<p>The question:
What are the unique aspects of these schools that distinguish them from others; why should i pick this school over other same-calibur schools?</p>
<p>The schools:
University of Michigan, Stanford, Johns Hopkins, Northwestern, Cornell, WUSTL</p>
<p>Imput on any or all of these schools would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!</p>
<p>Michigan has lots of people, Stanford is really warm and on the West unlike its Eastern counterparts, JHU is cutt throat and in a rough neighborhood, Northwestern is good all around and fun, Cornell is cold and rigorous.</p>
<p>Great...what about the school policies, requirements, housing, etc?</p>
<p>I wouldn't say JHU is in a rough neighborhood.....the medical school is, but the main Homewood campus area is not so bad and at least 1/2 the boundary surrounded by very high-end neighborhhods.</p>
<p>Which major are you talking about? Michigan, Stanford, and Northwestern are big-time sports schools. Not so at JHU and Cornell (except Cornell hockey and maybe lacross at JHU...is that right?). </p>
<p>The climate at Stanford is terribly monotonous, dull, and boring...an endless ordeal of sunny sameness. For meteorological excitement, come to Cornell!!</p>
<p>Each of those schools is unique and they are all awesome:</p>
<p>Cornell University is a large private university and an Ivy League. It is located in a small and relatively secluded town. Although small and secluded, Ithaca is very charming and the nature around Cornell is awesome. Students at Cornell tend to be laid back and friendly. Academically, the university is tough, but the students are generally team players. One of the things that makes Cornell unique is its academic versitility. Cornell is excellent in alomost every traditional discipline, from the Sciences to the Humanities to Engineering to the Social Sciences. Cornell is also excellent in non traditional majors, such as Industrial and Labor Relations, Hotel Management and the school of Human Ecology. Cornell is also awesome in Architecture and Agriculture. Cornell winters are cold.</p>
<p>Johns Hopkins University is known primarily for having one of the top 2 or 3 medical schools in the US, if not the World. But Johns Hopkins is actually a very well rounded university, top in several fields of study, including History, Music, English, Economics, International Relations and Biology. The campus, although beautiful, lacks the liveliness you would find at many universities. Johns Hopkins is a very serious university, more like a think tank than an undergraduate institution, and the academic atmosphere reflects that. Johns Hopkins is very rigorous. Baltimore winters are not too cold, but it does get cold from time to time. </p>
<p>Northwestern University is a great private research university located in a college town called Evanston, not 10 miles North of Chicago, one of best cities in North America. The campus iteself is rather nice and right on Lake Michigan. Northwestern is generally considered to be pretty "pre-professional", with many of its students opting to go to Law School or Medical School or hitting the real world when they graduate. Academically, Northwestern is excellent in a number of fields, including Chemistry, Economics, Engineering, Journalism and several other fields. People often think that Northwestern has an excellent Business school. Although that is the case at the grduate level, at the undergraduate level, Northwestern does not offer the Business option. The university works on a quarter system rather than a semester system. Chicago winters can be brutal. </p>
<p>Stanford University is the "golden boy" of American universities. Great campus, great weather, beautiful students, amazing academics etc... Stanford is located in a small, upscale town roughly 45 minutes-60 minutes drive from downtown San Francisco. The campus is sprawling and looks more like a Spanish country club than an academic institution. Academically, Stanford, although completely laid back, is quite intense. Like Cornell, Stanford is strong in everything. In fact, Stanford is quite possibly the best at everything. As far as I am concerned, it is the best university in the United States. </p>
<p>University of Michigan is the quintessential public university. Although the university is large, it still manages to feel small thanks to the size and layout of the campus and the vast resources at its disposal. The city of Ann Arbor is the ideal college town. Academically, Michigan is quite possibly the most complete university in the nation, ranking in the top 10 in every field of study imaginable, from Engineering to Business, Architecture to Nursing, Musing to Art, History to Economics, Political Science to Sociology, Mathematics to Physics etc... The campus is very lively and school spirit hard to match. Michigan is also practically unbeatable in the revenue sports, especially Footall. Michigan football is huge, from the largest stadium in the country (over 110,000 fans at every game) to the most rousing fight song (hail to the victors). Michigan also has the largest and one of the wealthiest alumni networds in the United States, with over 400,000 living alumni. Michigan winters are cold. </p>
<p>Washington University is a school I am not very familiar with unfortunately.</p>
<p>Thanks, that was VERY helpful.</p>
<p>I have visited Hopkins, Northwestern, and Washington...While they are all great schools, i am not sure any are right for me. Hopkins seemed too pre-med focused for someone who probably will not go into med; Northwestern is beautiful but i dont think its pre-professionalism is really what i want; Washington was nice but NOTHING stood out about it and i could find all its aspects at another school.</p>
<p>I have not, and probably will not, had a chance to visit Stanford or Cornell. However, i have several friends who were at Stanford over the summer and they all loved it and it seems like THE ideal school, the main drawback being that it is so far away (i live in MI). I'm not so sure about Cornell as it is larger and more in the middle of nowhere...but it is great in physics, so i have heard, and it could be a possibility.</p>
<p>Actually, the other 2 schools i am considering are UCHicago (my 1st choice i think) and Michigan. I know quite a lot about both these places, which is why i did not include them.</p>
<p>Does anyone have any more imput?</p>
<p>If you can get into Michigan, it's hard to beat when you're paying around 1/4 as much in tuition as going OOS to the same quality schools. You have a better chance there than any other school you have listed, as well.</p>
<p>
[quote]
Stanford is quite possibly the best at everything
[/quote]
</p>
<p>Including athletics! :)</p>
<p>I am going to add Case Western to the list, as a safety. Anyone know much about it?</p>
<p>I find it humorous that everyone is referring to Stanford's "great weather." While it is true that Stanford doesn't get snow, I hope everyone realizes that Stanford is in Northern California, not Southern California. The weather can be downright chilly in the winter, and also quite rainy. If you want "great weather" you need to go to UCLA or USC or one of the other southern California schools. Don't go to Stanford expecting to be laying on the beach in February. :)</p>
<p>Anything about Case Western?</p>
<p>Case is a very similar university to Chicago and Johns Hopkins, only not as good.</p>
<p>Alexandre--all the time I was at Michigan, I never realized they had a "Musing" major. Too bad; it would've been perfect for me! :)</p>
<p>So Case could be a good safety for me?</p>
<p>What are your stats like? Case is not really a safety...not in the real sense of the word anyway.</p>
<p>ACT - 34, SAT - 2210
at least 5 APs, and 3.95 UW GPA</p>
<p>I take safety to mean somewhere where i'd most likely get in...and since i am above all/most the stats and it has such a high acceptance rate...</p>
<p>vinco, you have no safeties on your list that match your stats. University of Michigan may be a solid match, but it's not a true safety. Case is probably also a match. All of the others on your list (including Northwestern) are, at best, reaches. Indeed, apply to them. But I'd recommend you also look for a couple of real safeties so you are not unpleasantly surprised next April.</p>
<p>I probably will end up applying to Michgan State just in case. However, my high school usually sends a good percentage of each class to Michigan, and most of those kids have much lower scores and grades than mine, so i am pretty confident that i will be accepted there. Thanks for your advice :-).</p>
<p>I would not say that Michigan and Case are matches. They are more like safe matches. And Northwestern and Cornell are matches or match reaches. But Stanford is definitely a big reach.</p>
<p>Vinco, apply to Michigan NOW. You will most likely get an acceptance by mid Octrober. At that point, you do not have to worry about Johns Hopkins, Case or MSU and can focus on Stanford, Cornell and Northwestern.</p>