<p>I am a high school senior in Pittsburgh, PA trying to figure out my college choice. I have several academic interests including math, physics, philosophy, and political science. Obviously, those are very likely to change, but I'm very confident that atleast part of what I study in college will be grounded in math or the mathematical sciences.</p>
<p>Here are my options:</p>
<p>University of Chicago: Student Contribution (SC) - 34,000
New York University: SC - 34,000
Washington University in St. Louis: SC - 22,000
University of Pittsburgh Honors College: SC - 0</p>
<p>Any input would be appreciated...</p>
<p>I'd go with Pitt or WUSL.</p>
<p>Pitt has the benefit of being free, which is a really good deal if money is an issue for your family. </p>
<p>WUSL, although not free, is substantially cheaper than the other two schools ($12k a year can make a huge differece). It's away from home too.</p>
<p>Just for clarity: is money an issue?</p>
<p>If not, University of Chicago seems like the best choice (liberal arts, great education, great city). If money is an issue, I'd go with the full scholarship. No need to go $100k in debt just for undergrad when you can get a free education elsewhere.</p>
<p>NYU seems like a giant waste of money - nothing special going for it unless you want to be in NYC for your college years. Just an opinion.
Save 12 K x 4years and go to Wash U</p>
<p>For math, I'd choose University of Chicago. If you plan on graduate school, WUSL is probably your best bet, however, U of C is such a great school.</p>
<p>My parents insist that I go wherever I feel I would have the best academic experience. However, I am keeping eventual grad school costs in mind. My family makes enough money so that we could afford the high tuition of UC or NYU, but paying it could necessitate some lifestyle changes (not traveling abroad to visit family, fewer gifts for holidays, etc.) </p>
<p>So I could pull it off, but I want to be relatively sure that the education I'm getting would be worth it.</p>
<p>I would pick U of Chicago.</p>
<p>I go to a top public school in Illinois and last year's #1 out of 1200, one of the brightest kids to ever go through the school decided to go to Pittsburgh. I don't know what that says...</p>