Need Help with College Decision

Hi,

I’ve heard back from all of my schools and here are my final choices.

Grinnell College (econ)
Hamilton College (Econ)
Lehigh University (Business)
University of Wisconsin (pre-business will hear back from business program soon)
Babson College (business)
Indiana University(Business DA)
University of Miami (Business)
Bentley University (Business)

Pros and Cons from my POV

Grinnell-
Pros:
Can play on tennis team and loved the team when visiting
intellectual vibe
still somewhat fun
strong academics
great food

Cons:
middle of nowhere
located in Iowa
non-athletes weren’t really people I saw myself connecting with, but connected well with athletes
campus is only okay
job prospects seem not as strong for what I want to do
too small

Hamilton-
Pros:
Strong job prospects
strong academics (possibly best school I got into?)
beautiful campus
can play on tennis team

Cons:
didn’t connect w tennis team
got a vibe I didn’t like while there but could’ve been bc didn’t connect w team
food was eh
too small

Lehigh-
Pros:
strong academics
good job prospects w good business program
more convenient bc not in super small city and is more in suburban city
nice campus
got good vibes when I visited
perfect size

Cons:
city is a bit grimy
school has stereotype to be preppy rich kid school which im not a fan of
I do plan on joining frat but not sure about frats dominating social scene as it does at lehigh

U Wisconsin-
(havent visited, visiting soon)
Pros:
super fun school
liberal and politically active student body
solid academics with good business school
more economically and culturally diverse I feel than small schools bc it’s so big

cons:
wayyy too big and I’ve never pictured myself at a big school
supposedly in city and I’ve always been more of a fan of a campus outside of a city, but I’ll visit and see

Babson-
Pros:
strong entrepreneurship program
decent school
beautiful campus
suburban but right next to boston
could probably make tennis team

Cons:
felt rich kid vibe
a bit too preppy for me
maybe not as strong academically as lehigh, hamilton and grinnell?

Indiana-
havent visited lower on my list

pros:
fun school
pretty campus from what I’ve seen online
great business program
honors program

cons:
weaker school overall
too big

University of Miami-

pros:
decent school
great weather
fun place to go to school
good location
nice campus
fairly good size wise

cons:
reputation is eh in comparison to some of other options

Bentley-
Pros:
beautiful campus
great facilities
supposedly strong job placement
honors program
great size
near boston

Cons:
not as strong academically as other options
I’ve heard there is a rich preppy vibe there

I’ve only experienced Hamilton. My twin DD’s were both accepted and one will be a xc/track student athlete, but has yet to finalize her decision as she has a couple other NESCAC’s she is still considering. That said she did an overnight there last Fall and really enjoyed it - it was her third time on campus and it just felt right, and yes the school is an amazing academic environment and has a really great Econ program.

Your group overall seems to be pretty diverse, which might lead to some uncertainty as you begin to narrow your choices. In terms of academics/programs, however, these sources could be of interest:

http://blogs.wgbh.org/on-campus/2015/5/5/harvard-business-school-expands-online-initiative-liberal-arts-colleges/

https://ideas.repec.org/top/top.uslacecon.html

And . . .

https://www.■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■/infographics/top-feeders-mba-programs