<p>my goodness. that i pray that you, incubyte, quit this thread and choose yourself! </p>
<p>and seriously, if my kids (future) wanted to go someplace instead of an ivy league school, i would be thrilled that i could make them so happy.</p>
<p>It's okay. I'm simply looking for some different points of view and see if there is any compelling information I may have missed so far. I will definitely be making my decision on my own.</p>
<p>
[quote]
incubyte: If this happen to be my child. I would have told we pay iff you go to Harvard. U of Chicago or Rice you are on your own.</p>
<p>It doesn't make sense to give up Harvard for U of Chicago.
[/quote]
</p>
<p>Excuse my suspending the rules of CC civility...but this is disgusting. You make me sick. People like you are the reason college admissions is so screwed up and will continue to be for decades. I know this is a bit broad, but I would encourage you to reevaluate your life a little if you would honestly put a name over your child's happiness.</p>
<p>To the OP - go where you know you'll be happy. And that doesn't just mean where you'll be happy with the prestige factor of your school, but the environment in which you will be most comfortable and have the most potential for personal and intellectual growth. I know people who turned down Harvard for Wash U, transferred out of Harvard to Dartmouth, etc etc. They realized that H wasn't the place they wanted to be, and I don't think they ever looked back on their decisions. I personally was deferred EA and then rejected from Harvard. I am sure some here will just accuse me of being a "sore loser," but after talking to people that have gone there, and knowing what I know three years after graduating high school, if I had to do college admissions over I wouldn't even apply, much less make it my first choice. Wherever you end up, college will SUCK if you are miserable because the college you attend can't deliver the experience that you are looking for.</p>
<p>incubyte -- I hope you have a neutral party that you can discuss the pros and cons of your choices with.</p>
<p>Can you make a list of pros and cons of each school? That is how my kids and I always make our decisions -- we list out a certain factor (like diversity of student body, size, whether TA teach classes, reputation of areas of interest, weather, food, etc). then, next to each category put a check, a minus or a plus and add a few comments.</p>
<p>Usually, it will become obvious what the choice should be -- especially because as you are going along, you will be thinking about that one category. for instance, weather -- for me, it is an issue. I like sunshine (temperature isn't an issue) so I would hate to go somewhere that is cloudy alot. My sons don't care about that -- but my youngest likes snow and warm weather to do outdoor things. As you make the list (and make it long and include anything you can think about that you care about) you will see where your inclinations lie.</p>
<p>I would go to Harvard, only for graduating there, you will have preference over everyone else in terms of job offers and further University study.</p>
<p>^</p>
<p>Amen. As much as you love Chicago, you CANNOT turn down Harvard. Harvard is not just a name. It has earned validity in the minds of many people for its outstanding academic programs that are still prestige througout all these years. Although Chicago is a great school as well, its only been on the rise the last 10-20 years. </p>
<p>Take me for example.. I've been obsessed with California for over 2 years. I was willing to fly out there (3000 miles away from home) for 2 summer sessions as a junior in high school. </p>
<p>However, I decided to chose NYU over UCSD... as much as I love the school and location. I know NYU will open up many MORE doors for my communication major. It'll be a challenge nontheless! No way I can give up NYU for UCSD. </p>
<p>*You must at least test drive Harvard! If you truly hate it after 1 year, transfer to Chicago..... you're pretty much 75% in already :) *</p>
<p>If you choose Chicago, you know you'll definately be curious enough to wonder at one point or another how you'd be if you stuck with Harvard!</p>
<p>Go to Harvard...Chicago is not worth paying more for...</p>
<p>Rice </p>
<p>;)</p>
<p>pretty sure you could renegotiate if HARVARD is giving you a much better offer. That's about as good a card you can have barter-wise.</p>
<p>I know Rice seems all but forgotten on this thread, but actually, since you brought it up, Bill Clinton gave a speech at Rice this spring. Been there, done that. The Dalai Lama will be arriving shortly.</p>
<p>Pwned, Harvard.</p>
<p>OP: Go to Harvard, if for no other reason than to make those pretentious prestige-whore Harvard rejects feel more inadequate beside you. ;)</p>
<p>Seriously, go for the best fit and where you think you'll be happy.</p>
<p>Think about what you want to do with your life. If your sole goal is to make as much money as possible, no matter how terrible your 4 year undergraduate experience is, then by all means, go to Harvard. But if you want a good academic experience, go to Chicago.</p>
<p>I'm really shocked by the many of the responses to this thread. I can't believe that no one has said one word that the OP has received $74,000 in scholarship money to Rice, and given the lower tuition price, that could well translate into a $100,000 differential. You guys are way too influenced by rankings. Do you really think that the opportunities and undergraduate experience at Harvard or Chicago would be worth $100,000 more than at Rice? You might want to find the thread posted by taxguy on the Parent's Forum as to how much money this would equate to if invested instead of spent on tuition.</p>
<p>"But if you want a good academic experience, go to Chicago."</p>
<p>For heaven's sake. It's fine to prefer whatever school you like, but suggesting that the OP wouldn't have a good academic experience at Harvard is just silly. Harvard can blow your mind academically if that's the kind of education you're looking for.</p>
<p>Just wondering -- is there anyone else on the thread who's taken undergraduate courses at both Harvard and Chicago, or lived on both campuses, or spent 10+ nights staying in dorms at each? That's the basis for my statements. OP, my two cents is that you should expect people who try to tell you where to go to share the source of their information about each campus, and if they don't...well, the National Enquirer doesn't, either. How reliable are they?</p>
<p>After saying up front that I have not had to make a decision between two colleges yet, going through the process myself I would recommend going to where YOU feel most comfortable- your dream school- Chicago.</p>
<p>I understand this is on a MUCH different scale, but I faced a similiar decision in high school. I got into my dream school but also had the opportunity to attend some of the best high schools in the country. My parents made that decision for me (the best in the country cost twice as much), and yes, sometimes I look back and wish I had those name brands. But I know deep down that even with the advantange of that name, I would not be as happy as I am now.</p>
<p>
[quote]
It has world class programs in everything I will want to study. I'll be close to home, and I'll already know a few people there. At the same time, I want to get away from all this familiarity and completely start over for college. Still, I know Harvard will open many doors for me simply because of it's name. Same reason why my parents will pay for Harvard no matter what.
