<p>My S was accepted to U Mich, UCLA, NYU and Wash U ... wait-listed at Penn and at Stanford, which was his dream. Wants to go to Michigan but they gave virtually no financial aid, whereas Wash U gave tons and UCLA is in-state for us, plus gave large grant.
He is very smart, loves extra-curriculars, would like to tutor underprivileged kids, loves sports most of all (both playing and watching), and is interested in everything. Wash U. looks like the best fit academically because it's good in all dept's and has lots of flexibility -- he could end up in business, engineering, English, poli sci or math. But he is afraid people there are all-school, not hip, boring, and that the work will be not so much stimulating (he has always liked school, reading, studying) but crushing.
So for us it's between Wash U and UCLA ...
Advice ...? Deadline is coming...!</p>
<p>Did you appeal to Michigan. Sometimes, if a student tells Michigan that they are his/her first choice but that they have much cheaper and equally good options, they can reconsider their aid package. Otherwise, I recommend he pick the school where he feels he would be happiest. WUSTL, like all universities, have all sorts of students. Some will be fun, relazed and hip, others won’t be. Same goes for UCLA.</p>
<p>I agree with Alexandre you can’t go by stereotypes. My nephew was afraid of U of Chicago for the same reasons until he visited it and he LOVED it and signed on as soon as he was back from his visit. St Louis is a nice town and the cost of living is much cheaper than L.A., especially Westwood! I think it is more about what type of experience does he want, the big university (larger social scene, more diversity, sports, etc) or the smaller university (more intimate setting, cooler traditions etc) If possible I hope he visits.</p>
<p>Kids at WUSTL tend to very happy. They work hard but definitely have social lives. This is a personal preference for me, as I think his experience at a excellent 5,000 student residential campus will be better than at any state school, no matter how good.</p>
<p>As dbwes points out, there are definite personal preference that SHOULD come into play when chosing a school. In his/her case, as school like Rice or WUSTL is a better fit than a school like UCLA or Michigan. </p>
<p>Your son needs to decide what environment suits him best.</p>
<p>My very bright but very social kid had great trepidation about choosing WUSTL over Tulane because he was afraid he wouldn’t have enough fun. After graduating from WUSTL, believe me, he had PLENTY O’ FUN!!! These kids truly work hard and play hard. There is a fraternity scene, which my son joined–but only because it was very laid back. He and his frat brothers recently had a big reunion at school to mark the 1 year anniversary of their graduation.</p>
<p>It is a fabulous place for smart kids who want to have fun. The school is challenging, yet nurturing–for the kids AND for the parents. Wash U all the way!</p>
<p>My D is a freshman at WashU. She might be considered what your son is adverse to - a “nerd” who studies all the time. But, this is her choice. We think she is just trying to get her footing in an academic environment way more challenging than anything she has ever experienced before! </p>
<p>She is double majoring, minoring, and taking the premed prereqs. She plays in a musical group and tutors. She also does find time to socialize every once in a while! She actually feels like the minority, studying all the time. When she calls us on the weekend after spending all day studying we ask, “Have you seen any other humans today?” - meaning, is anyone else studying all day on a weekend like you are? She says there are a “few”. She has only found the workload to be “crushing” in the sciences. She has had excellent professors who she says astound her with their intellect. WashU has the “Each One, Teach One” program that D is active in - tutoring St. Louis youth right at the university. </p>
<p>The sports are D3, but they are great! Men’s basketball just won the National Championship, as did womens’ volleyball (for something like the 9th time). Although my D is a sports fan (mainly the KU Jayhawks and pro tennis), she didn’t attend many of the WashU games. There does seem to be a real push to have excellence in sports as well as academics. </p>
<p>If they offered you lots of money, I would take it and run. We often hear the opposite. D is there with only a small NMF + RC Byrd scholarship - otherwise we are paying full freight and it is worth every penny. </p>
