<p>Help! Accepted to both with scholarship (as a second year transfer) ... need to respond soon. Im from southern california and not sure about my major (but not pre - med) want good academics but good social life too. What puts in good position for grad school too? where is study abroad easy? .... Any thoughts? Thanks!</p>
<p>I'd go to UVA. The campus is prettier, there's better social life, competitive sports teams, etc. And their reputation is REAL. </p>
<p>WUSL is a good school, but their reputation is inflated due to tricky waitlisting methods.</p>
<p>Yea. </p>
<p>I thought WashU was a good school...until they waitlisted me when I got into Dartmouth, Duke, Stanford, Cornell, Hopkins, Uchicago, Upenn, and Princeton. </p>
<p>.Yea. </p>
<p>Game the rankings more why dont they.</p>
<p>Did you vist the schools? UVa and WUSTL are in fairly different areas and their campuses aren't similar whatsoever. Academically, both are excellent, but in all other ways, they are different. Go for fit.</p>
<p>I'd go with Wash. U unless you really can't see yourself there for some reason.</p>
<p>Actually, now that I think about it, UVa's social scene is much stronger, so I guess it depends how important that is to you.</p>
<p>We're from CA and S1 chose WUSTL over several other more prestigious (by CC consensus) universities because of the combination of excellent academics, relaxed Midwestern vibe, and a fun social scene that is definitely not dominated by a sports and fraternity culture.</p>
<p>He also liked WUSTL's emphasis on interdisciplinary learning and its flexible policy toward encouraging students to take courses in any of the five UG divisions: Arts and Sciences, Art, Architecture, Business and Engineering. Academically, either WUSTL or UVA are going to get you where you want to go if you work hard. According to Princeton Review, they both score 98 on the academic rating. </p>
<p>The "quality of life" rating is different, though, with a 99 for WUSTL and an 83 for UVA. Perhaps this is partly the difference between a public university and a private one, or due to a difference in enrollment, with UVA at 14,600 undergrads and WUSTL half the size at 6,600. </p>
<p>Being from CA, I think you might prefer the mix of students at WUSTL, where 89 percent of the student body is from out of state, drawn from the NE and West as well as the Midwest, while at UVA, 72 percent of the students are from the state of VA. (According to PR.) I think that also makes a difference to the campus culture. </p>
<p>You applied to both universities, so there must be something that appealed to you about both. If cost is not an issue, or a particular stand-out program, then it really is a matter of where you think you'll fit the best.</p>
<p>UVA ftw....</p>
<p>Both schools are great. My son is at UVa and my sister-in-law is a professor at Washington University. Jazzymom mentioned a "quality of life" rating. I found something at "ordo ludus" that puts the quality of life higher at UVa. Also, higher overall ranking and much better yield(combines academics, sports,endowment,yield,cost,etc). Not sure how legitimate it is as I did not delve into it enough to find out where it's origins are from but it is interesting.
You cannot go wrong at either school.Yes, there are lots of Virginians from all over the state(as there should be at a state school) but there are kids from all over the country and many internationals there as well.</p>
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You cannot go wrong at either school.
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<p>I wholeheartedly agree.</p>
<p>Any thoughts on Tufts? I just got into there as well but dont know as much about it.</p>
<p>UVA and WUSTL are both excellent. Might want to take note that it is MUCH more convenient to travel to/from CA from WashU--the airport is not far from campus and nonstop flights are easy to find/afford. Charlottesville is charming! But not easy for West Coasters to reach (a few hours drive to nearest big airport, then cross-country flights). Tufts is sort of in-between for travel since it's got a good airport nearby but a long flight (and 3 hour time change).</p>
<p>btw, what sort of school are you leaving? Big or small? City? Private or public? It would be helpful to know what you do NOT like in order to give you advice.</p>
<p>crazykool,
Have you visited either of these schools? I think that they "feel" pretty different. U Virginia much bigger with a lot more going on and in a college town. Depends on what you like as both places are great and graduate pretty passionate and committed alumni.</p>
<p>As for study abroad, I think either can provide that, but if you're already a transfer, do you really want to do that as well. Seems to me like you'd make it harder on yourself for developing a great set of college friends.</p>
<p>strawboy,
Sorry you didn't get into Wash U, but please explain how waitlisting good students enhances their ranking. Are you aware that, for USNWR, yield is not a factor and that acceptance rate is only 1.5% of the overall ranking??</p>
<p>Waitlisting people likely to get into better schools lets them protect their yield.</p>
<p>madbean,</p>
<p>Im leaving a state school around 20000 in a small town with bad academics and bad athletics (and it was polytechnic) and so I now am kind of looking for the opposite! It was in California though so im really not sure how to compare it to a smaller town in VA bcs they seem so different. I want an intellectual campus but i also want something to do besides studying although ultimately the education is most important to me. Ideally I would like a lot of diversity on campus in terms of what they like to do and interests. I hope to visit but have to make my decision by the end of the week! My main worries for each school:</p>
<p>UVA - too preppy, too sorority-ish, state school so more red tape
Wash U - St. Louis (not the best location ) is there anything to do?
