<p>Please hear me out completely before making any comments. </p>
<p>Fortunately, the acceptance/rejection hype has (finally) settled. It has been a stressful four days for all of us, I'm sure.</p>
<p>However, for many people, the process is not over. I applied to many schools, and was very lucky/fortunate to have gotten into some great schools:</p>
<p>HARVARD (Single Choice Early Action)
PRINCETON
YALE
PENN
COLUMBIA
DARTMOUTH
CORNELL
BROWN
RICE (Interim Decision)</p>
<p>Currently, I am completely lost as to where I should begin to decide on a college... I hope I am not the only one in this predicament. I do not solely want to rely on USNews or Statistical Rankings to decide my undergraduate degree. I have not visited any of my schools, but am planning to visit four of them in the upcoming month of April. </p>
<p>Question: What else does one consider outside of financial aid and "campus likability"? What determines "fit"?</p>
<p>Is there an alumni who can provide some assistance in describing how his/her personal experience has been regarding the aforementioned undergrad program(s)?</p>
<p>Much thanks,
(A very confused and torn.) Tri</p>
<p>First of all, congratulations. Second, there is no such thing as a "best" school, so you have to ask yourself a number of questions.</p>
<p>Location: Dartmouth and Rice are at the opposite ends of the country in terms of geography and weather.</p>
<p>Location 2: Dartmouth and Columbia are at the opposite in terms of size of town/city in which they are located. Additionally, while Columbia, Penn, Harvard and Rice are located in large cities, Cornell, Princeton and Dartmouth are in suburban locations.</p>
<p>Size: Penn, Cornell and Harvard are significantly larger than the other schools.</p>
<p>Curriculum: Brown and Columbia are at the opposite ends.</p>
<p>There are other factors that should affect your decision. Without knowing your preferences, it is impossible to give you any advice. You need to ask the questions of yourself, not CC posters.</p>
<p>I posted the following on the Princeton board. It sounds like you're sensing a little of what I'm getting at.</p>
<p>Let's start with this: Why did you apply to those particular schools in the first instance if you hadn't done due diligence sufficient to make you confident--for concrete reasons--that each would be a great fit for you?</p>
<p>You cite US News right away--is that what did it for you? The schools' rankings? It looks like you didn't go much deeper than that.</p>
<p>You didn't visit; apparently you didn't expend any real effort at all toward getting a particularized focus on the listed schools. And now you claim to be "lost," seeking advice from strangers on a very important decision.</p>
<p>But "lost" at a time when your impressive acceptances permit you to post the list on the internet to receive praise and support from strangers.</p>
<p>There's an overt subtext at work here. It might be beneficial to you to look carefully at that, too.</p>
<p>I doubt that the OP is still seriously considering 10-11 schools at this stage. That's why the multiple posts are excessive. It makes one question the authenticity of the post.</p>
<p>tchiem might not be the world's best planner, but I don't question his (or her) good faith. Lots of people apply to a whole bunch of good schools and then have no idea what to do when acceptances come in, especially if they have crappy guidance counselors or are the first one in their family to attend college.</p>
<p>Here are some considerations:
*Location
-weather
-size of town
-employment opportunities
If you go to school in a city, you're probably more likely to get your first full-time job in that city than you otherwise would. If you go to school in the country, it might be harder for you to get a job in the first place. This brings up the point of industries; if you want to, say, go into politics or law or publishing, you might prefer Columbia because of its location. If you want to do finance, you might prefer Harvard because of all the financial companies there. And so on.</p>
<p>BTW, neighborhoods immediately surrounding colleges tend to be eerily similar. The major distinction I can make between schools in the boonies and schools in the cities in terms of opportunity is in the realms of 1) employment and 2) clubbing.</p>
<p>*Requirements and classes
This is something way too many people ignore. Brown gives you pretty much completely free choice as to what classes you take. Columbia is known for its core. Is choice important to you, or do you believe in the value of learning the canon? Take a look at other factors too--does a school require comps? A thesis? Orals? Does it have an unusual grading system? Are there tutorials? How hard is it do get into the classes you want or need to take? Can you graduate early? Get a four-year master's?</p>
<p>Social life and housing
Do people live on or off campus? Is on-campus housing guaranteed? Required? What's on-campus housing like? Can you smoke in it? Is there themed housing? How expensive is real estate? Are the cops known for clamping down on parties? Are you interested in joining a frat or sorority, and if you are, is the opportunity there? Is it feasible to have a car? What's the political orientation of the campus? Will you feel alienated or threatened because of your beliefs/race/income level/sexual orientation/choices on drinking and/or drug use?</p>
<p>Financial aid package (enough said)</p>
<p>Unique factors
Does the school have something special that's unique to it? Examples include directed studies at Yale, or Let's Go/HSA at Harvard.</p>
<p>Extracurriculars
Which ones are you thinking of joining? Does the school have an amazing newspaper? A great orchestra? An equestrian team? A crew team?</p>