Hi everyone! I’ve been accepted to the University of Maryland and placed in their College Park Life Science Scholars program (which lasts for the freshman and sophomore year) and the University of Richmond. I’ve been rejected everywhere else (which is pretty disappointing considering that I worked my butt off over the past 4 years, but oh well) except for Bucknell, but it’s too expensive compared to the other two schools that offered me a lot of scholarships. I now have to choose between the UMD and Richmond, which I both love equally and I can’t convince myself to choose one over the other. Here are some things about me:
- I prefer small classes with personalized attention from professors rather than large lecture rooms (Which is present in University of Richmond and in UMD scholars programs, but they only last 2 years)
- Size of the school doesn’t really matter much to me, as long as it’s not like only 100 people or over 90,000 (so both UMD and Richmond have good sizes for me)
- I prefer schools with lots of research opportunities (which seems obvious in UMD, not sure about Richmond)
- I prefer schools that have active social atmospheres and are not too preppy. I’d prefer a school where any student can easily fit in (which seems to fit both UMD and Richmond)
-I’d prefer a school with a good biology program (which both UMD and Richmond seem to have)
-I’d prefer a school that can prepare me well for medical school - I’d prefer a school with lots of food choices, both healthy and unhealthy (Richmond to me would probably win this round as I’ve visited both of their dining centers, but I’m not quite sure)
- I want to get into medical school and eventually become an immunologist (or a similar occupation). I’m not sure which school would prepare me better.
Without putting money into consideration, can anyone give me some opinions to sway my decision? Both UMD and Richmond have a lot of things that I like and very few things that I don’t. I’ve visited both of them and searched around their websites for a lot of information, but I still can’t decide. I haven’t attended their open house programs yet, which I doubt will make a huge impact on my decision because chances are I’ll find myself loving both of them. I know it is not the best to let others make decisions for you but I’m only asking for some opinions, and this is (pretty much) my last resort because I can’t make myself like one more than the other. I know this post seems really long and huge thanks to those who would take the time to read this and offer their opinions. Thank you!