<p>Here's a question that was asked on the "I turned down ______ for Villanova" thread:</p>
<p>If you got the same financial package (as in, costing the same), would you still pick VU over a better school? </p>
<p>Perhaps you preferred to go to a Christian school or a school that didn't party as much as, say, UVA or McGill...</p>
<p>Same answer. Vanderbilt and Georgia Tech.</p>
<p>It’s all about where you fit in best. Just because someone gets into Harvard, Stanford, etc, does not mean that they will succeed there. Some students are better off other places where they fit in with the student body and are able to succeed.</p>
<p>Joe, what is it that you didn’t like at Georgia Tech and Vanderbilt that made Villanova fit you?</p>
<p>catria. lots of students turn down “higher ranked” schools to attend villanova. Many of my peers turned down ivies/top 20 USNWR colleges to come here. Why? Because they fit better here. Take a visit to Villanova, especially during candidates day–or for any university for that matter–and ask yourself whether or not you can live there for 4 whole years.</p>
<p>For me, the quality of the campus, location, and student body really persuaded me to attend Nova.</p>
<p>I knew Wildcats turned down better schools to attend Villanova (as would some students at, say, Georgia Tech or Vanderbilt) but I didn’t know how Villanova could distinguish itself from other schools. </p>
<p>All I knew about Villanova is that it is a school in suburban Philadelphia where athletics matter, it was a Christian school and that it doesn’t have a graduate program in physics or astronomy 
(or else I would have applied at Villanova for grad school, especially if it offered a PhD program)</p>
<p>Sorry, I guess I missed this and didn’t see someone had asked me a question. I knew I wanted to do engineering and didn’t want to deal with the weed out system in place at larger universities so I was leaning towards a smaller, more helpful approach where the students mattered more. I also thought Villanova seemed to be the best school in terms of focusing on undergraduate education. Undergraduate students as early as freshman year are allowed to help out with research for the grad students and often even given their own projects to manage. Another reason that sounds cliche because you’ll hear it all over Villanova is the community aspect. Villanova has one of the most caring student bodies you will see. As shown by the Day of Service and other events, you can see how students can get behind certain causes. It isn’t all about getting a job at the end, but more about developing as a person. Obviously jobs are a main focus for the educational aspect, but the Villanova experience is about more than just an education.</p>
<p>In the end, I was relatively torn between Villanova and Vanderbilt, but ended up at Villanova with a slight help because of financial reasons (but I probably would have chosen it anyway)</p>
<p>Anyone notice tge semi-subtle mention of McGill. McGill is a decent public school, like Rutgers. Americans that attend McGill like to act like it’s an Ivy. Newsflash: anyone who is accepted to Villanova could go to McGill. Americans that go there do so because they can’t get into an elite American college.</p>
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<p>Except maybe some Wildcats that got into Villanova with less than 1800 on the SAT or 26 on the ACT… plus some Wildcats might get into Nova but not into McGill if they scored between 1800 and 2000 on the SAT (or between 26 and 29 on the ACT) if they intended to do the same major as Redmen as they would at Nova. Is it possible to get into VSB with less than 2000 on the SAT or 29 on the ACT? I know Desautels requires 2000+ on the SAT or 29+ on the ACT on top of a VSB-worthy GPA, plus Arts does require 1950+/28+ provided your GPA is high enough to have a legitimate chance to get into Villanova.</p>
<p>Also, some of the Americans at McGill that couldn’t get into an elite American college simply lacked the ECs to do so (McGill is race-blind as well as non-holistic) and it’s one of the best party schools in the world in academic terms, alongside UVA.</p>
<p>I think it’s a little niave to think that many families pick Nova over Ivy’s or top 20 schools for any reason other than money. It doesn’t pass the giggle test.</p>
<p>But I can still realistically expect a Wildcat or two to turn down McGill to attend Villanova.</p>
<p>My son chose VU over U Penn, Lehigh, Bucknell, Lafayette and Rowan U. The money was better elsewhere but that wasn’t the only consideration.</p>
<p>^ Which really means it was about the money. There’s no shame in your choice so why not admit it. No body picks Nova over Penn if they’re admitted to both if it’s not about the money.It’s totally illogical.</p>
<p>He said there was more money elsewhere…</p>
<p>^ Which means it’s about the money!!!</p>
<p>Which means he could have gotten more money to UPenn and turned it down?</p>
<p>^ Sure.That’s a logical conclusion.Your theory is that if someone applies to Upenn and Villanova that they’d really prefer Nova?? Really???</p>
<p>Rebel11, how old are you? You sound so immature. The world does not revolve around USNWR rankings. People chose colleges based on a variety of factors and whether or not they feel the college “fits” them. I know many of my peers would readily pick Villanova over Penn.</p>
<p>What do you mean by “better”? Of course if a school is “Better” to a person, and the cost is the same, one would take the “Better” school. “Better” is a subjective term. If you mean ranking wise, that’s a whole other question. But I know a lot of kids who picked a school over another that was ranked in nearly any/every such list as not as “high”. Heck, I have my own kids who did that.</p>
<p>MR I. If you want to believe that someone who took the time to apply to UPenn and Villanova & was accepted to both,they would choose Nova all things being equal??? Is that what you really believe??? All I can say is WOW!!! Nova is a safety school for Ivy hopefuls.</p>