The title pretty much says it all! I am choosing between attending either UMD, Tulane, or GWU this upcoming fall. I plan to major in business and am an in state resident in Maryland. I have been accepted to all of these schools but there are a few factors to consider. First, I have been admitted as a Spring 2016 admit at UMD and plan to enroll in Freshman Connection if I decide to go to UMD. Also, I have not been admitted to the business school so I would have to internally transfer into the program. I realize this is difficult but it is not impossible but is a factor to consider in my decision. Second, I have received a $15,000 yearly scholarship at GWU ($60,000 in total for all four years) and have been admitted into the business school. Also GWU appeals to me because I may want to get my law degree after I graduate and GWU has a great graduate law program. Third, I have always wanted to go somewhat far away to college. Tulane would meet this need perfectly. New Orleans seems like an amazing city and the school seems great as well. However, I did not receive any merit money to go there while I did at GWU and in state tuition at UMD is unsurpassed.
My question to you all is where would you go? What is everyone’s opinion of each school? Which school has the best overall reputation? What school has the best atmosphere? Which school has the best internship/job opportunities during school and after graduation? Also, what caliber of schools are these considered (bad, average, good, incredible)?
First, we have to know how critical the money might be to your family. Certainly this factor changes if your family income is $500,000 per year or $50,000 per year. You make it sound like saving the money is at least a factor, but how much of a factor matters.
Second, questions like
are impossible to answer. Well, except for the last one. They are all considered good schools. Most people won’t react the same as if you said Harvard or Stanford, but they are very good schools with excellent reputations for academics. I would say that once you remove regional biases, Tulane is probably considered to be the strongest academically, but these are fine distinctions that really don’t mean much.
The rest of what you ask is so individual in nature. One kid will love being in DC and not care that the campus is almost all concrete, and another will hate that last factor. Most of your other questions are variations on that same theme that all involve personal preferences. At least with UMD vs. the other two you have a stark contrast betwen a large state school and smaller private ones.
But unless money is a small factor, usually you are better off avoiding as much debt as possible and saving the money. That narrows it down to GW vs. UMD, and then you just have to decide if the extra money GW would cost is worth it for the smaller, private school experience, plus the uncertainty associated with UMD as far as getting into the program you want. At Tulane there are no barriers to choosing the business school as your major, and I assume GW is similar in that regard.
@fallenchemist Thank you for the response. Money of course is an important factor in my college decision. However, I can afford to go to any school. Wherever I go I will be fortunate enough to take on only a small amount of debt if I attend either GWU or Tulane and none at all if I go to UMD.
Also, I realize that the majority of my questions are individual in nature. The reason that I am asking them is because I want to know what people prefer. The reason I want to know this is due to the fact that I love all of them in their own way. I think GWU is interesting because it is mostly concrete and in the heart of DC. I love Tulane because it has a beautiful campus and is in the heart of another amazing city. I also love Maryland because it has great sports and a lot of school spirit. I just want to get a feel of what people prefer since I love aspects of all of these schools even though they all are so different.
Just to clarify, I want to know where everyone would choose to go if these were their options. I realize I may agree or disagree with their reasoning but I want to hear all of the reasons why I should attend school A over schools B or C and etc.
So if you were to answer that @fallenchemist I am assuming that you would chose Tulane (judging by your picture and your helpful insight on the Tulane page). Sorry if there was any confusion in my wording of the original question. Thank you again for your insight!
That’s OK, and if hearing what others would choose and why helps you, that’s fine of course. I did choose Tulane many years ago, and so did my D who just graduated last year. For me it was the best school that took me (I wasn’t quite the student my D was in high school, she got accepted to several schools more competitive in admissions than Tulane) combined with its location. For her it was a combination of financial reasons (full tuition scholarship), it was the kind of campus she was looking for, the right size, and she liked the vibe she felt. Boiling it down I think I could summarize her feeling as that the students were smart but not full of themselves, unlike the feeling she got at a couple of the Ivies she got accepted to. She also visited a couple of places that did have very urban campuses (not GW) and they didn’t appeal to her at all. She didn’t want the large school atmosphere and couldn’t have cared less about the sports teams at whatever school she chose. The temperate weather didn’t hurt either, but wasn’t a major factor.
So if the money isn’t going to factor into your decision, I think in some ways this should be an easy decision for you because each school has really distinctive features the others don’t. UMD - large and great sports (and cheapest), GW - urban and in the heart of DC and all that offers. Not much in the way of sports. Tulane - In a city but with a pseudo-suburban “movie style” campus, and in NOLA which is also unique. In between the other two in terms of the level of sports, but D1 in all sports. Also your most expensive option.
So I think you have to take into account these and any other factors you know about the schools that are important to you, do a kind of gut check exercise where you think through “Well, if I didn’t have this how badly would I miss having it” and figure out which feels like you want it the most. You will get an excellent education at all three, but UMD will feel the least personal for sure.
I was also accepted to the University of Maryland spring semester of 2016. In all honesty, I was not that upset when I got admitted to start late at UMD because I knew hardly anything about the school. In the New England, UMD is considered a good state university, but no one seems to know too much about it. So I kind of just applied to get another possibility, despite having/showing little to no interest.
GWU has a pretty good reputation. A TON of kids apply there from my boarding school in Connecticut. They are all pretty good students, but no one in the top 10% goes there unless there given a large amount of merit aid. GWU is definitely a good school, with tons of connections because of location, as well as good graduate school admission rates.
In my mind, I would definitely suggest you consider Tulane. I applied and was accepted at similar schools as you, and when I really looked into Tulane, I was beyond impressed. As FC said, it probably has the best notoriety and reputation, as well as the strongest academics. It also is probably the hardest to get into. However, in the long run, I don’t think these statistics really matter. Getting a degree from an elite school is nice, but it’s what you make of your degree which really matters. Plus, all the schools you have been accepted to have a good reputation, so you can’t go wrong.
Just really think about location, majors, student body, size and campus. Thats what I do and it works like a charm.
Also, money is not an issue for me. I was only granted merit aid at Bentley University, not at Tulane or University of Maryland.
@fallenchemist Thank you for your input and reasoning as to why you and your D attended Tulane. It really seems like a wonderful place. I can’t wait to tour it next week. @Thr123 Thank you for your input as well on all of these schools! It is interesting that we applied to similar schools. Where will you be attending?
Ill be attending Tulane in the fall. Beyond excited. The other schools I was considering were U Wisconsin, Miami, Indiana, and Bucknell. Tulane just felt right, and is completely unique compared to all my other choices (Still great schools btw).