locations, but for most people this is the only four years of their lives that they might spend living on an idyllic campus with 2-4000+ other extremely bright young peers and tremendous resources for the taking. Most people will spend the rest of their lives living in cities and suburbs. If you are worried about the gritty inner city, Dartmouth and Williams would be a true break from that, and both are wonderful schools that people love. (Williams is, of course, smaller than D, and in a smaller town.) In addition, the D plan makes it easy to do terms abroad–FA covers it–and internships at any time of year, which would also broaden your horizons. </p>
<p>Dartmouth runs buses up from NY and Boston for Dimensions,if you have any concern about getting there.</p>
<p>I think you really have to wait and see what the financials are. It is likely that Yale will offer the same as Dartmouth. If so, you will have to wrestle with the proximity and familiarity issue. While it could be foolish to turn down Yale just because it is nearby, it is also true that you have superb choices that are in a different environment, and there is something to be said for “going away to school.”</p>
<p>I think that college is a bubble and that unless you seek it out you can stay in the bubble. Do you wonder that if you stay close there are bad influences that might draw you into their drama. That is about the only thing I can think of which would be a reason to completely rule out Yale. </p>
<p>No bad choices, don’t worry about missing school. This is a big decision and you want to take your time and diligence making it. </p>
<p>My D is a senior at another ivy also near home, and it’s really been the best of both - she’s fully immersed in her life there, but when she’s wanted to pop home for a family birthday, or needs a few days rest because she’s sick, it’s easy to do. We’ve let her call the shots in terms of contact, etc., and we’ve been careful to respect that she’s still away at school. She’s graduating soon, and I think she’d say that we (mom and dad) handled ourselves well and did not overstep. From my perspective, I didn’t want proximity to hobble her independence, and I made a conscious attempt to not interject myself in whatever was going on, and let her figure things out for herself. This all worked out well…she’s asked for advice here and there, and I’m not privy to most of what she does, which is fine.</p>
<p>Yale and the other Ivies pull students from all over the world, so once you are on campus, you will feel transported to another place, and it won’t feel so close to home. You should evaluate your options with your brain and make your choice with your heart. Good luck! </p>
<p>I think it has to be Yale, honestly. It’s the only school on the list that will make people go “wow” for the rest of your life, no matter where in the world they come from.</p>
<p>Congratulations on the great choices! As others have said, I suggest going to the admitted students days and seeing which is the best fit. Although I would not count Yale out just because of it’s proximity. I live in Southern California, so I don’t know very much about the East Coast. But one of my sons goes to school 45 miles away and my daughter went to school 80 miles away. For the most part, we never saw them, except on breaks. Maybe once a semester I would go and visit,take them to lunch and/or shopping, but for they were busy with on campus stuff and rarely came home. Both ended up having an unforeseen medical issue one of their semesters, which was much easier to handle since they were close. </p>
<p>So these are your choices: Williams College, Amherst College, Trinity College, Conn College, Howard U, Dartmouth, UPENN, UNC-Chapel Hill & Yale. Williams and Amherst, Trinity and Conn College are “little Ivies” and carry the same prestige as the big Ivies in some quarters, if prestige is an issue for family. Especially Williams and Amherst. Dartmouth has a lot in common with those LACs. So among those 5, which have some similarities, can you determine one or two favorites? Dartmouth is good financially and I know that Williams and Amherst have great financial aid, don’t know much about that issue at the others.</p>
<p>Another poster said that Chapel Hill and Howard would have a lot of loans. If that is true, then take them out for financial reasons.</p>
<p>That leaves Yale and Penn, which have similar environments and size, and offerings. I can understand that being 3 minutes from home could be strange: a new life in the same place as your old, and even the possibility of running into people from your childhood in stores etc. But then again, the house system creates a strong community and after awhile you might feel that is your home and not really feel the strangeness anymore. (If you do go to Yale, maybe just accept there will be strangeness first semester). Penn is close enough but also far enough away. Have you visited Penn? Are there academic strengths that either offers for something particular you want to study? What is Penn’s dorm arrangement like? The house system is a strong argument for Yale.</p>
<p>But the smaller LAC’s/little Ivies also offer community and intimacy, as does Dartmouth.</p>
<p>I suggest you eliminate some from the Ivies/Dartmouth list, decide between Penn and Yale, and then look in depth at the remaining three or four. I imagine you will end up with Yale, Dartmouth, Amherst and Williams as your list, but I could be wrong.</p>
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<p>(Suppresses urge to say something rude). </p>
<p>I don’t think this is accurate. There are only a handful of schools that even come close to Yale’s prestige. Trinity in particular is not even close.</p>
<p>If you are just asking for opinions, I think you should go with Yale. You will have the opportunity to study abroad and live somewhere else in the summers if you get sick of New Haven.</p>
<p>I just read some of your responses on this thread. This seems like a no-brainer (so to speak). You seem perfect for Yale. Brown would have been a good fit too, it’s their loss.</p>
<p>Yale’s FA will be similar to Dartmouth I think. Basically they just want you to get a summer job and contribute nominally to your education.</p>
<p>Hello, I think I remember reading your posts in the past (Crookshanks is quite memorable) and am so very happy for you. Congratulations on your amazing, enviable dilemma!</p>
<p>My thoughts. Once you move out, you will be out. Your residential life --wherever you end up – will be all-absorbing, not to mention your classes. As long as there are no freeloading relatives looking to camp out on your dorm room floor, and it sounds like there aren’t, you will be quite free to strike out on your own. You would have fun showing your classmates around New Haven as “the local.”</p>
<p>All the schools you mention are exceptional, really high caliber, and you have some fantastic options.
