So Here's The Dilemma...

College Search & Selection
1

<p>Interest: I want to study econ, public policy, political science, public health, international relations, or the social sciences.</p>

<p>Background: I've been accepted to Case Western and Brandeis with a few thousand less than full tuition in merit aid, to Wellesley with 13K in financial aid, the University of Chicago with no financial or merit aid, and two other universities with merit aid that I've edged out of the running. Essentially the battle wages on between UChicago, Wellesley, and Brandeis.</p>

<p>UChicago Brief Analysis: I adore everything about Chicago (besides the roughly 50K a year price), and realize that few degrees are as marketable as an econ B.S. from its top-ranked department. I crave the intellect and intensity of the student body more than anything else, in addition to the gorgeous campus and dorms. Chicago excels in almost every subject I have ever considered. My mom is worried about the intense workload here. Lots of diversity.</p>

<p>Wellesley Brief Analysis: Wellesley has a breathtaking campus and intellectual student body, but without the special curiosity and intensity unique to Chicago. It's also 15K less than UChic per year. They have cross-registration with MIT and amazing professors, and the all-girls thing is not a huge deal (though I don't like their community bathrooms and small rooms). I understand the Wellesley name has considerable prestige (and its in Boston). Lots of diversity.</p>

<p>Brandeis Brief Analysis: Rounding out the top three, Brandeis will require no loans and I should be able to take it a little easier. They have a reputable health policy program and several famous professors. Small classes, proximity to Boston, and lots of merit aid set this college apart. However I'm worried about the community bathrooms and cramped housing, the few larger class sizes in the first year, and less-intense or intellectually curious students. I have no problem with the large Jewish population, but there's not tons of diversity on campus, and the buildings are not in wondrous condition. </p>

<p>Questions: Is paying back a $120K loan for Chicago (probably with a econ degree) feasible, even if I have to postpone grad school to pay off my dream education? (aka will the lower living cost but similar pay in chicago compared to boston and the prestigious UC degree allow me to pay off my loans in a reasonable time frame?)
Should I take the more moderate $50K in loans at the similarly well-reputed Wellesley?
Or should I take on no loans and go to Brandeis, which is also an excellent school? (aka should I compromise a few small preferences to save a lot of money but pass up the spectacular Chicago experience? or even the unique Wellesley one?)</p>

<p>............I'd appreciate any advice, insights, or comments</p>

2

<p>$120k sounds really steep- is that including interest?
i would say only consider Chicago if you're 100% sure you want to study econ. im not saying it isnt good at other subjects but if you want to another subject from the social sciences its likely to be just as good at wellesley and brandeis for less money.</p>

<p>i got accepted to both wellesley and brandeis- my sister is at wellesley and she really likes it- she takes quite a few classes at mit and i know that the academics are really rigorous. that said the two smartest people in my school last year went to brandeis because of the awesome aid they got. brandeis is up and coming for the sciences and as you said, good health policy program.
personally, i would go with wellesley if you're not sure about econ. the choice is yours- why not surf the course catalog for each college online and get a clearer idea of whats on offer.
good luck!!</p>

3

<p>I think that you should choose Wellesley or Brandeis. If you love Chicago that much, you could go there for grad school. I think it would be very burdensome to have to pay back a $120,000 loan, and that kind of debt would seriously restrict your options for grad school.</p>

4

<p>It's probably best to forget about Chicago for now. You don't need that much debt when you will probably be making $40,000 per year in your first job. Plus, as NSM suggested, it would be very hard to go to grad school with that much debt. </p>

<p>You sound like you prefer Wellesley to Brandeis, so you should probably go there with more moderate debt.</p>

5

<p>I would also suggest either Wellesley or Brandeis (and am a Chicago alum). Really, no school is worth that much debt. Follow your heart with the other two choices.</p>

6

<p>it sounds like wellesley is the best choice for you</p>

7

<p>Wellesley vote.</p>

8

<p>why are you so freaked out by community bathrooms? every college has them.</p>

9

<p>my older sister went to a even crappier college and had non- community bathrooms. she had to share them w/ only a few people(meaning every 3-4sometimes 2 rooms shared a bathroom not a whole floor or half a floor shared onne)</p>

10

<p>Kaulie,</p>

<p>I am a first-year at Brandeis and very happy- academically and socially. Econ is the most popular major here and my friends in that department are very pleased with the instruction. Politics are also popular and strong. The Heller School of Social Policy is internationally-known, and undergrads are welcome to take those courses. The bathrooms at Brandeis are not different than any other college bathrooms, to the best of my knowledge. It is true that some students live in a lofted triple. First of all, and this not BS, living in a triple has definite advantages. First of all, you start the year with two friends, and your potential social network is doubled. Dynamics in triple rooms are great. Many students who are given the chance to live in a regular double or a single, when the space is availble, choose to remain in the trouple because they don't know how the dynamics of the roomate relationships would change if one person was removed. There are few large-courses (Intro to Econ, Intro to Political Theory are two that you would probably take). Like at other schools, there are discussion sections led by Graduate Teaching Fellows. My experiences with TFs have been incredible. Both TFs I had were excellent instructors and they did a great job of reinforcing the material. Lastly, there's the money factor. You are very lucky to be receiving Merit Aid from Brandeis. I don't know how your family's financial situation is, but Merit Aid is substanial. Think about all you could purchase with the money you saved-- vacations, cars and a graduate education. Which brings me to my next point, grad schools know a Brandeis education is valuable. While a Brandeis degree may not cause "common people" to be impressed, graduate schools and professionals (people from big firms that recruit here) look highly on a Brandeis degree.</p>

<p>About us not being intellecutal, I was just listening to my friend have an hour-long conversation about foreign affairs.</p>

11

<p>If you're Jewish go to Brandeis.</p>

12

<p>I would definitely go to Wellesley</p>