Need help deciding on colleges (Econ/gov)

<p>I just received my final college decision this Friday. The good news: I got into all of my schools. The bad news: I didn't get 100% of what I was looking for at some top choices and this is making it difficult to choose one. </p>

<p>Background: I'm interested in economics and government. I probably want to get a PhD in economics after undergrad, so being able to take a BS in econ or equivalent math classes is very important, but it would also be nice to take some government classes. Based on our calculations, we aren't eligible for any financial aid, so whatever I list for scholarships is what we get. We can afford these options, but we have concerns about the cost of grad school or at the very least whatever living expenses I'd have for a PhD program. I also have a lot of AP credits, so depending on how much the school accepts and its policy on graduation, I may or may not be able to graduate early.</p>

<p>So here are the options I'm considering:</p>

<p>Conditional Transfer to Cornell ILR. NYS resident, so I have reduced tuition, but still costs around 40k/yr. (I'd probably be going to Binghamton or Geneseo for my 1st year)</p>

<p>George Washington University: $20k scholarship. No Honors program but I can apply next year for it. </p>

<p>American University: $15k scholarship + 3 year PPL (Politics Policy and Law) scholars program. (The PPL program has you take summer classes, so it doesn't actually save any money.)</p>

<p>CUNY Macaulay Honors College at Baruch College. Free tuition, $7000 study fund, laptop, discounts on cultural activities, honors classes, and events. This sounds great, but the cost of living in Manhattan we estimate to be around $23k/yr plus the time costs associated with finding housing, getting to class, and making my own food. </p>

<p>George Mason University: $6K scholarship + Honors Program</p>

<p>SUNY Binghamton/Geneseo: No scholarship. Both cost roughly $20k/yr. </p>

<p>What are your thoughts on all of this? I'm finding it incredibly hard to chose. In my mind I'm bouncing back and forth between Cornell, GW, and Macaulay. If I had gotten a better outcome from Cornell or a worse outcome for GW/Macaulay, I'd probably have taken Cornell, but with this mix of conditions I'm not really sure. My Dad thinks it would be crazy to take anything other than the most prestigious option or the cheapest option, but I can find reasons why it would make more sense to take an option that provides a good mix of things that I like, but I just can't be sure what will yield the best results. I suppose I have until May to decide, but I don't see the point in yet another campus visit to see some marketing, and since conditional transfer students don't get to go to admitted students day at Cornell, it's not like I would even be able to fairly compare all of my options. </p>

<p>Cornell will open doors and expose you to people who are excellent. Excellent teachers who will give you a world-class education, excellent students (you learn A LOT from your friends) who will push you in order to compete with them, and name-recognition in many countries outside of the USA which frankly some of the other Us do not offer. If I could redo my undergrad, I would go by this advice… It’s better to be the bottom of the pack at an amazing place than the top of the pack at an ok place. Push yourself to be better and you’ll leave college a different person. On a side-note, those other universities are GREAT, but Cornell is probably your best option for the simple reasons aforementioned. </p>