<p>Haha.. rara_avis, I WISH I could take that advice. Granted, many people say my situation is a no-brainer, I beg to differ. The top 5 schools I'm considering are Princeton, Dartmouth, Cornell, Williams, and Amherst. I only visited Princeton. I COULD HAVE visited Williams but I went to a reception for Princeton students in my state instead. I COULD HAVE visited Dartmouth, but it's Open House overlapped w/ Princeton's, so I went to Princeton's instead. Honestly, deep down in my heart, I seem to love Princeton the most of all my schools. Unlike the OP, I truly did find an awesome vibe at April Hosting. I feared that the students would be priveleged, elitist, snobs, but I was surprised to find friendly, down-to-earth people. Their parties were insane (not sure yet if that's a good or bad thing). I loved practically everything about it. My big problem is that, I obviously have given Princeton the MOST attention of all my schools. Sure, it is arguably the best university in the nation in terms of undergraduate attention and of course, endowment per student. But what about my other schools? Dartmouth is good w/ undergrad too! Its location isn't the best, but I'm willing to make some sacrifices.</p>
<p>Ahh.... I'm pushing myself to make my decision tonight, once and for all. Since APs are coming up and I would like to declare a school for my scores to be sent to, I might as well know before May 1st (as I have 2 APs that day). I'll be filling out all the college response cards tonight. Any last minute insight? Should I go on virtual tours of the other schools and do tons of crazy research, or follow my heart/instincts? I'd appreciate any and all advice! Thanks, and congrats to those definitely going to Princeton. We will most likely be Pton '10 class mates. :D</p>
<p>-Jon ;)</p>