Hi!
So, I am a high school senior, and I am trying to decide between different colleges. I was just rejected from my top choice; I had my heart set on going there, and I didn’t realize how much I was counting on being accepted until I was rejected. Now, I am left with a choice between schools that either don’t excite me or are completely financially inaccessible.
Mainly, I am trying to decide between the University of Minnesota and the University of Oklahoma. I have been accepted at 8 schools, but it seems to me that the U of MN and OU are the only options I can afford. All other 8 schools are in the $30,000-$35,000 dollars/year price range, and I will have to pay for my entire education (my parents make a significant amount of money, but cannot/will not help me pay for college).
I am a Minnesota resident, white female, planning to major in environmental engineering. UMN will cost about $11,000/year for me (including food, housing, etc.) and OU will cost about $7,000/year. Objectively, it seems to me that UMN is a better school, especially for environmental engineering, plus I like that it’s closer to home (almost too close - about 35 minutes away). It seems like there are a lot more opportunities available, as well as clubs that align more with my interests (I know this shouldn’t really be a consideration, and it certainly doesn’t factor heavily into my decision at all, but I would like a competitive running club). However, it’s a lot bigger (which I don’t like) and I dislike the city campus. OU is much smaller and I like the campus better, plus I am a National Merit Scholar so the National Scholars office could be a good resource for me. On the negative side, I don’t really like Norman or Oklahoma City, and it seems like there are fewer opportunities available, especially for environmental engineers.
I have also been accepted at:
Michigan (which would cost me about $49,000/year) - I would love to go there, but I don’t really see any way that I can afford it
Purdue (about $32,000/year)
Case Western (about $33,500/year)
- several other colleges that I have completely ruled out
Any advice that people can offer me would be appreciated.