<p>Hi everybody, this is my first post. I know that choosing a college based purely off of what others say is kind of naive, so I just want insight from others on the options I have. I got into UCLA , USC, and WashU and I expect to get into Rice and Vanderbilt. I'm a pretty hard worker and I enjoy academic challenges. The money will probably not be an issue because of financial aid help. If anyOne has gone through this search or been to these schools any information will help. Thanks. </p>
<p>All of those are excellent options. You really can wait until all of your aid packages are on the table and then choose the one that will leave you with the least college debt.</p>
<p>I’m having the same problem as you, and something that keeps coming back into my mind is comparing private to public universities. I’m concerned with schools like UCLA or Cal that will be receiving reduced funding from California and are experiencing impacted classes and programs and majors, even though the schools and their locations are fantastic. USC has a bit less academic prestige, but the campus is obviously well-kept and beautiful and there seems to be a better social vibe. I don’t know anything about Washington University so I can’t say anything about that, but I figured I’d give you some things to consider.</p>
<p>I agree with happymom! you should also consider the location of the college, weather year round, size of the school, how conservative or liberal the community is[ if that matters], how much it will cost you to travel home, etc, etc. UCLA and USC are comparable in size, and have many other similarities .
My son had similar choices- Got into Wash U, V, R ,USC [ he did not apply to any UC because of numerous concerns with class sizes and what the dire financial situation in CAlif might do to UC funding- something you should consider too] Riceand Wash U he rejected because of the weather, V because he didn’t like the overly conservative politics of many citizens in that state. He ended up at USC, where most of his friends are students in the Engineering school. And most of his friends received very generous FA packages from USC, if they weren’t already on scholarships.</p>