<p>Alright...well I didn't get accepted to any of my top schools, so I've now been left to choose from safties. My goal would ultimately be to work my butt off and try to transfer to a more prestigious college/university sophomore year, but I feel like this might be a poor method of thinking. I feel like I should WANT to stay at the college I'm choosing for the hefty price I'm going to have to pay to go there, but I can't help feeling like I'll have worse chances in the job market and at grad school admissions if I stay at one of my safties for all 4 years. I've thought about deferring a year, but I'm not sure if that's a good idea either. If I deferred a year I'd like to study abroad in Italy for a year or volunteer my time in South America. I feel like volunteering would be a more admirable use of my time, but I'm worried that learning Spanish before I've perfected my Italian might be a bad idea. (I studied abroad in Italy as a Junior) I'm very into foreign cultures, social studies, languages etc. </p>
<p>I've been accepted to Syracuse, Smith, Wheaton, and George Washington University. </p>
<p>Syracuse: I've been accepted to their communications program which is pretty good, but I feel like the school just might be too big. I don't know how I feel about the giant amounts of snow, either.</p>
<p>Smith: I really like Smith and the idea of the 5 college consortium, but I'm not sure if I could adjust to an all girls school. I like hanging out with guys, and I feel like dating would be hard if I had to always look off campus to meet guys.</p>
<p>Wheaton: Wheaton is near to Boston and Providence, but Norton isn't a college town. I like the idea of going to a liberal arts college and they do offer cross registration with Brown, which is one of my top schools. They also have top programs in my interests, but their freshman return rate is pretty low. It's 83% I think....which really makes me wonder about the school. They also have a low grad. in 6 years %. Nonetheless, they did give me a $10,000 scholarship unlike the others. </p>
<p>GW: I adore the idea of living in D.C, but I'm worried about having classes that are too big. I've also heard that the kids are snooty. I'm very into cultures and international affairs, though, so I feel like D.C. might be the place for me. It's over $50,000 a year, though....</p>
<p>So here are my questions:</p>
<p>1) Should I defer a year? Or should I take a gap year and try to reapply to other colleges after bringing up my SAT scores?
2) Which college out of the ones that I got into would be the best in your opinion?
3) Would it be possible to transfer from a school like Wheaton to a school like Amherst, or are my chances too low?</p>
<p>I hope this was coherent...I'm feeling tired. <em>sigh</em></p>