Need help deciding college.

College Search & Selection
1

I was fortunate enough to be accepted to several amazing schools and am having trouble choosing one.

I’m officially undecided but will likely go into computer science. I’m open to changing my major to anything (STEM or humanities or otherwise) if I find something I absolutely love in college. But for now, computer science seems is the most probable scenario and I genuinely do enjoy it.

My top two choices are Caltech and Brown.

Caltech would probably be the better choice for computer science, and the recognition it has in the STEM field is second to none. I also love the close, tight-knit, collaborative nature of Caltech, and the student to faculty ratio is amazing. The housing system seems cool, and I’m excited about the prospect of working with all the students and faculty to solve problems and conduct research, which seems especially accessible. Socal weather is great, and my family lives here, so that’s a plus. The biggest concern about Caltech for me is the workload (if I would be able to handle it) and the social life. The “college experience” isn’t a necessity for me, but it would be nice. I come from a non competitive high school where partying happened pretty frequently and where there was an average of 2-3 hours of homework per week, so Caltech would be a pretty big shift.

Brown is weaker in CS, but I love the Open Curriculum and the atmosphere of its students. Anecdotally, everyone I know who goes to Brown (like 3 kids to be fair) loves it. If I were to switch tracks, there would be more options (econ, pre-med) compared to Caltech. Providence is only 45 minutes away from Boston, but Pasadena vs. Providence isn’t a big issue for me–both locations seem great. The students seem collaborative and passionate, like Caltech. It is farther from home, but that’s also not that big of a deal. Social life also seems more vibrant. The only caveat I have about Brown is its relative reputation in CS. Clearly it is an AMAZING school and I am so happy to get the chance to attend, but I don’t know how it measures up to Caltech.

Other colleges I was considering include Rice, Carnegie Mellon SCS (but the triple combo of location, competitiveness, and rigor…), Cornell (same reasons, plus the large size), Northwestern, Johns Hopkins, Williams, Amherst and Dartmouth. If anyone knows more about CS + other options at these colleges I’d love to hear as well.

2

Brown isn’t easier than CalTech. It is just different. Wherever you do end up for college, you are going to need to put in much more time for your studies than you have in the past. CalTech admitted you, so they believe you are capable of doing the work there.

3

Personally although there are many CalTech fans out there, and it’s a great school in many ways for the right person, I would go to Brown. People I know who attended CalTech have described it as “punishingly hard” and “unnecessarily difficult” and point their kids away from that school. People I know who attended Brown are delighted with their experience and encourage their children to attend that school.

4

I have a child at Caltech, and the workload has been far from overwhelming. Even when my child was doing a varsity sport there was time to get work done and goof. The schools are on opposite coasts, so whether, and where you ultimately end up should be factors. Schools in general tend to have more contacts with companies in close proximity.