If your heart is set on Williams, or another, there is no reason to be swayed by prestige. Your instinct will be true.</p>
<p>I have run net price calc on many of the schools you mention. Yale, Williams, Pomona, Amherst had comparable estimates. I didn’t do Dartmouth. Not that your situation is necessarily like ours, but my impression is that you have been accepted to some of the schools where FA is among the most generous. </p>
<p>Lastly, if you are really thinking about saving money, remember that travel expenses (for yourself and family members) will add up. Not that you should make your decision based on it. But do factor in transportation when you look at budget.</p>
<p>In closing: Personally I think that you should…1) get all your FA offers on the table 2) follow your heart and 3) know that with those choices, it’s all good. </p>
<p>Do let us know what you decide!</p>
<p>Best of luck!</p>
<p>“Williams and Amherst, Trinity and Conn College are “little Ivies” and carry the same prestige as the big Ivies in some quarters, if prestige is an issue for family.”</p>
<p>Williams and Amherst, sure - those are two of the tippy-top LAC’s. Trinity and Conn College are nowhere near the same tier. </p>
<p>@keepittoyourself, yes I think my irony detection radar is jammed! 
how can a kid like me, from a poor, single parent home see anything negative about these schools? I have been blessed with being admitted. Most of which are willing to educate me for very little( I’m still waiting for 3 more)They are all amazing schools. I truly feel honored that they thought enough of me to say “yes”. The “wow” factor is very far down on my list. My family is wowed by all of this(excluding my mom), I just want a great GPA in four years with no loans and an acceptance to med school. That would be a triple “wow” in my book.</p>
<p>@moonchildild, believe it or not, even though I was born & raised in the inner city, I have lived a incredibly sheltered life compared to most of my peers. A pretty old fashioned, stricter than normal upbringing with very high expectations. I agree that Williams & Dartmouth are very different from New Haven, which I am very fond of in a way. Probably because I spent a summer at Choate Rosemary Hall(against my wishes) and ended up adoring it. I cried on the last day. Is it rural? No. Is it very close to New Haven? Yes, so maybe that’s why it didn’t feel so far away. But after that summer, every time I would visit a college campus, I would use Choate’s campus as a reference point. That’s why I hated UCONN so much when I visited.</p>
<p>@fireandrain, I travel for free on Amtrak through a family friend, so travel is not an issue here in the NE. I wish I had 6 months to decide. As far as Brown making a mistake, I can’t imagine throwing another school into the pot. And I honestly believe they made the right decision for their campus.</p>
<p>@ormand! Lol yes, I did say that didn’t i? I’m amazed by all of this. Everyone always said I had a good shot, but what did they know? I haven’t posted much here on CC because of my crazy schedule but I have hung out here enough to know that no one has a good shot. </p>
<p>@deb922, Yes, as a matter of fact there are some friends that I have had since kindergarten. Ironically, they live in the suburbs and come from 2 parent homes. They don’t make the best choices & don’t take school seriously. We no longer go to the same school but my mom definitely has an issue with them and we only keep in touch via phone & text. It’s tough separating from friends who have been there for 12 years. </p>
<p>@momcinco,</p>
<p>I promise to check back in and let you all know what I decide. I appreciate you all for taking the time out to weigh in on my dilemma. I feel bad even calling it that, so many of my fellow high school seniors have little to no options. </p>
<p>Big congrats!</p>
<p>I imagine you will get very good/comparable FA packages from the remaining schools.</p>
<p>I can only say what I would do (or what I would advise my daughter to do.) It would be VERY difficult to justify saying no to Yale. (There would have be be some compelling reason.) This is the type of opportunity that most can only dream of. I would say to go, live on campus, enjoy the experience, and, as a parent, I would promise not to drop in regularly. </p>
<p>If you want to satisfy yourself, do one or two other visits (PENN?) and compare. See how you feel and where you can picture yourself.</p>
<p>I wouldn’t worry too much about missing a couple more days of school for visits. As you said, this is a huge decision. Obviously, you are a conscientious student, so you can request the make up work from your teachers; I’m sure if you let them know ahead of time why you will be missing school, most teachers will understand and be supportive.</p>
<p>Very best of luck to you. </p>
<p>I completely understand your interest in going to a new place. My daughter went across the country (I’m a single mom too). You will get to study abroad from all the top $ colleges, your FA will follow you. I’m pretty sure, it did at Brown, but check each to be sure. Also if you have a place for future notes, bookmark Gilman Grants for Study Abroad, about 1/3rd of applicants get one (you must be Pell Grant eligile.) It can pay for your travel and other expenses, my daughter even had some left for vacation travel to nearby countries.</p>
<p>Williams or Amherst are totally valid choices and students do pick they over ivies because they want that experience. 25-50 or so in introductory classes instead of 200-300 etc. You should look at some of the posts made by julliet who went to Spelman and is now at Columbia, she has a recent one about some advantages choosing LAC college for premed. I can’t find it right now but look through this thread for a recent post
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