Tufts - Tufts syndrome, not a lot of funding</p>
<p>... are any of these accurate?</p>
<p>Yield is not factored into U.S. News rankings. Regardless, many schools (like Wash. U and Tufts supposedly) still practice yield protection because they know that many students still use these numbers to help making their matriculation decision.</p>
<p>I don't think you should consider Tufts. I'm not trying to be closed-minded, but Tufts is really similar to Wash. U except that Wash. U is better in nearly in every way.</p>
<p>By the way, I wouldn't really worry about Wash. U's location since I'm sure there's plenty to do on campus.</p>
<p>Eldercookies, the yield is not used by USNews for their rankings, so waitlisting, while it may increase the yield (the number attending out of the total number accepted) does nothing to improve a school's rank. WashU does waitlist a lot of very deserving students (as seen here on cc), but not to somehow artificially manipulate their rank position as so many here still seem to believe.</p>
<p>crazykool, with all three of the schools you are considering I think you will find vast improvement from your present school in terms of academic challenge and a large pool of accomplished and motivated students. UVA is a wonderful school, however as a public university it will have less personal attention, more red tape, and a larger and more regional student body than Tufts and WashU. Charlottesville is a small and charming Southern town, so shopping and entertainment are nice but on a limited scale. I was there 3 years ago and you had to travel to the Georgetown area of DC to find a H & M. May be different today, but that trip to DC is by bus or car and takes a few hours each way. </p>
<p>WashU and Tufts are similar in size and reputation to each other and both are in large cities with lots to do. As private universities, you'll find smaller classes and a little more personal care and grounds upkeep--especially WashU. St. Louis is a great city with neighborhoods that are fun and exciting but also, like many large urban areas, neighborhoods you might well want to avoid. WashU is located in a very nice part of town next to a beautiful park, and the campus is gorgeous, but you'll learn which areas of the city are best to stay away from. A bonus is you might love the Midwest (beautiful 19th century architecture, great restaurants), where people are smart and friendly. </p>
<p>One of Tufts's great attributes is the Boston area, where so many terrific schools are located. Lots to do. Lots of other students to meet. And Tufts is a especially suited for those who are committed to community and global service and international relations. Tufts has a 3 year foreign language commitment and attracts activist students who are leaders in this area. </p>
<p>Best of luck on your decision.</p>
<p>It is a long term process.</p>
<p>Everyone who gets in WashU doesn't go = more likely that people do the same in the future, thus decreasing their acceptance rate.</p>
<p>True, acceptance rate plays a minute part and yield no part in the USNWR rank. But WashU's actions are pretty much inexcusable.</p>
<p>crazykool, I can't speak for UVA or Tufts, but I can tell you a few things about WashU. First of all, it is in a beautiful, upscale suburb of St. Louis called Clayton. The campus abuts Forest Park which is the largest "city" park in the United States. In the park there is a zoo, an art museum, a city museum, a lake with boat rentals, an ice skating rink, loads of biking and running trails...etc. WashU is also walking distance from an area called "the loop" which is filled with funky restaurants, bars, shops...etc. In addition all WashU students get a free pass to use the local metro system which gives them access to Clayton, the Central West End ( a soho-type, hip area near with lots of great restaurants and shops), a wide variety of malls (with all the same stores that you see in every city of the US!), and of course downtown St. Louis. </p>
<p>The georgeous campus always has lots of stuff going on, so if you'd rather stay in what they call "the WashU bubble" you can. But most kids choose to venture out from time to time. Every thursday night buses come to bring the kids to clubs and the kids do know how to party! There are lots of frat parties each weekend, campus events such as WILD (an outdoor concert) and THURTENE ( a huge carnival), sporting events, performing arts events, speakers...etc. They are a division III school, so there is not a real "rah, rah" sports culture, however a number of their teams have done very well and the excitement over winning some number 1 spots in the division this year has generated more enthusiasm for sports.</p>
<p>Kids at WashU are, in general, very involved kids. They don't just sit in the library studying. They were the kids in high school who were active in their schools and communities and continue to do so in college. </p>
<p>Hope that helps.</p>
<p>Ahh sorry. I thought it was factored in. My mistake.</p>