[/quote]
</p>
<p>I would recommend that you go to Harvard. Not trying to patronize you, but high school seniors often have an inaccurate idea of what college is like. They think they have this idea of a "dream school" or that they'll be happy at some school and when they arrive they're miserable. For example, all the time I see threads popping up with titles like "out of these [insert top schools] which one has an intellectual atmosphere" or "which college has the hottest girls". Many think that choosing one top college over another will greatly affect the kind of life you will lead for the next four years. The truth is, it mostly depends on what you do once you get into college. Want an intellectual atmosphere in a college? Find the intellectuals. Join the clubs that interest you. There are smart kids in every top college. Want to find hot girls? They are there at every college. Want small classes? Find a catalogue and search for the small classes. Most colleges have a minority of large intro classes with mostly smaller classes. Look at Berkeley (large public university) and Stanford (elite small university). 7% of Berkeley's classes are 100 or more, while 75% are 30 or fewer. The figures are 5% and 79% for Stanford. Almost the same. Surprised? It's because many high school seniors, while deciding between colleges, look at the wrong criteria. Some things that really differentiate colleges:</p>
<ol>
<li><p>Price. If you can go to a similar college on a free ride or paying very little while another costs you $40,000+, then obviously that becomes a big consideration. This is the only reason I see that you should really consider Rice. Still, if your parents are willing and they aren't too bad off I would forget it.</p></li>
<li><p>Weather. Four years of cold, harsh winter weather at a NE college versus nice sunny Californian weather really makes a difference. Doesn't make much of a difference in your case though because frankly, the weather isn't great at UChicago or Harvard.</p></li>
<li><p>Location. An urban environment versus a rural one can make a big difference. There's so much to do at a city whereas in a small town (like Princeton, for example) you're really limited. It affects a lot of aspects from finding good restaurants to finding something to do on the weekend. Another thing about location is, I see so many students who want to get far away from home. While a change of scenery is good, you have to realize that a change of scenery of 50 miles and 3000 miles is the same: it's a change of scenery. Besides, after a while you'll get sick of your college scenery too, no matter where you attend. It's actually pretty convenient to be not too far away from home. For one thing, when you come back for break it won't be a hassle. Of course, if your college is in the same city or something I wouldn't recommend it.</p></li>
<li><p>Quality of the university. In my opinion by far the biggest factor in choosing a college. This is usually reflected pretty well in the rankings (despite what some naysayers say), although not perfectly. Harvard didn't get to be #1 by running a community-college level university. A good university can do so much for you. You'll be taught by smarter professors, surrounded by stronger peers, and have access to more resources (24 hour library comes to mind; Harvard has one). Want to do important research? A good university will do that for you. Want to get into a good grad program? A good university will give you a leg-up. Don't believe me? I don't have data for U Chicago but I'll give you data for colleges I'm more familiar with: UCs. Med-school acceptance rates for UCSD and UCLA are around 50%, and UC Berkeley around 63%. For Cornell (a similar school with a similar student body) it's around 78%. For Harvard/Princeton it's roughly around 90%. For med school admissions you need a high GPA and not only are the Ivies grade-inflated but they'll package you better and give you better advising. This also applies to law school and to an extent, grad programs. By the way, UChicago is a grade-deflated school.</p></li>
</ol>
<p>A lot of people on this thread have been saying "go to UChicago - you'll be happy there" but honestly you'll be pretty happy wherever you go, and sad sometimes, and stressed sometimes. The college itself won't affect your general state of happiness much, but it does affect other factors that you should consider.</p>
<p>idk who said harvard's academics are better than chicago's. that's a good one, i haven't had a good laugh in a while.</p>
<p>happiness > prestige</p>
<p>Going to UChicago will not close any doors for anything anywhere.</p>
<p>Yes... lakerskingdon comes to our forum on the U of C side of things and likes to post the same kind of blasphemy. I believe a ban may be the only real solution.</p>
<p>My two cents are this-
If you are not concerned with prestige, then I would consider taking Harvard off your list right now, as it doesnt even seem like you want to go there. True it is that Harvard is an amazing institution, but the students there will be massively different than Rice and Chicago. I can vouch for Chicago having an interesting student body, as I have been there a couple times. The students there really have a passion for learning, though not all of them (I would say <30% easily) are the shut in type that is always studying. From what I hear about the general ivy atmosphere, students are cutthroat and snooty; though I take this information with a grain of salt because I have never been to an ivy campus. I'm sure there are plenty of nice people there as well. Had I been choosing between Chicago and Harvard instead of the real situation (UW Madison and Chicago) I would have made the same choice. If you think you fit, Chicago will be amazing and you will get a world class education.</p>
<p>go to chicago
seriously
get a good internship
if ur parents really wont pay the extra 6,000
get a good internship or job or something,
or just get loans</p>
<p>dont go to harvard if its not ur top choice
and
what do you want to major in.</p>