<p>So I've gotta make my decision very soon. I've also been accepted to Grinnell and UCSD on top of those, but I pretty much almost ruled them out for reasons below (unless you can convince me otherwise), so I'm mainly deciding between Mac and Midd. I think I have a very good understanding of the schools but I'm still totally at a loss! :(</p>
<p>Background: molecular/micro bio major, likely will apply to med school or grad school (perhaps MD-PhD)
Here are my thoughts on each:
[ul]
[li]Middlebury - Rural, a double edged sword. I love the location and isolation and the beautiful campus, but since I'm shooting for med school, I'm not sure that'd be the best. Internship/service/etc opportunities seem lacking. I know I have the J term and summer to do that elsewhere, but what about something ongoing during school (Porter is limited)? Despite this it's a top "feeder" school. I also know research is very easy and science dept is amazing, but how does it compare to the others? Midd also has the most prestige and lowest acceptance; I know you're rolling your eyes but that's important to me to open doors ...</p>[/li]
<p>[li]UCSD - It seems overwhelming. The massive campus, large classes, etc. I don't think I could get meaningful recs from my profs or stand out for med school. Reasons I'd attend are studious atmosphere and tons of opportunities. It also has a big name, maybe opening more doors here in the west than the others.</p>[/li]
<p>[li]Macalester - Seems to have the best of both Midd and UCSD. Small, but the twin cities provide opportunities for community service, internships, etc. but not as high ranked as Midd. Also a top feeder.</p>[/li]
<p>[li]Grinnell - I like the more open curriculum, less restricting, and more relaxed atmosphere. And honestly I'm not sure how the sciences here compare to Midd or Mac but I know they're at the top of the LACs. But the location doesn't compare to the others, and the ultra left atmosphere, while appealing at first, kinda turns me off now.[/li][/ul]
Some days I feel Mac would be better, but other days Midd.
Financially, all are ~the same. If anyone could give their $0.02 I'd really appreciate it! Have this gold star as repayment ->★</p>
<p>Very stressful, but deciding between top colleges is quite a lucky situation to be in I suppose! I'm pretty excited. Thank you!</p>
<p>xpost</a> /College Search & Selection/</p>
<p>Middlebury is ranked 4 and Macalester is ranked 24. What if you should decide not to go to med school, which school would serve you better? Maybe I am not very worldly or savvy, but I had to look up Macalester.</p>
<p>Thanks for the response!</p>
<p>But I’ll take my US News ranking with a grain of salt, even though we could objectively say Midd is more known and prestigious; I don’t feel they’re as far off as US News suggests.</p>
<p>Say I don’t go for med school (unlikely), I would still need opportunities for community service and experience to build my app for grad school.</p>
<p>Why don’t you look at each school’s med school placement. While you are at it, why not check with each school’s career center to see what’s life after college for their students.</p>
<p>IIRC placement rates are about the same, both around 70-80%.</p>
<p>I’ve looked into life after college and it seems pretty similar at both in that placement rates are high. One clear disparity is that Midd would clearly get more kids to wall street and the like but that isn’t too relevant to my major. Alumni networks are both great.</p>
<p>I feel like opportunities are wider and easier to obtain at Mac, and I’m not sure if that’s worth giving up for the prestige and location of Midd. But Midd also has the better science department, but by how much? I’ve had lots of difficulty comparing the two.</p>
<p>Thank you!</p>
<p>You should go where you feel is a better fit then. Are you from midwest?</p>
<p>California.</p>
<p>Thanks, that’s a very good point then. Problem is I feel like I fit equally at both for different reasons haha.</p>
<p>If you were my kid, considering the finance is the same and you like both schools, I would tell you to go to Middlebury.</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>Familiarity with LACs is very often regional. In the Amherst/Northampton, MA area, a significant percentage of students and parents (including parents with a kid(s) attending or who have attended elite Eastern LACs or universities) have not heard of at least one, and often many, of the top West Coast LACs. E.g., Pomona, Claremont Mckenna, Harvey Mudd, Pitzer, etc. And I’ll guarantee 90%+ of the locals haven’t heard of Whitman, etc. Some folk are very East Coast-centric.</p>
<p>Having said that, it isn’t unusual for students to apply to Carleton, St Olaf, Mac and—even before the legalization of marijuana—CU Boulder.</p>
<p>This might sound odd but after using quantum random number generators to help me make a decision, I think my heart says I want to go to Middlebury more … but not by much. My brain says Mac for the opportunities. Is the lack of opportunity at Midd really that bad for my situation?</p>
<p>I know Pomona, Claremont Mckenna and Harvey Mudd. Pomona has a good reputation, but not when it comes to career placement.</p>
<p>^^
I had no doubt that you didn’t. You’re an extremely knowledgeable and helpful CC contributor, which is why I was surprised that you haven’t heard of Macalester.</p>
<p>Mhm, you keep referring to this supposed lack of opportunity at Midd. I have a feeling it doesn’t exist. I’ve never spoken with anyone from Midd who complained of a lack of opportunity. If anything, there’s an over abundance of opportunity. Mac is one of the few selective LACs in an urban environment, but that doesn’t necessarily translate to more opportunities. </p>
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</p>
<p>I’m not advocating for one college or the other, but you’re significantly overestimating the lack of opportunity, especially concerning community service.
<a href=“Center for Community Engagement | Middlebury”>Center for Community Engagement | Middlebury;
<p>Porter offers volunteer opportunities in areas that I believe would be of interest, such as the ER and surgical unit. Although Porter is only a 45 bed facility, the hospital has state-of-the art surgical facilities, CT scanning and MRI technology, and performs advanced procedures like joint replacement. Porter also has an outstanding ER department…all the aforementioned are very impressive for a small community hospital.</p>
<p>I see no reason why it wouldn’t be possible to transition a volunteer position into an internship of sorts. Often the only difference between a volunteer and an intern is semantics.
<a href=“http://www.portermedical.org/volunteer_.html”>http://www.portermedical.org/volunteer_.html</a></p>
<p>Not sure if the same exists at Macalaster, but at Middlebuy you also have the ability to be part of the student EMT, usually after an intensive J-term class, which is a pretty good way to show involvement in the field. </p>
<p>One other point, in an urban environment there is also greater competition for the opportunities that do exist. In a rural setting you may have a better chance to get the existing opportunities. </p>
<p>Gosh thanks you guys! I think the EMT and Porter volunteering and whatever else could be sufficient during the school year, but there doesn’t seem to be much of a variety.</p>
<p>@urbanslaughter that could be true, but it might not. In the rural setting the fewer opportunities might hike up competition in those that do exist.</p>
<p>On another note, can anyone comment on the difference between the science departments at both? I’ve tried my best but can’t find any direct comparisons. I’ve seen the praise for Midd science but that praise exists for Mac and Mac seems to be more science oriented.</p>
<p>My sense is that these two science departments aren’t compared that often because they aren’t really peer schools. Midd is compared to Bowdoin, Williams, Amherst. It sounds like you realize that the science department is amazing (which, as a parent, I have heard that it is), so the only potential advantage for Mac is the perceived volunteer activities. J-term is a great time to volunteer but I don’t know if pre-meds have a volunteer activity every semester, do they? That would be something to check out. Mac is generally considered to have more funky students and Midd more preppy, so you might want to think where you are at on that spectrum. </p>
<p>
Mhmdodan, you appear to be trying very hard to convince yourself you should attend Macalester.
Ask yourself if Macalester was ranked close to Middlebury, which school would you choose?</p>