<p>I find myself in a tough situation right now. I got into Stanford in December and I've received likely letters from Columbia, Yale, Penn, & Williams. However, Williams has offered me the Tyng scholarship there which covers up to 3 years of graduate/professional school, provides summer stipends, and eliminates loans & need for work study in the financial aid package. </p>
<p>What do you all think? Is the networking and environment provided by a larger research university comparable to what Williams has to offer?. I HAVE visited Williams and while I didn't fall in love with the location, I wouldn't mind it either. I have yet to visit any other other campuses but I plan to do so in April. </p>
<p>While I know that there are no "bad" options, I really need help with deciding what to do because I literally change opinion every day :/ </p>
<p>No one can even remotely try to decide what you like because no one here knows you personally. However, if no school jumps out at you, then go for the money. Really just visit and see how you feel and what you think after. Sorry, but not sure any other answer makes much sense. Now, if you were my next door neighbor or good friend from school, I would have a more qualified answer. </p>
<p>I add that given your list, it should be rather easy to make a decision re Williams - the other schools are huge and way more urban than Williams, with Penn being indistinguishable from Philly really. I would be amazed if that difference alone did not jump out at you and literally choose for you. The environment of the others could not be more different than Williams. Plus class sizes of 100 vs 20 are there too.</p>
<p>Well, I was hoping I could get some useful pros/cons of each general option as opposed to the typical (or rather general) name vs a better financial package? Any ideas? Thanks.</p>
<p>All the pros in the world mean zilch if you do not like living and socializing in the place. All great options - go to the one where you feel most comfortable after you visit. </p>
<p>I think my DS did it just right. When he walked on to the campus of the school he finally chose, his first words were, “I get this!” Yep, you want to go to the school that you get. And, yes, he is having a blast (working harder than ever), but enjoying it immensely. </p>
<p>I’m the parent of a Williams alum so I’m somewhat biased here. Turning down Stanford and Yale and to a lesser extent Columbia and Penn is not an easy decision to make under any circumstances.</p>
<p>Without knowing your field and your career objectives it’s difficult to say which college would serve you better. You could take a look at what past Tyng scholars have accomplished and see how that stacks up against your goals.</p>
<p>The difference in the money offered – just the undergrad part alone – may or may not be significant to you and your family. </p>
<p>I think the difference in ambiance and teaching style between a larger research university and a small liberal arts college – even those with similar endowments – is the main point of consideration. Some people enjoy a competitive diverse and somewhat impersonal atmosphere, some like it more insular, collaborative and intense.</p>
<p>My son (who was not in the sciences) had a wonderful experience at Williams. He did fall in love with the environment and that was a big factor in his happiness there. He made a close friends who, I’m sure, will be with him for the rest of his life. They are all doing amazing things. He got an excellent education, internships, job and graduate school counseling, repeated heartfelt recommendations from professors, and a headstart on his career. </p>
<p>The Williams name carries a lot of weight with east coast employers; maybe less so in the rest of the country. Graduate and professional schools know it well and respect the quality of education; however, if you’re looking for name recognition among the general public, Williams is not the place. </p>
<p>momrath is dead on in what she says, but I stress, you better first and foremost want to live wherever you go. </p>
<p>Years ago, every person I knew who transferred out of my school and those who transferred in all did for the same reason - they wanted to live somewhere else. It had nothing to do with the level of education they were getting or even teaching style. A couple even acknowledged they were giving up a better teaching style for them. However, they wanted different surroundings. Please note that all the friends they made etc. did not matter. Think of it this way - people never stay in a neighborhood they do not like regardless if their friends live next door. </p>
<p>You have to love the environment first to get the most of it; comfort zone matters much, especially when studying hard for that mid-term. Now, unless there is some off beat major for which you would suffer a place you did not like, then that’s your choice. But this does not sound like the case.</p>
<p>Silly me, I could use my DS as the perfect example here too. One school on your list UPenn had one of the best programs (if not the best) for a major he was thinking on and was up near top of his list. But upon touring Penn, he could not even see living in Philly. He never applied. </p>
<p>What a fantastic position to be in and what an honor to get than scholarship offer. It will help a lot if you give more info. Do you have a decided major/career in mind and how strongly are you attached to it. How important is cost to your family and how much will those other colleges cost and will you have to take loans there?</p>
<p>I personally don’t think stepping onto campus and making a snap decision is anyway to decide. That is like falling in lust instead of love.</p>
<p>^^ I do not think anyone advocated a snap decision. Walking around for 5 hours, going out to lunch in the area and taking tours and talking to students lets you know if you are comfortable. </p>
<p>The advocation is make sure you are comfortable and want to really live there and see yourself living there. You can easily tell that in 4 - 5 hours; sometimes 3 hours. </p>
