<p>Thanks for your feedback. Powderpuff- thanks for your insight into your decision-making process. I have been reading your posts and must say how impressed I am with you! I forgot to add BC Honors to the mix- that's also under consideration.
ND was the first choice originally, she got in early, but it now seems to be slipping. Maybe it's the newness of all these other acceptances??? The kids seemed to be less social than the other schools during an overnight visit. She loves BC and the honors program is enticing, plus Boston is a great place to be. I think it's the closest to UVA in the student body. As you said, being accepted at Cornell is an honor, and frankly it's difficult to say no to an ivy, and the prestige it entails. She never really wanted UVA because we are in-state, but it has everything she wants (other than being close to home and filled with lots of kids from our area.) I do want her to try new things, and don't think she will cling to people from home. However, college is a time to spread one's wings (and even re-invent oneself) and that may be harder to do with already knowing so many people on campus.
Your thought process sounds similar to hers (are you sure you weren't separated at birth :) ? This is a tough decision and I honestly think there's no way she can make a wrong choice, but it is still agonizing. She wants the classic college experience and thinks going Greek would be fun. ND and BC don't have a Greek system, but again- that isn't, and shouldn't be the deciding factor. Sports are great fun for her, but all have a good sports scene (granted Cornell is in the ivy league, but their hockey and lacrosse are good and they won the Ivy League in football- that's not the ACC, but still....
Thanks again for any insight.</p>
<p>Cavalier, hmmm...about once a year. There are a lot of new buildings, but for the most part, UVa still seems the same.</p>
<p>momsawreck-
thanks so much for your kind words! I sort of loved the thrill of the application/admissions process last year, so as a result, I'm here on CC. Glad I can help.
I don't know too much about BC, but Boston is cool. I didn't apply to BC.
In my prior post, when I commented on UVA, I failed to mention the fun elements that I thoroughly enjoy like the Greek life, the pre-game tailgating on the Lawn--the sundresses for football games, the good-ole-song. Our sports are competitive, maybe not tops, but entertaining and we love 'em. Bottom line: UVA is the whole package for a college experience.</p>
<p>Globalist:
I'm going to my first Foxfields at the end of April! You know, I don't even barely know what it's all about--horse races (and much more)?? My friends are dragging me there. I don't know if you are male or female, but you can still answer my question (I hope). I'm one of those girls in pearls. The question is: do most of the girls wear hats, like the Kentucky Derby?? I gotta know now so if I need a fancy/stylish hat, I should get working on it now! Thanks.</p>
<p>UVA (echols scholar) vs. UPenn</p>
<p>Cavalier has already given me a very helpful response, but wondering what some others might think, especially those who don't go to UVA (no offense!).</p>
<p>UVA vs. Duke vs. JHU vs. Northwestern</p>
<p>any insight? all advice would be appreciated :)</p>
<p>UVa VS UIUC, major at computer science & mathematics</p>
<p>Anyone give me any advises? Thank u~</p>
<p>If you guys want better advice, you should probably list some basic info, like expected cost of attendance, grad school plans, where you want to work post-graduation, what type of social atmospher you'd prefer, etc...</p>
<p>UVA (echols scholar) vs. UPenn</p>
<p>I plan on majoring in something like foreign affairs, government, or history.
Money is not an issue.
