I need an opinion on colleges

Applying to College
1

Ok, I am not the kind of person that would normall do this type of website thing, but I am just looking for all possible opinions on this. Ok, I just recently heard from all of my colleges, Wisconsin, Michigan, Wash U, Cornell, University of Virginia, Duke and Dartmouth. I was rejected from Duke and Dartmouth. I was waitlisted at 3 different schools: Wash U, Cornell, and UVa, and I was accepted to Wisconsin and Michigan (Honors). Since I must wait on the lists, I decided for now to enroll at Wisconsin however, I do not know if I should pursue Cornell which I loved when I visited or Wash U. I can give you my stats and tell you why I am pondering Cornell and Wash U.

My stats: 98 AVG (weighted) AP American(5), now taking AP Chem, Eco, Calc (AB) and Spanish.<br>
SAT: 760 M, 690 V<br>
SATII 760 American
720 Math IC
750 Math IIC

I know I want to go pre-med/pre-dental. However, I hear scary stories about going pre-med at a place like Cornell with tough bell curves and such. I know I will be well above most people at Wisconsin and at Cornell I probably will be in the middle or closer to the bottom. I loved Cornell when I visited and Wisconsin is where my sister goes and I love the big sports atmosphere. I feel I fit in with the people at Cornell more than at Wisconsin because I am very studious and I am not the biggest party goer. I am not the smartest kid ever, I work very hard for my grades and I take pride in my work. I am just apprehensive about going to a place like Cornell, not doing well, and then not being able to make it to the dental or med school. I can be happy I am sure at either place, Wisco or Cornell, and I also want to know if it really matters to go to Cornell, especially if I want to go to graduate school afterwards. If academics were similar at both places, in my heart I know Cornell would be hte place for me judging by the type of people there. I haven’t even gotten into Cornell yet and I just don’t know if I should pursue it. Any opinions on Wisco or Cornell let me know.<br>
My main goal in college is to have fun and make it to the next stage of my life, so I need an opinion. Price does not matter to my family so the state-side admission to cornell will not affect my decision. I just want to know which place will help me get to my ultimate goal in life.

2

<p>Cornell can be hell for a lot of people when it comes to how challenging it is.</p>

<p>My parents went to Wisconsin for grad school and thought it was a great school. My dad got his PHD in biochemistry there, if that helps.</p>

<p>Why not Michigan? The student body might be a little more studious there, and it's a great school, esp. their honors program.</p>

3

<p>I thought about going to Michigan but when I visited, I didn't get that warm feeling I got at Madison, WI. The student union was very quiet, and fraternities are a big part of campus life, and I am not so sure I want such a strong Greek life on campus. Also, I am in the LSA program at Michigan which had the largest amount of students, over 15,000. At Wisconsin, I got into College of Agricultural and Life Sciences, which has only 2,000 students and is more geared fr students heading into the health fields. Wisconsin I feel was a better fit in that respect. But I would still like some opinions on Cornell.</p>

4

<p>Wisconsin is also a big party school, but it's an excellent education. Truly, it's great.</p>

<p>As for Cornell, remember, there's no guarantee you'll get off the waitlist. This isn't a sure thing. Remember that. </p>

<p>You're going to find really studious people at Wisconsin if you look for them. My mom who was a candidate for a PHD at Wisconsin has never been drunk in her entire life and is very intellectual and an all-around great teacher. My dad went to Wisconsin for his PHD and has several patents and invented the vaccine for lyme disease. My dad got rejected from Stanford...but does that mean he is not an intellectual ? Absolutely not. He excelled at Wisconsin. He went on to do post doctoral studies at UVA and Johns Hopkins. Smart dude.</p>