<p>Hi everyone!
I've narrowed my college decision down to three choices: Johns Hopkins University, University of Virginia (OOS), and Washington University in St. Louis. I'm going to visit and ultimately decide for myself, but what do you think would be the best choice for a prospective English or Journalism major?
-- JHU: JHU has one of the best creative writing programs in the nation, and the Writing Seminars sound absolutely amazing. Essentially, this is an academic powerhouse. However, I am <em>REALLY</em> concerned about the students' quality of life. I've consistently heard/read about the cut-throat environment, stress, and sabotage. Granted, I'm not premed so maybe this would be irrelevant to me, but I'm perturbed that JHU is up there with Chicago and the Naval Academy for "least fun colleges." Because the experience/social life itself is so importance to me, this is probably my last choice of the three.
-- UVA: In terms of balance, UVA seems great. Great sports, school spirit, college town, wonderful academics, etc. I've heard a lot, though, about the snobbishness of the student body. Is this true? And is it worth it to pay OOS tuition to go to a huge public school?
--Wash U: Right now, the winner! This school is idyllic, in my mind. I cannot think of anything negative to say about it, and students seem to LOOOOVEEE it. In the off chance that I do not become completely enamored when I visit, however, I want to have some good backups. Being from the West Coast, I am not sure if St. Louis would be a big adjustment. Also, this is about 10k per annum more expensive than Uva.
So what do you all think? Feel free to weigh in and teach me things about these schools!</p>
<p>Bumppppppppppppp</p>
<p>I think you’re just going to have to visit each and make a decision based upon your impressions. Quality of life was also very important to our D. She was faced with a similar decision 3 years ago (UVA vs. Northwestern). She loved the balanced atmosphere, mild climate, and history of UVA so elected to go there. You have some great choices that I feel are more or less equal. For me, it would come down to two things: 1) $ and 2) fit.</p>
<p>Congrats on having such great choices. You really can’t go wrong no matter what you pick. </p>
<p>My son is a junior at WashU. We’re from NJ, but he has a lot of friends from California, and around the country (and the world.) I don’t think you need to have any real concerns about St. Louis itself being an adjustment, as I think students are way more impacted by their fellow students than from the local city, and the students come from all over. Campus is in a very nice area, with lots of great restaurants on the Loop, etc. </p>
<p>WashU is great on the quality-of-life things: great dorms, great food, everything runs smoothly. My son has had really great advising and great professors. It has generally been very easy for him to get into all of the classes he wants. (In his 3 years, I think there has been only one class he couldn’t get into, and that was when he was a freshman wanting to get into a 300-level class.) There isn’t a culture of watching sports teams there, so that is a factor if that is important to you.</p>
<p>According to my son, the student body is more collaborative than competitive. Still, he has to work very hard, and it was an adjustment for him to be at a school where everyone is a great student, and he can’t just breeze through like he did in HS.</p>
<p>Go to JHU, great academics and social life. Internationally renowned.</p>
<p>Bumppppppppppp</p>