Hey, just another desperate pre-frosh here searching for guidance.
So, I’m currently deciding between Cornell, Penn State Honors, and Bucknell for chemistry with a possible minor/second major in English. I’m currently accepted for Chem E at Bucknell, but I might switch out for chem. I also might consider Lehigh if they give me any more money at the last minute for an integrated engineering and arts and sciences degree.
At Cornell, I really loved all the students and professors that I met; I felt like I just clicked with everyone there and the amount of diversity really appealed to me. Also, this school would naturally have amazing academics and research. One downside for me might be the weather. I can deal with the cold, but, as a person who has had bouts of depression, constantly dreary skies might not be great. I also worry that I won’t have time for extracurriculars here. I’m a Tanner Dean’s scholar here, which has some special events and gives money for summer research.
Bucknell was really nice because it had that small school environment, but I worry that it lacks very rigorous academics and resources (i.e. intensive research, high rankings, and alumni). It also has a bit of a reputation as a pretty preppy place, which I don’t like much, but I didn’t feel that aura was too overwhelming. I feel like getting involved in both extracurriculars and research would be very easy there, and the campus was the most appealing of the three in terms of having a lot of green space and a lot going on and such. I also really like some of the short study abroad options they had, but I feel like the other two will have similar programs. I’m a presidential fellow here, which gives you special advisers specifically for research.
Penn State’s honors college would allow me to get much smaller class sizes and easily become involved in research, among other perks. However, I’m not a big sports person, so I’m not super into that sort of school spirit. It’s also obviously a very large school, which I’m not a huge fan of overall, but at least they should have a lot of active clubs. It has a really good student newspaper too; I hope to be involved with that. The campus is okay, but I like those of the other two more.
Lastly. . . Cornell is $50,000 per year, Bucknell is $26,000, and Penn State is $3,000 I do plan to go to grad school btw. I’m incredibly lost and don’t have much time left, so please let me know if you have any thoughts on the matter! Thanks in advance, and sorry for this long-winded post!