<p>Hello! Just got rejected from all of ivys that I've applied to.
Good news is I got into many schools that I love!!
But somebody please help me decide... I seriously love all in unique ways, so I don't know what to do....</p>
<p>UMich
pros: generous financial aid w/ scholarship -- hard for me to turn down :'(, fun school</p>
<p>BC
pros: close to home, business program</p>
<p>UNC
pros: Honors program, warmer climate, public school, loved the campus</p>
<p>Notre Dame
pros: #1 business school</p>
<p>Rice
pros: somewhat more prestigious than other schools, great (warmer) weather, virtually free after loans</p>
<p>I am interested in majoring in economics/finance-related (ish)...</p>
<p>There is a really good tool at [FinAid</a>! Financial Aid, College Scholarships and Student Loans](<a href=“http://www.finaid.org%5DFinAid”>http://www.finaid.org) the will help you compare your final costs. Scroll down on the first page and click on calculators. Then scroll down until you find the link for Award Letter Comparison.</p>
<p>UMich
Pros: Good school academically; good alumni base; decent sports school; traditional college experience
Cons: Middle of nowhere; rough winters; far from home/friends</p>
<p>BC
pros: prestigious private school; excellent job prospectus in major markets; big city location; close to home; top business program
cons: expensive; smaller school/classes; </p>
<p>UNC
Pros: Warm climate; decent sports school; traditional college experience; fun experience (if you like greek life)
Cons: middle of the road public school; lack of prestige; walmart crowd for student body; safety school for most</p>
<p>Notre Dame
Pros: Great business program; good alumni base; decent job prospects; prestigious; pretty campus; good name recognition
Cons: A lot of people hate ND; middle of nowhere; snobby; expensive; conservative </p>
<p>Rice
Pros: Good school; big city; good weather; decent job prospects
Cons: lack of name recognition; have to live in Texas; conservative</p>
<p>Rice has plenty of name recognition in academia. My nephew had a fabulous time there, loved the residential colleges, enjoyed getting to know a new part of the country, started doing research in bio engineering labs as a freshman and is now a grad student at MIT. I’m concerned about “practically free after loans”. What kind of loans are we talking about? You don’t want to saddle yourself with a lot of long term debt.</p>
<p>As for the rest, I don’t know them well enough to make your decision for you, but things to think about are public, catholic vs private. The way they run the dorms, which does affect the kinds of friends you will find. Location - do you like cities? Do you like sweltering summers (with AC of course)? Good luck, they are all very good schools as you know.</p>
<p>Rice’s residential college system, commitment to undergrad education, and exceptionally bright student body would put it at the top of the list you gave us (assuming costs are roughly equal, and I share mathmom’s concern about taking on lots of debt). I would not characterize either the students or the faculty as especially conservative. Classes are smaller, and access to profs is a strength. Great opportunities for internships in Houston’s business community, and Rice’s campus is in a beautiful, tree-shaded part of Houston with lots of restaurants and shops within walking distance. </p>
<p>You are lucky to have such great choices! Congrats – no doubt you’ll have a wonderful four years at any of these schools. Don’t, however, underestimate the difficulty that crushing loan debt will cause for YEARS after you graduate. Run happymom’s comparison.</p>
<p>If the only “pro” you can identify for ND is the business school, then it is not worth giving up Michigan or Rice to go there. I do not think the ND B school has direct admits, all freshman do the 1st year studies program, like a core curriculum, and then you apply to College of Business. People are typically either passionately in love or “in hate” with ND, so if you don’t find yourself aligned with the first group, not sure that the uniqueness of the place would appeal to you. </p>
<p>We know someone who attended Rice and loved it, described it as similar to ND, with the strong residential college system similar to ND’s strong residence hall culture, only without the religion. </p>
<p>Michigan is generally considered, with Berkeley, to be the top public school in the country. If it makes financial sense, why would you not go there? Being a Michigan grad will open doors for you in your career.</p>
<p>Go with fit. Michigan has the best business school, with UNC-CH and Notre Dame right behind it. Rice is a great school but I’m not sure its b-school stacks up quite as well. They are all located in very different areas and offer different things (public vs private, etc). </p>
<p>You seemed to be leaning public and if you want finance/econ, I would go to Mich.</p>
<p>Yeah, I was an idiot and didn’t even apply to Michigan Ross pre-admit. I think it’s not impossibly hard to get in through regular application (applying while a freshman at Michigan)…</p>