<p>Well, let me just say that before I had visited both I was almost positive I would like them. I had read a bunch of stuff about them and like most of it.</p>
<p>When I got to BU, it really hit me that they have 16,000 undergrad. 16,000. That’s almost as big as some state schools. And it is not what I wanted. I was looking for much smaller schools (max 10,000 ideally 3,000-5,000). As well, the campus was just… URBAN. It didn’t feel like a real campus at all. I like to describe it as NYU in Boston. If big, urban, private schools are your thing, then BU should be great for you. But, 'twas not for me.</p>
<p>WUSTL I was a lot more convinced about. I was even sure I would buy a t-shirt. But when we crossed the Mississippi into Missouri, I wasn’t too keen on the city. The Arch was cool and all, but I wouldn’t want to live for 4 years with that monstrosity peeking out all the time. As well, St. Louis just felt a lot like the city that I’m from (sprawling suburban city with tall buildings and all the “action” condensed into one small sector of downtown). I wanted to escape that kind of environment and live in a real traditional city (Chicago, DC, Boston, Philadelphia, etc). When I got to campus, it just didn’t click. The people were nice, the buildings were beautiful, the lawns were lush, but I just couldn’t see myself going there. I’m not diminishing the school’s academic prowess, WUSTL is a wonderful university, but it just is not for me. I got the impression that there was too much liberty in the academic curriculum (I like a bit of structure, which is partly why my #1 is UChicago).</p>
<p>For all you know, your daughter may fall in love with WUSTL and/or BU. But I was happy that I visited both so I could cross them off my list, now I don’t have to waste $70 to apply to each. </p>
<p>BC has a freaking AMAZING campus, part of the reason it’s still on my list. Tufts also has a beautiful campus, but it was more the academics aura that caught my eye. I don’t think Tufts has nearly the academic structure that UofC does, but they certainly didn’t push the idea of academic liberty and freedom as much as WUSTL does. Tufts is right now my #4 and I would be thrilled to be a Jumbo.</p>
<p>Good luck!</p>
<p>P.S. I also went on a trip to DC back in March where I visited Georgetown (my #2, however it was my #1 up until my UChicago visit) and GWU (which I did not like for almost the exact same reasons as BU).</p>
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