<p>Try answering the second part of your last paragraph first.</p>
<p>The living and schooling enviornment is more important that trying to decipher which school will open the most doors. The reason is that if you enjoy the college or university community, including the academics, the more likely you are to do well over the course of your undergrad years. This generally means a great chance of becoming involved on campus and recieving better grades in your school work.</p>
<p>I prefer a small liberal arts college that is cooperative rather than cutthroat, so from your list, I would probably choose Occidental or Harvey Mudd even if they are in CA. Also, part of an education is going beyond what is familiar. UW is in your (and my) backyard, so it is not much of a stretch socially or culturally.</p>
<p>As for USC, it's a great school and falls between UW and the two LACs in terms of size. It is also well-endowed so you generally get better facilities than state schools in general. For the most part, USC (and the LACs guarentee to meet need for financial aid purposes, so that might be an important consideration as well), while UW does not guarentee to meet your need.</p>
<p>Again, I would study the aid packages from each school and decide on how important the aid will be in relation to what you believe you'll get. Remember that college is more than just class work. Look at social, cultural, and personal enviornment as well. Many of us forget to do this for various reasons.</p>
<p>For instance, Harvey Mudd is part of a larger conglomerate of colleges: Pomona, Scripps, Pitzer, and Claremont McKenna. You'll be able to take classes at the different colleges, as well as at the Claremont Graduate School. Collectively, the size is about what a small-to-Medium sized university would be in terms of student population. Almost the best of both worlds.</p>
<p>Again, just figure out whether a small or large school is a better fit for you, then go from there. Most other choices will stem from there. Just be honest with yourself and you'll be happy at the school you decide on.</p>
<p>Just my opinion.
IB</p>
<p>PS--Running Start is a cool program, but it might lead you to make a choice that is not as well suited for your personality. I know it's hard, but think about where you will be happy first. As for med school....you'll be able to apply to UW as an in-state applicant--as you do not automatically give up residency when you go away to college out-of-state. The in-state classification depends on where your parents live, who supports you, where you're registered to vote, etc...Most public schools will only reclassify you if you move to the state for reasons other than to attend school. Also, you need to work and not go to school for a year to even be considered an in-state student somewhere other than in Washington. So, even if you went to...say...Occidental, for med school, you'd apply as an in-state resident at the University of Washington.</p>