I can’t decide!! I plan to major in Economics, but might end up majoring in STEM. I’m very interested in entrepreneurship/tech/silicon valley.
WashU Pros: academic flexibility, perfect size, mix of kids from all over the country.
WashU Cons: St. Louis SUCKS (no offense, just not great), not crazy about being in the midwest, namebrand/network might be worse in comparison on the west coast
CMC Pros: business focus, the Consortium (HMC, Pomona), great location in comparison (really nice area), better fit
CMC Cons: not the same ease of majoring in a STEM field if I want to, too many CA kids (I live here), degree might not give me as much mobility given its more of a niche school.
Yes, west of the city- and btw - St. Louis doesn’t suck - passionate baseball fans in a gorgeous stadium, the arch which is super cool and the city museum which is zany and fun. Plus a wonderful zoo. St. Louis is a great place for a family weekend.
You could argue with CMC you breathe in smog all day. You can come up with things to beat up on for anywhere.
It’s a tiny school in a ehh area vs. possibly the nicest campus and best dorms in the country.
Assuming cost is equal, you seem to prefer CMC. They are both prestigious with strong alumni networks. CMC probably has a slight edge for economics/policy. The consortium will give you access to whatever courses you might need.
BTW, there’s plenty do to in and around Wash U’s campus and in St Louis.
If you want to get technical about it, Wash U is in the city. It isn’t downtown though, the area most think about when they think if the city.
Even though it isn’t in Clayton, that’s the community it feels most part of. I haven’t lived in MO for over 30 years (we’ve been in OR). I like that area west of the park so much that we are considering buying an apartment there for a place to get away during smoke season. It’s not LA as far as the diversity of food, entertainment, proximity to both the beach and the mountains, but it’s vastly more liveable.
They’re both around the same price. I didn’t mean to hate on st. louis! I’m sure its a wonderful place if you’re living there. It just doesn’t have as much going on as LA.
We live in LA, but originally from STL. Just drove through LA today. The homelessness is getting out of control here, but that’s a different subject. You’d be in Claremont, which is a very nice little college town. Might be a bit limiting but I really don’t consider it part of LA.
The area around Wash U is great. The Loop in U City is a fun strip and the Central West End has lots of cool shops and restaurants. Forest Park is one of the best urban parks in the country, the Art Museum is good, and you can go sledding on Art Hill. The City Museum is one of the wackiest places in the country. The weather sucks in STL, it’s either too hot or too cold, but fall is one thing I really miss. And there are probably areas you have no idea about in town, like Soulard and Lafayette Square, which are small gems. Even going to the wineries in Hermann or Augusta is surprisingly fun.
I love living out here, but we live near the beach, not near the smog and heat. For someone that has never lived in the Midwest, you might grow. And it’s a terrific school.
We’re considering buying an apartment for that exact season…when the west in on fire. You can buy apartments in The City Museum now, but we’d want to be within walking/biking distance of Forest Park and close enough to get to cultural things at Wash U. Never thought I’d say I’d live in MO again, but as you say, the Falls are amazing and that little enclave isn’t really like the midwest.
Didn’t know you could buy an apartment in the City Museum.
The Skinker-Debaliviere area is nice. So is Webster Groves and Kirkwood. And a lot of people live in the Washington Avenue lofts. Incredibly reasonable place to live. Not my cup of tea anymore, but the city is certainly appealing to live in, even for people college age and a bit older.
I really like DeMun. It’s a historic neighborhood just south of Wash U. It is partly in Clayton and partly in the city. They were apartments primarily for Wash U med students back in the day, but now have been converted to condos so that you can buy individual units. I like it because it represents the missing middle type of architecture frequently seen in Europe, but no longer found in the US or Canada due to zoning laws. There are big buildings like you see on Skinker, but within the neighborhood singles, stacked triples, 4 plexes and 8 plexes. It’s very walkable.
My son went to Cal Poly and now works for a startup in Venice. I certainly get the attraction of the beach too!
I know DeMun well, near the Hi-Pointe where I would shoot pool and see a movie. I used to go occasionally to Fox and Hounds too (which made an appearance in the movie “Up in the Air”). And yes, I know that architecture. Wife is from Spain. I lived in a place like that in Barcelona as part of my MBA program.
Love SLO. Daughter accepted but it wasn’t for her. We thought she would be at UCSB, but she settled on ASU Honors at the end and is very happy. She loves the beach, but looks at Tempe like a Palm Springs vacation.
College is not a destination. Rather it is a means to an end. Wash U is clearly the superior choice due to its flexibility for STEM. To pass that up for the short term benefit of living near LA would be a mistake.
Rogue Valley for the last 28 years. We were from CoMo, and I still have family there. We have friends and family in St. L too. Having lived right near downtown Ashland where everything is walkable in 5 min, I’ve lost the tolerance for car based suburban living. DeMun/Hi-Point has that euro feel, is easily walkable to the park, the original Kaldi’s, several good restaurants, and Schnucks on Clayton. It may sound like an odd place for a second home, but our plan is to live there at least a month in the fall and probably a month in the spring.
“CMC Pros: business focus, the Consortium (HMC, Pomona), great location in comparison (really nice area), better fit”
When you say better fit, aren’t you sort of answering your own question, in that if you think CMC is a better fit, that’s probably where you should go, especially if you’re not a big fan of St. Louis.
“passionate baseball fans in a gorgeous stadium”
Agree, it’s a great sports town, but that may not be important to OP, also once a teenager gets an opinion on something like that, it’s tough to convince them otherwise!