<p>A place will either start warming up to you or not. If you do not have this feeling of I want to be there, be careful. Taking the lust and love example, thinking that I may learn to like something is like thinking you will learn to love someone. That does not happen. </p>
<p>Back to my son example - he thought Philly was congested and crowded (well, definitely based on what he is used to, it is). After 5 hours, he realized he could not learn to tolerate that; no matter how great the school’s program is. That is not a snap decision; it is understanding what you like and do not like. </p>
<p>But I will say I can easily see someone going to a school and realizing rather fast that they could not be there for some reason. I know two people who could not stand the architecture and campus at Mudd and could not see themselves there; they wanted a completely different type of campus. That happened rather quick for each of them. I do think wanting to be in the environment is important to living a full life of school. Trust yourself; you will know. </p>
<p>One of my kids, after graduating from a LAC, is now a PhD candidate at one of the universities you are considering. He would attest to the amazing level of resources and connections available there. On the other hand, he has been disappointed in the size and instructional quality of some of his classes. He says if he had to do college over again, he would not choose a research university over a LAC. In my opinion, you are likely to get a more consistently excellent classroom experience at Williams than you would at nearly any national university. <a href=“Tutorials – Academics”>http://www.williams.edu/academics/tutorials/</a></p>
<p>Moreover, the Willams College Tyng scholarship is one of the best scholarships, maybe THE best academic scholarship, available anywhere in America. Depending on your need, it provides up to the full COA for 4 years (minus some “self help”) PLUS a summer stipend … PLUS funding for up to 3 years of graduate/professional school (covering up to $180K for a law, medical, or other program). </p>
<p>Do they throw in a set of steak knives engraved with the Williams seal? What other college provides a scholarship that generous?</p>
<p>^^ Haha! The comment above is the reason for my very first post to the OP. I found Yale very easy to pass up. None of us have any idea of his likes and dislikes; only he knows and will react accordingly. </p>
<p>I find @awcntdb to be the only one trying to be objective for the OP @TXHopeful2014. OP…I believe you know deep inside where you want to be the next 4 years regardless of all the razmataz offered by some schools. If I were you…I would attend the admitted student weekend days at the schools that hold the highest interest…and decide after your visits. You will KNOW where you belong and thrive. Best wishes.</p>
<p>P.S. You will also get a better sense of where you want to go/belong after the March carnage (most major decisions will be coming out by end of March)…when you find out where the students you respect the most or least respect (there are some dubious “cheaters/brown-nosers” students in each high school) got accepted to or rejected from…it’s another measuring stick that students often use…</p>
<p>Wow, $180,000 toward grad/professional school is…basically handing you law, business, or med school virtually for free. If you think there’s a real chance that you would want to go to any of those, then that is worth WAY more than the networking at Stanford/Yale. If you had a good visit to Williams, and didn’t mind the location, then I would find this impossible to pass up if I had an interest in professional school.</p>
<p>Thanks to everyone for your valuable insight! @texaspg The financial aid for Williams has a higher EFC (about 5k higher) than the other schools but doesn’t contain any work-study. The other schools are around equal in terms of the size of the FA packages offered. @BrownParent Right now I’m looking into majoring in Chemistry with perhaps a double major/minor in the humanities. Being able to major in such different fields without much difficulty is one of the reasons I love LACs (such as Williams) but I’m not sure yet. My goal is to go to med school one day but I’m not 100% close-minded on the idea. I’m definitely open to learning new thing and engaging in interdisciplinary subjects while in college.</p>
<p>^^ You state, “The other schools are around equal in terms of the size of the FA packages offered.”</p>
<p>To be accurate, it is not equal. Williams includes FA beyond Williams, which the other schools are not doing. </p>
<p>I apologize in that I missed your first sentence - You are welcome. </p>
<p>PS: You might need to research the colleges a bit more in that your choices are so different. I note you state that you want to explore disciplines and sounds like you are thinking on double-majoring. Research how difficult that can be at Penn. Penn is pretty far from an LAC as you can get; it is really a pre-professional research university.</p>
<p>@awcntdb I meant equal with each other… as in not including Williams, lol. </p>
<p>And yeah… to be honest sometimes I see Stanford’s science/engineering focus as a huge plus and other days I find Yale/Columbia’s humanities more appealing (although their sciences are also great but I guess arguably not as prevalent as at Stanford???). Penn’s pre-professionalism definitely has its perks but I’m not sure I’d be able to adjust to such a community but at the same time I think Philly is pretty great and totally different from my city in Texas, but then again, so are all the other choices. Man… </p>
<p>If your present goal is med school, I think that is just about decisive in favor of the Tyng (unless you are really rich or you think you would hate being at a small, rural school). Since you aren’t rich and you “love LACs” and see Williams as a very appealing option on its own merits…I would not pass up the $180k for med school. That’s an incomparable opportunity.</p>