<p>As you can see…anecdotes are favorable for all of the schools on your list. At the end of the day…only YOU can make this choice (along with your family if there are financial considerations).</p>
<p>To be honest, they are all very good schools. Pick the one that appeals to YOU the most.</p>
<p>USC is way out here on the west coast 
(I am assuming you meant So Cal and not So Carolina.) My D had many excellent universities to choose from but loved USC from the moment she started the tour. Merit scholarships made it financially possible, but she didn’t get full clarification or details until a month or so after acceptance. She absolutely loves it. She had a specific Engineering major she was interested in, and their program is challenging and exactly what she was looking for. </p>
<p>I was a bit concerned about the area of Los Angeles where it is located, but University Park is just below downtown and is as safe as most other large metropolitan schools. USC’s security is phenomenal. (Kids riding everywhere on thousands of bikes and walking all around the area until all hours of the morning.)</p>
<p>It offers a great mix of academic excellence (with many interesting options including the Thematic Option, Renaissance Scholar.) There is a fair amount of “Greek” activity, but she is not in a sorority and has a fun social life. (I’ve read of the perception that the school is heavily social with unbalanced frat/sorority scene - but this is just not so.) She made many great friends in her freshman dorm. The school has been very approachable and supportive. She’s studied abroad. The football games are a blast since students and fans tailgate on campus and simply walk over to the Los Angeles Coliseum. The “Trojan Family” is real and worldwide.</p>
<p>Good luck with your choice - You have wonderful and very differet schools to choose from…</p>
<p>Youngest D just went to visit Vanderbilt and loved the campus, town. She sat in on a science class. It was small and interesting to her. Taught, I believe by a professor from Harvard. One thing to consider based on board posts and other sites is that it has a very vibrant Greek community. Great if that’s your thing but not if it isn’t. Of course I don’t have personal knowledge so you might want to ask around.<br>
She also visited Emory. I didn’t go on this trip but the first time I saw it, I wasn’t in love. I have been through Atlanta (it is outside the city in a nice area), but I’m not a fan of the city. My husband liked it much better this time around. </p>
<p>Oldest was accepted to Carnegie Mellon. She went to an accepted students weekend and we were very impressed with the other admitted students --seemed super smart and driven. The campus itself was older, still lots of ashtrays around, overflowing trash cans. Not the prettiest. Pittsburg is an interesting city with a mix of working class and young professonals.</p>
<p>She ended up at chapel hill on an academic scholarship. It has worked out very well for her. One big factor is that she is in the honors program which has translated into a lot of contact with professors in smaller classes. She is taking some grad classes as a junior, doing research, TA’ing a class etc. The town around the school is very student friendly. </p>
<p>I think your right in asking the question you did, but I would try to seek out students on boards here or elsewhere to ask them directly about their experiences. Good luck!</p>
<p>I really don’t know why Op is beating these type of conversations to death when she has already had exhaustive discussions as to which schools are affordable options to her family (most of them she did not receive aid from) and the fact that her parents want her to attend Vanderbilt because it is a financially viable option. </p>
<p><a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/financial-aid-scholarships/1312213-20k-one-school-nothing-anywhere-else.html[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/financial-aid-scholarships/1312213-20k-one-school-nothing-anywhere-else.html</a> </p>
<p>Unless someone has come to her rescue with a boat load of money, it does not matter what she or anyone else thinks of a particular school, she will most likely end up where her parents can comfortably write the check.</p>
<p>My parents can comfortably write me a check anyway, thank you. Vanderbilt’s FA package was just the icing on the cake. If left to their own devices, I think they would send me there without any aid whatsoever.</p>
<p>Thread has been re-opened to help OP with her accepted college choices. As OP indicates she seeks members’ personal tidbits, not what’s found in published books, concerning any school on her list.</p>
<p>I have three kids - oldest graduated from Emory; second at an Ivy and did a visiting term at Smith and third is at Emory. I am a big Emory fan. Agree that the assigned advisor experience is not real advising. Students have to own their experience and in my kids’ experience profs are incredibly helpful and supportive. Sometimes the student has to reach out to initiate and articulate the need. My oldest was premed and had an amazing experience with a lot of individual attention and extra help. She cultivated excellent relationships with multiple professors who she still keeps in touch with. Students select their own advisor once they declare their major. Youngest hopes to get in to Emory undergrad business school which is very highly ranked but isn’t there yet so can’t weigh in. Emory also offered a lot of opportunities b/c of grad schools and internships in Atlanta. Lots of employment related services for undergrads – they get weekly emails with all that is going on for resume, internships, jobs, etc. Middle D’s best friend at Mt. Holyoke. Good education but has not been very happy - isolated area and not much going on.</p>
<p>Such a varied set of schools! I know you’re looking for personal points of view…but…if Econ is what’s most important to you …please try to get info. on what Econ majors from each school have done after graduation for the past couple of years, if you haven’t already checked out this information. Most school’s Econ Depts and/or Career Services offices can provide you with that data…and you can see what % of students go to grad school (and where they go), what % work (where they work and what kind of jobs they get), what % are still looking! </p>
<p>Each school will also give you a very different social experience. All of the comments on this thread about Mount Holyoke have been fairly negative, but, for many women that I know, it was a wonderful place to develop a sense of self and meet amazing women who became part of a lifelong network. But…you have so many urban schools on yours list… If being in city and all of the outside-of-school activity and accessibility that comes with an urban location is important to you, than Mount Holyoke and Wellesley won’t be great choices for you.</p>