<p>first of all i want to apologize for posting a topic that's extremely self-centered, haha. but i'm horribly indecisive and have NO IDEA how to decide! here's a brief backstory:
two weeks ago, after overnighting at a bunch of places, i was choosing between carleton and yale. i was waitlisted at williams, which was tied w/ carleton and haverford (didn't like it after overnight) as my first choice. ultimately decided on carleton and was happy with my decision.
then, today, a williams rep called me and told me i was off the waitlist. of course, i was thrilled, but i have a REALLY tough decision now (gotta make it by monday...aaahh!)</p>
<p>basically, i'm just flippin' some serious pancakes trying to decide! they're both so good! some stuff about me:
+ i live in new york (not the city--upstate)
+ i take my work seriously and myself less so. i like people who are intelligent but not ultra-intellectual all the time
+ i am really into friendliness. i'm a bit on the neurotic side, and it's very relieving to be surrounded by a very friendly group of people
+ i think i want to be a linguistics major. foreign languages in general are also of interest to me
+ i play piano and definitely plan to continue in college (not conservatory level or anything, though :P)
+ i like to ski (downhill, i'm an instructor but not a racer)
+ party-wise, i like to keep it in moderation. i'm not a huge partyer (i had my first drink this year, haha) it's nice to have it available but not dominating the social scene
+ i plan to study abroad and am hoping for interesting study/research opportunities
+ i'm a huge joke at sports (well unless skiing counts as a sport) but i like to do outdoorsy things
+ i don't care about being in a city, but going off campus every so often would be nice
oh and i'm really indecisive (have you noticed that? :P)</p>
<p>on one hand, i loved carleton and i thought it was hugely helpful to be able to overnight there. i unfortunately don't have that opportunity at williams, which is part of the reason why i'm so undecided about everything. williams is closer, less midwest (haha), and seemed really great when i visited over the summer, but carleton seems fairly similar in character and has a lot of what i'm looking for as well</p>
<p>now that i've given you a self-indulgent autobiography (sorry!), ANY advice would be greatly, greatly, appreciated. if you've read this far, congratulations :P, and thanks so much for helping me decide!</p>
<p>Either college sounds like it would meet your social/emotional needs. Williams is not big on linguistics, though you could certainly study languages. I didn’t think Carleton was very strong on linguistics either, but maybe I’m wrong.</p>
<p>I don’t know how anymore can answer this question for you – it’s quite personal.</p>
<p>I will say that my S at Williams has really loved Winter Study when you’d be able to ski a lot. He’s loved his courses which have been quite creative.</p>
<p>He has also enjoyed being fairly close to home so he does not have to fly to get to school. Some kids don’t mind; some do.</p>
<p>I like that I can see him on a weekend occasionally (but only if he okays it!)</p>
<p>If you have any specific questions I’d be glad to answer you. Since you stayed on the wait list you must have had some small desire to make this decision.</p>
<p>Good luck. I don’t really think you can go wrong either way you decide.</p>
<p>Awww… Williams went to their waitlist and they didn’t call me? :(. JK though - both schools are excellent. Just so you know: Carleton has innumerable good qualities, but it isn’t known for having a particularly strong linguistics program. However, Williams’ social scene is known for being dominated by drunken partying and athletes. But really, you can’t go wrong.</p>
<p>You sound like a great fit for Williams, except that we just fired the only linguistics professor and killed the linguistics program. So if that’s what you want to do, you won’t find it here.</p>
<p>Isn’t there some sort of 8 college consortium that allows students study at another school like Amherst or Wesleyen? It may bie an option if you do decide to study linguistics.</p>
<p>Carleton is a lovely school, while not quite as prestigious as Williams or Yale. Cache needn’t be the sole reason to attend one LAC/University over another: while a bit cliched, “fit” and where one will be happiest (and therefore most likely to thrive) is the most compelling reason to matriculate at a given institution, especially when all of your choices are top tier.</p>
<p>thank you everyone VERY much for your replies! it’s really indispensable info. jeke, that’s an interesting tidbit, and pretty unfortunate – linguistics is important! again, thanks for your help! :)</p>
<p>electronblue, it was a very tough decision. i applied to yale on a whim not expecting to get in, so it was never really a top choice for me–i’d always envisioned myself at a small liberal arts school like williams or carleton. while i liked it a lot when i did the bulldog days, and the campus/facilities are seriously dazzling, there were some things that deterred me a bit (e.g., some students and professors were kind of intimidating and cold, all of the linguistics classes were on a “do not attend” list, etc.) when it came down to yale and carleton, it occurred to me that the main reason i was still considering yale was its name/prestige, and that carleton was a place where i could much better see myself. i realize that for job hunting opps, yale might’ve been a better choice, but it seemed to me the academics at carleton seemed as good as those of yale, so i decided to go for the place where i thought i’d have overall (ie academically and socially) the most rewarding experience. i hope this answers your question.</p>
<p>Great reasons lorlor. I wasn’t questioning in the sense of OMG what were you thinking? Good for you that you can see more than the name. Perhaps you can look through the Williams course catalog (on their website, under academics) and see where you might fit. There are contract majors that can be constructed, but Carleton has an actual linguistics program. Not sure if money is a factor but the cost of flying back and forth for breaks can add up. My daughter and I visited Carleton during her college search, it’s a great school. Good luck making your decision.</p>
<p>Williams also does not have a linguistics professor after this year. They had one guy. He was denied tenure last year and, therefore, this is his last year at Williams. With the budget cuts, there’s been no announcement of hiring another linguistics professor. To be honest, having nobody is a better decision than having a one-man band.</p>
<p>thanks everyone! electronblue, i guess i’ve just become used to having to give everyone a detailed apologia when they ask me incredulously “you turned down yale?!” ;P</p>
<p>interesteddad, thanks for the info. i actually called the linguistics professor today and he confirmed what you’re saying. that’s a pretty big deal for me…so in that case, i’m probably going to go with carleton. still hard to decide, since i really loved williams, but not having my prospective major is a pretty big setback.</p>
again, thanks for your help! :)</p>
i hope this answers your question.</p>