<p>These are the three schools I'm deciding between right now. I'm interested in double majoring--one of the majors would be either Cognitive Science, Psychology, or Neuroscience. The other could be something like International Relations (or another social science).</p>
<p>I come from a very small private school and am a bit unsure of how I'll adapt to a large school atmosphere. You might say, then, that UMich is out, but I don't see it that way. </p>
<p>I'm from New York, got no financial aid unfortunately, so don't factor cost into your discussion.</p>
<p>Which of these schools fit me best? Which should I choose?</p>
<p>UMich, without question. Though there isn’t an “International Relations” major, I believe you can concentrate in that within the Ford School. However, if you wanted to major in political science, it is one of the top 5 poli. sci. programs in the nation. Tufts is well-known for its IR, but it’s national/international prestige can’t compare. As far as psychology, michigan is EXTREMELY well regarded. It’s hard to read any psych publication without seeing UMich referenced. I believe only Stanford has a “better” psych. dept. I’m not very familiar with Carelton, but would be very willing to say it doesn’t measure up in these two fields. A friend of mine will be majoring in Political Psychology there next year and could not be happier. Those two departments are VERY strong at Michigan. As far as size, I’ve heard multiple times “you can make is big school small, but you can’t make a small school big.” The learning communities at michigan absolutely “shrink” the university. Maybe take a look at honors.</p>
<p>It is quite difficult to compare Carleton and Michigan. Carleton is a very small, top liberal arts college and Michigan a huge, public, research university. I can tell you, though, that the average Carleton student would not really fit in at Michigan, and vice versa. The schools are very different and are for different types of people. Regardless, both are great schools.</p>
<p>Have you visited those schools? You really should. Those are three completely different types of schools. You cannot go wrong really, so go for fit.</p>
<p>“I can tell you, though, that the average Carleton student would not really fit in at Michigan, and vice versa. The schools are very different and are for different types of people.”</p>
<p>This is what I thought when I applied to Michigan, but I’ve found that there are many really intelligent students from my school who applied to almost all liberal arts schools and Michigan. I asked one of those kids why he chose Michigan, and he said there’s living and learning communities that sort of have a liberal arts type feel to them. I’m not really familiar with the programs, but I’m sure Alexandre or somebody else knows what I’m talking about. I think there are definitely some ways to choose programs and living communities that might make a large public school like Michigan less overwhelming.</p>