<p>When talking to her after she has just had another insanely difficult science exam, we often ask - “Is that place beating you up too bad, don’t you want to come home and go to _________(StateU) for free?” She always says, NO, I love it here. She wanted to go someplace very challenging (accomplished!), which she didn’t have in high school. She also wanted to go someplace that was FULL of like-minds - also accomplished. She says that many of the students “think in a way that I have never seen someone my age think”. Pretty incredible place!</p>
<p>I like Wash U, think that the kids that go there are excellent and that the school is very unappreciated on CC. It’s a great and beautiful place and the students that attend are almost universally passionate about being there and the quality of the education that they will receive.</p>
<p>Having said this, I’m not so sure that UCLA wouldn’t be a better choice. The reality is that motivated students can and will succeed from either college, so non-academic factors should not be underrated or ignored. UCLA has great flexibility in terms of what it can offer. The size is definitely different from Wash U and probably not often in a good way. But if your son wants the greatest breadth of things to get involved with and he really values the athletic life, then UCLA just might be the better choice.</p>
<p>It was the same decision for S1 also, UCLA or WUSTL (and a couple others), but after going to overnights for accepted students, he chose WUSTL for the warmth and sense of community he felt there. He also just wanted to get out of CA and go to college where almost everyone isn’t from CA. </p>
<p>It’s not so much a quality-of-academics debate, as a question of size and “fit” and to an extent, what private colleges offer that a huge public simply can’t. Small first-year class sizes, very attentive advising, personal relationships with professors from the first year on, ease and flexibility of changing a major or double majoring in various colleges. With your son’s many potential interests for a major, I think the latter is a huge selling point. </p>
<p>Also the ease in joining and excelling in certain ECs, from music to the student newspaper. It’s just a different scene when you compare a research university with 7,000 UG and one with 25,000 UG. And keep in mind the budget squeeze that is sure to cut into UCLA’s programs and QOL in coming years. </p>
<p>WUSTL’s student body is not overly nerdy, it’s a very balanced group of students imo and from what I’ve seen, with the same “work hard, play hard” attitude found in many top privates. The only thing lacking is the Div 1 sports hoopla… the stadium packed with tens of thousands, the painted faces, and all that. This was such a low priority for my S that it wasn’t even a factor, but if it is one of the highest priorities to your S, then UCLA would be the way to go.</p>
<p>Your comments are extremely helpful. Something we found out today about UCLA (my son had a very positive tour there) was that students can’t get tickets to the basketball games… they’re all sold out. This shouldn’t have surprised me as my late step-father was a UCLA alum and had season tickets. In a city the size of LA, and full of UCLA alumni, following the UCLA teams and going to games are citywide pastimes, not at all reserved for students. I wonder whether that’s true at any other big-city schools.</p>
<p>I think my S is reassured about the student body but still worried about the workload. His friend at UCLA said it isn’t too bad there. More comments are welcome … but thanks so much for what you offered today!</p>
<p>Your son sounds like a stellar student who should not be overly worried about the work load at any of the universities where he was admitted. </p>
<p>Certain majors are a tough grind everywhere — generally the pre-med sciences and engineering concentrations. But from what my son has said, WUSTL is challenging but not “crushing” and the students do take a more collaborative approach rather than the the turn-your-back on a class mate cuthroat competition approach. (This is what I am told by my S and others who attend.) </p>
<p>WUSTL is not one of the universities described as “students never stop studying” or where students consider a grueling workload a point of pride. The academics are challenging and taken seriously, but this is a place where students take time to have fun. The first-year residential college/dorm experience is well orchestrated for bonding activities and stress relievers (BBQs, holiday and birthday parties, field competitions between dorms, intra-dorm mud-wrestling contests and the like.) Students often double major and engage in myriad extracurriculars.</p>
<p>My guess is that WUSTL is a place where your S would not only thrive, but soar. Course, that would probably be true of UCLA as well — my S has many former h.s. friends there who are doing great and loving it — so it’s truly a matter of “fit” and how your S feels about spending four years of his life at one campus or the other.</p>