<p>^sorry for violating your privacy. ;)</p>
<p>Personally, I would go to U T Austin (if you are okay with the size and overall fit of the school) and apply to Northwestern or comparable school for your MBA or medical. Better use of money. I don’t think NU has an advantage over some state flagships for engineering jobs, however they would for an MBA.</p>
<p>interesting thread.</p>
<p>I’m in a very similar situation as I’m deciding between UT’s Business Honors Program and Northwestern… It’s very complicated for me because Northwestern gave me some great financial aid, and I’m not sure if I want to major in business.</p>
<p>If the cost is comparable and you’re not sure you want to major in Business, I would lean towards NU. On the other hand, the schools have pretty different atmospheres- do you have no preference in that category?</p>
<p>Let me explain my situation: My dad has been practically unemployed until very recently (2 weeks ago), so Northwestern gave us some great financial. So for my first year of college, Northwestern’s cost would be comparable to UT Austin’s instate. However, next year I highly doubt my Financial Aid Scholarship will be nearly a fraction as large, so in the long run Northwestern would be much more expensive than UT. I’d say 160k compared to 90k.</p>
<p>Now as far as campus preferences go, I’m very tentative about attending UT. You see, seriously all my best friends go there. For me, it would be 13th grade and not even close to the full college experience. I know first hand from friends currently going there that kids from my school generally only hang out with kids from my school. I remember asking one if she’d made any new friends and she answered, “WE’ve (emphasis on the “we”) met some new people.” I’m kind of looking forward to thinking one day, “oh **** I don’t know anyone.” And then I’ll have to go out and meet new, cool people. Don’t get me wrong, I would have the time of my life at college with all my best friends. It just wouldn’t really be college. On top of that dilemma is the fact that I really, really want to get out of Texas. I have lived here for nearly 6 years but prior to that lived in England, New York, Georgia, and South Korea. I’m itching to leave and UT isn’t very diverse in terms of its student body. It’s full of Texans. </p>
<p>AHHH lol</p>
<p>^The whole 13th grade thing is totally wrong and overrated.</p>
<p>Most of my HS also went to UMCP…however, no doubt they have all met new groups of friends, branched out, etc. I rarely, rarely see someone that I knew on campus…if I do…it is just a “Hi” <em>smile and wave</em>. Most people want to start fresh when they go to college - or if not most, than manyyy (just look at all the threads on CC about it for Chrissakes…they didn’t come up with the term “13th grade” from thin air). I think your friends would understand if you wanted to branch out. Certainly others would love to meet you. The one girl I know who hangs out with her HS friends…well…her HS friends don’t even go to UMCP!! And she STILL hangs out with them. I think if you are inclined to be “stuck in the past,” you’re gonna be stuck in the past. If you know you want to make a new name for yourself, you will.</p>
<p>And UT-Austin. Is. HUGE. It’s even significantly larger than CP. I really highly doubt that if you want to meet new people, you’ll be held back from that in the slightest. </p>
<p>Most of UT-Austin is Texans though. Due to the fact that they are forced to take so many. Idk what you make of that. In terms of Marylanders versus people I meet from California, NYC, etc…they are all the same to me 
Most of them live in the U.S…same culture/mentality, generally. But, maybe that’s a “coast” mentality. I admit I’ve met very few people from Texas or any state in the midwest. I also heard Austin is cool and very different from the rest of Texas.</p>
<p>But the two campuses (NU and Texas) are again night and day. One is soooo much bigger than the other. That seems like it’d be more of a real difference…saying UT-Austin will be like 13th grade is like saying everyone at NU will be snobby. Just a silly generalization, not something you should make your decision based on.</p>
<p>My daughter selected her colleges based on research, campus visits and sitting in on classes. She applied to following schools, ordered approximately from her favorite to least favorite:</p>
<p>Harvard and Yale (tie)
Northwestern and Princeton (tie)
Georgetown and Columbia (tie)
Stanford
Oberlin
Duke, University of Michigan Honors (tie)
Macalester</p>
<p>She was ecstatic when she got her Northwestern acceptance. She was no longer too anxious about her remaining colleges. When Stanford rejected her a day or two later, she didn’t even care, because she liked NU more. She did get into Yale a few days later, so she’ll probably end up at Yale, though. </p>
<p>She also got into Princeton, and honestly, if she had selected Princeton over NU it would have been because of the ‘prestige’ factor. She really liked NU more. There is no way she would choose any of the other ivies over NU. She visited each of the other ivies but didn’t apply to them because she liked them less than Macalester. She also looked at UChicago very carefully and wanted to love it, but just couldn’t come to terms with the “fun-goes-to-die” culture.</p>
<p>No question, if NU were on the east or west coast, it would be as sought after as HYPSM.</p>