A sound analysis…if hkim doesn’t end up being one of the many who decide that they don’t want to do medicine after all, and when in retrospect a full ride elsewhere (and a “better” elsewhere by all accounts) may turn out to be the right thing. It’s a hard decision. I’ve seen a few people hell bent on med school, unbend themselves during undergrad. I think along with what can be made to work in the financial analysis, there should also be some sort of “what if” analysis.
Whoa. I had a LOT of fun at W&L and honestly, this school is pretty flippin amazing.
They have a lot of money to support students on whatever they want to do over the summer (for Johnson, you’d get $7000) and they said they have this 4 week Spring Period where many students get to go abroad to study and experience the world.
The campus was spread out enough, the food was great, the faculty were spectacular, and the class sizes really were just 25 kids tops - much like my high school.
Can’t say as to how much clout W&L actually has in the real world (as in, not just HS students or tiger parents haha), but it seems to have a really extensive alumni network as people mentioned earlier.
A solid choice to be honest, though, there are some small nitpicky things.
For example, Lexington seems to be very small - I’m pretty used to having Sam’s Club, Costco, Targets, and foodstuff around me, but I’m not sure.
Also, there are around 1900 students total, which is roughly half my high school size - walking around felt somewhat pretty empty once it hit the afternoon. While I was missing the suburban (or even urbanish) environment I grew up in, it did grow on me somewhat. On the bright side, the students were very lively, extremely friendly, and the honor code was appealing somewhat.
Unfortunately, UIC isn’t being helpful at all so far.
For what it is worth (not much 
) my opinion is that it is preferable to put yourself in a different environment for college than the one you are used to. My two oldest went from rural upstate NY to Dallas and Atlanta for colleges – culturally very different to NY state, and also the urban/rural thing was very different for them. You’d be doing it in reverse at W&L.
It sounds like you had a good visit! Could you see yourself at W&L…and be able to find your peeps?
Have you given any thought to what you would major in? Did you have a chance to find out about pre-health offerings/programming/preparation?
Sorry to hear about UIC not being helpful, stay on them…hope for the best, but expect the $ might not work out.
The thing is, for many students, the bottom line comes down to one college that they can sort of maybe work out. It’s not like there are choices with small gaps here and there. You are doing so well having several choices including very affordable ones. Yes, there are pros and cons to weigh. That is quite the privilege and luxury.
@Mwfan1921 Very fun for sure! I wasn’t able to find out too much about their “pre-health offerings”, but they did have a Pre-Health part for Open House. I was more or so interested in their interdisciplinary neuroscience and brain science programs which is what I wanted to major in.
I think fitting in, I could manage to find a group, but what I am conflicted with is the 60 something percent of the student body being in fraternities. It’s not a problem, and my tour guide was actually not in one, but as the college seems to be a bubble-ish one with there not being too many extensive research opportunities (like ones available at, say, a larger institution or one in an urban/suburban).
@cinnamon1212 Yeah that is definitely true, but I feel like going from suburban/urban to rural can feel a bit stagnating - going from having all these things to do, eat, experience, and a bit of traveling that can go a long way, to a small town. I’m really into the outdoors such as hiking, fishing, kayaking, and things like that, but maybe as a trip that would be cool, but for four years, I’ll have to deeply think about that.
@cptofthehouse Definitely blessed and feels wonderful to have a lot of options - many difficult options too since both have great pros and little cons.
@HKimPOSSIBLE https://my.wlu.edu/outing-club/outdoor-activities
Even at my daughter’s small Lac one of the things she likes to do is go kayaking. She even became certified and sorta has the keys and goes when she wants to. She tells me she does some home work like reading in her kayak ??.
Seems like they have some nice activities. You have lived in the burbs try something new.
Also a great way to meet people.
Although the research at a LAC may not be as broad as at larger institutions, there are plenty of opportunities to start research even as a freshman/sophomore.
That undergraduate research experience enhances intership options, and opportunities to publish and present research at conferences, and helps foster relationships with mentors, all of which help students after graduation with employment, or grad/med school.
So glad things went well at W&L!!
Plus, free trip to Virginia…
We’re you able to find out how economically inclusive they are for low income students? Do they have a first gen office?
Question : Does the PROMISE scholarship at UIUC apply to transfers too?
(Because if the full ride applies to transfers too, you could start at W&L and if you really don’t like it transfer back to UIUC… but if it’s just for freshmen then it’s another ballgame.)
When do you hear back from your remaining colleges?
From your three choices so far, I think that UIUC of W&L are better for you. First, both have much better financial support so far. Second, at both you have much more freedom to change your direction without endangering your funding, third, both UIUC and W&L come with a strong and wide alumni network, and finally, UIUC is a top engineering (your chosen major) school , and W&L is a top LAC.
As for moving from Urban to Rural - my daughter, who grew up around Chicago (spent a LOT of time in the city) is very happily attending Middlebury, with a bunch of other kids from Chicago, NYC, Boston, LA, etc. The advantage of attending a LAC in a rural area is the fact that you have fewer distractions, spend more time outdoors, etc.
It is so much easier to find a quiet spot all by yourself for some downtime, you can walk outside and see the stars, listen to something without the constant sound of traffic. It’s extremely calming, which is very helpful in more stressful periods of school.
The other advantage of being outside of a city is that having a social life in a city can get expensive and can highlight economic differences if friends have spending money that you don’t. A school where more of the things to do are free, either because they’re campus-based or because they’re out in nature, can be more of an equalizer. It depends on the individual school as well as on the surrounding environment, but it’s something to consider.
OP, trust your gut on the rural thing. Some city kids will enjoy a 4-year change of scenery and others will be truly miserable and very quickly.
I don’t know if I agree…UIUC is exactly a mecca either of suburbia.
Wonder if it comes down to these two what are the pro’s and con’s for you? Kinda a nice problem to have here btw…
Confirming Illinois Promise includes transfers as well as new freshman: https://osfa.illinois.edu/types-of-aid/other-aid/illinois-promise/
I have visited neither UIUC nor W&L, but would like to throw out this thought:
A highly selective state flagship like UIUC screams at me: we are the place for the brightest and most hardworking kids from the state of Illinois, and that is as far as we care about who your family are. We want you because we think you are one of those and we’re offering you so much money to prove it.
A conservative LAC like W&L screams at me: we are the place for bright white kids from rich families from the south east but we are diversifying in order to come off well in the New York Times. We want you because you fill a defined niche on our carefully composed campus and we are offering you so much money to prove it.
They do both sincerely want you, but not quite in the same way, KWIM?
I would really investigate if you transfer what you lose or gain by it. One thing that I think might of been mentioned is that UIUC is extremely generous on AP credits like a 3 or up gets you credit. I forgot how many if any the OP has taken and if this applies but getting a complete semester out of the way could be a large boost to doing research or doing other things on campus. Not many schools give as much credit as UIUC does. Again, pro’s and con’s to everything.
My D went to HS in a city of 1M+, so I worried about her feeling hemmed in by the tiny town of Lexington. She said she would probably live the rest of her life in cities, but this was her chance to experience a small town. Between her course load and extracurricular activities, she just would not have had time to take much advantage of city life anyway.
Since graduating, she has worked in two big cities but chose to attend grad school in a college town and says she is happy to be where she can get anywhere in fifteen minutes!
Yay! I got into Macalester College and they met my full demonstrated need (an essential full ride).
Congrats! Macalester is such a neat school. Given the two you have been weighing, would this fall to the bottom, or is it a real contender? Very different culturally thanW&L.
^ Very different! I live in MSP and drive past Mac several times a week. Let me know if you have any questions, OP!