Turning down Washington and Lee's Johnson Scholarship for Georgetown?

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 Georgetown (I received no 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:

  1. Lack of a dedicated stats/applied math program 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? Georgetown has no stats major, but it has a minor and, after all, the resources of a prestigious research university.
  2. A possibly too relaxed/not ambitious enough of a student body…
  3. The bucolic setting (albeit exceptionally beautiful) isn’t ideal…but I would enjoy it nonetheless.
  4. 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…

Free college is good college.