<p>What would you do? Money is not a consideration. Thank you!</p>
<p>UVA Echols clearly.</p>
<p>I’d go with UVA.</p>
<p>IMO, echols at UVA is a better situation than many of the Ivies…PM me if you want some details.</p>
<p>Thanks all! Anyone else? I am trying to decide between the two.</p>
<p>Questionner, I think there are 2 things you need to consider:</p>
<p>A) The differences between the 2 honors programs. UT’s program has a core curriculum that in itself can be a major. UVA’s Echols program frees you from all required classes leaving you the ability to study anything you want – even to create your own interdisciplinary major. (Back when I was UVA, it was so open that you could literally take random classes for 4 years and simply graduate with an Echols major. I believe now you have to have some sort of focus.) Also, at UVA there are no “honors” classes (except in specific majors like History or Government that have a Distinctive Major track) because all classes are considered honor-level classes, and UVA students (Echols or not) are smart enough to take them. </p>
<p>B) The other thing to consider is the huge difference between both schools. While UT and UVa are both Southern public schools, that’s really where the similarities end. UT has 38,000 undergrads compared to UVA’s 13,000. While UT is sprawling, UVA’s classes are concentrated on Central Grounds. From what I hear, the UT experience is a typical state school experience. The UVA experience is filled with a lot fun traditions, secret societies, American presidential history, and school pride (beyond just sports).</p>
<p>Have you visited both schools? Once you do so, these differences will become more apparent.</p>
<p>UVA Echols, hands down</p>
<p>Echols is awesome. You can take completely random classes your first year to figure out what you want to do, and you don’t have to worry about falling behind in your major because there are no area requirements.</p>