I have done extensive research on these schools, but I haven’t reached a decision yet. Luckily, I have been accepted into all three. However, I’m having a difficult time deciding. I am a perspective pre-med, who will most likely pursue a B.S. degree. Knowing nothing about me, which option do you guys think is the “best?” Which of the three would you choose? The financial aid is basically the same, so that is not a differentiating factor.
You say can equally afford all of them, so there is no “bad” choice- unless you have a less expensive choice that you didn’t include! if you have a no-debt choice that is the “best” one if you are serious about med school.
Otherwise, they are effectively peer schools, so there is no “wrong” choice.
All 3- like most of the top 200 colleges in the US- have everything you need to get into medical school.
If you change your goal, all 3 are academically respected in a broad range of subject areas.
Which leaves…personal fit as the metric- so there is no way for anybody to say what is best for you! DId you visit any of them, or any similar schools? These differ by size, climate, proximity to the rest of the world, vibe, etc.
In all honesty, I have taken the time in quarantine to do a deep-dive into each school. I have constructed pros and cons lists galore, and yet I still haven’t arrived at a clear-cut conclusion. If I just hit the high points, I love the academic freedom, location, and all things Echols offered by UVA. I have spent quite a bit of time in Virginia, where as I have never been to Indiana or Massachusetts. That being said, the prestige, dorm-life, and just general environment of Notre Dame entices me. Meanwhile, Tufts provides easy access to Boston, while not being located directly in a metropolis. I also think I may enjoy its smaller size, assuming that translates into the general class sizes. Although, after going onto the class registration sites for each school, it appears that Notre Dame and Tufts are pretty close to a wash in regards to class sizes for the courses I plan on taking. None of these schools are located in the middle of a big city, since I wanted to avoid that environment. I like the amenities of a city, but I don’t think I could handle living directly inside of a large one. I have not visited any of the schools. I was going to take a trip in April, but my plans where, well, squashed, just like everyone else’s.
I was intentionally vague in my OP, because I wanted to hear other people discuss their own reasons. I thought someone might bring up a totally different point or angle that I hadn’t considered already. I spent a substantial amount of time vetting schools before I ever even applied to them. I have now considered them in greater detail. I fear I may be getting too far into the weeds and minutiae. I though this thread might help me to take a step back.
Really you have no (obvious from here) reason not to go with your gut. IMO, there is no prestige difference between the 3- different personalities, yes, but not different prestige levels. But if you like the kind of prestige that you perceive ND to have- go for it!
Imo the lowest risk of your options is UVa. Some colleges are more ‘fit’ schools than others- that is, they suit the students that are a good fit really well, but won’t suit everybody. Vassar and Bucknell are good examples of schools that I think are ‘high-fit’ schools. To me, Tufts and ND are ‘medium fit’. Some of that is based simply on tours with collegekids who had immediate and strong reactions (both ways), some is based on the kids that I have known who were happy at each place. Between the two places, ND is more of a bubble / it’s own world- that can be good or bad depending on your preferences!
UVa, as a highly selective state university, suits a broad range of students: everybody there is pretty smart, and plenty are super-smart; everybody there is able to be academic, and lots of them want to be- but socially they are all over the map. Everybody can find a pack (or packs).
Making a choice without having ever seen a place is hard (one of my collegekids is doing the same right now). But- there are plenty of students who have visited all the places they are choosing between and are just as stuck! So much weight has been put on this, the most consequential decision most of you have made about your own future. It doesn’t help that you are obviously achievement oriented and used to making good choices (your admissions outcomes demonstrate that), so the fear of ‘making a mistake’ is even greater.
But here’s the thing: you have done really well. You have worked hard, made friends, impressed teachers, found things that are important and meaningful to you. You have three good choices for college, but you don’t have perfect information (nobody does). So: you make a call: it’s going to be X! and then you lean in to it. You write the other 2 a very nice ‘thank you but no thank you’. You buy the sweatshirt, figure out what you want to bring with you, join the social media stuff. You (hopefully) arrive in the autumn and you do your very best to make it be great.
And it will either work (win!) or it won’t. If it doesn’t, it’s not the end of the world- you just have more information that you didn’t have before. And you transfer. Because you will still have good grades and good LoRs and good choices. As big as this decision is, it’s just the beginning of the next chapter.
So listen to your gut and follow your heart. Come back & tell us what you pick, and then come back & tell us how reality compares to what you were expecting!