For those unfamiliar…the Johnson guarantees full tuition, room, and board for four years, while also providing $7,000 for summer/extracurricular opportunities.
Thoughts? Is it worth turning down W&L to attend Penn (I received 1.7K in grant aid)? My parents are willing to contribute 35-40K/year, but no more…thus far, financial aid appeals have not been fruitful.
To add some context, the reasons I worry about W&L are as follows:
- Lack of a dedicated applied math/stats department; to a lesser extent, an accredited engineering curriculum. I’m very interested in applied math and stats. I eventually want to go into a job in the data science field…how easy is it to get into the field right after graduating from a liberal arts college such as W&L? Or, would I need to go to grad. school first?
- A possibly too relaxed/not ambitious enough of a student body…
- The bucolic setting (albeit exceptionally beautiful) isn’t ideal…but I would enjoy it nonetheless.
- Perhaps too small of a student body with too much of a boarding school feel.
To add, my parents would be able to continue supporting my equestrian pursuits (actually to a much greater degree) if I attend W&L. At other schools, this is unlikely, even impossible. This equestrian sport availability would definitely play a big role in keeping me “happy” at college, but it’s not a factor directly derived from the educational experience, so I don’t know if it’s worth considering in this dilemma.
Many thanks! I hope you don’t get lost in this musing of mine…