No idea about post-graduate work... and the campuses for both schools are completely different and I like them both in different ways. Basically, is the echols worth enough to take over penn?</p>
<p>powder: lots of girls wear big hats, many do not. it's kind of one of those things where it's basically an excuse to wear them. so, if you find one you like by all means go for it, and if it's a sunny day like it has been the last two years you'll' probably want it, but there are those who don't wear them.</p>
<p>08seniors08</p>
<p>From an academic perspective, the Echols program offers you very little in terms of academic reputation. It's a reward for a job well done in high school, but it isn't much of a reputation-maker. It just doesn't bring the same reputation that an Ivy can provide. That being said, Penn is not Harvard. If you're thinking about grad school, Penn's reputation won't do much for you that a good GPA at UVA won't do.</p>
<p>However, when you consider the quality of the programs at each school, UVA is very competitive with Penn. I don't know very many specifics about Penn, but it is of my opinion that the quality of education will not vary much between each school.</p>
<p>Powder, just check out pictures of Foxfield (it's singular, by the way) on Flickr (like</a> this one). No hat required. </p>
<p>However, if you want to be one of the people that overdresses as a joke, you will want an outrageous hat.</p>
<p>08seniors08 - this really is going to have to be a decision you make after visiting both schools. Although we're instate, we didn't want that to influence our son's decision too much. Penn was one of the schools he had considered. After a visit, he didn't have any desire to apply. It wasn't the right school for him. He ended up applying to UVA ED, was accepted, and was offered the Echols program. It was the icing on the cake. To be honest, we were a bit concerned that tipping his hand to UVA ED would cancel out an Echols offer. Happily it didn't, and for him, the opportunity to schedule classes early has been extremely beneficial.</p>
<p>Best of luck to you, whichever school you choose (but pick UVA..it really is the better choice..haha)</p>
<p>Hahah most of my friends are telling me to pick UVA as well... I'm visiting both (Friday next week = Penn, and then the Monday right afterwards is UVA, so I'll have them close to each other).</p>
<p>Coronax, this is an important question (Dean J, if you see this feel free to help me out with this too.. I'm a fan of your blog): How much does the early course registration thing help? I've heard that since they only made it priority registration in front of your own class, that for freshman (and sophmore year) it doesn't do much for you. But I think getting into smaller and "better" classes is a huge advantage. Does your son, as a freshman (or when he was one), feel that the registration really gave him a leg-up and let him into courses he would have otherwise not been able to enroll in?
Also, what's this about special staff and guidance for Echols... does that do much for you?
Thank you soooo much</p>
<p>Powderpuff, ahh yes, Foxfield. I loved going to that. The Spring horse races are better than the Fall ones. After seeing the picture Dean J put up, I decided to check out other pics on Flickr. </p>
<p>Here's a funny</a> shot. It would have been funnier if he was streaking. The last time I went a couple of years ago, one guy did streak naked from the Alumni Association tent to the lake and back. </p>
<p>Here's a cool</a> shot of the horses.</p>
<p>I like this horse's braided</a> main.</p>
<p>What is this guy</a> wearing? I've never been a fan of the Madras print. It's so uber-WASPy.</p>
<p>Here are hats[/url</a>] and [url=<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/noanoanoa/478414297/%5Dmore">http://www.flickr.com/photos/noanoanoa/478414297/]more</a> hats although they are not mandatory.</p>
<p>Right now, we're starting to plan this Fall's Harriman</a> Cup - our alumni polo match between UVa and Yale. Good times. If you're up North in late Sept. you should definitely come by.</p>
<p>08senior..(I'm so impressed that you thanked us for our opinions. I know you guys get busy, so it's very refreshing to see you take the time to come back and respond)..Anyway, I asked my son to answer your questions. He's not very wordy (lol), but this his answer (paraphrased by me):</p>
<p>{He said he didn't find the Echol's advising all that helpful, but the early registration for classes helped tremendously. He's a second year, so the early registration has changed, and I'm not sure how that will impact will be on your class. There were some particularly popular classes that he was able to get a seat in, that he wouldn't have otherwise. Also, he was able to pick a lot better times for his classes, which was a huge benefit for him. For one thing, he was working in some long science labs, so the ability to schedule around those odd times was a huge help. He also found that he was able to schedule 300 and 400 level classes much easier as a first year then his friends who were not in Echols.}</p>
<p>I do want to say again that he applied to UVA ED, because he was that sure he wanted to attend, and didn't find the need to wait and apply at of the other schools that he had visited. He was pretty sure he would be accepted with his high school, sat, and ec record, but, of course, nothing is ever a sure thing. Echols was definitely not the reason he chose UVA. For him, UVA stood on its merits for so many other reasons. The excellent reputation, history, small town setting, school spirit, etc etc etc are the things that sold him on UVA. So, for anyone making this decision, Echols is only one of so many reasons to chose UVA. </p>
<p>Our only concern for him was that he had built up UVA to such a high degree in his mind, that we were worried that it could never live up to his expectations. Were we ever wrong. UVA has far exceeded those expectations on every level.</p>
<p>Thanks everyone for the Foxfield hat advice!</p>
<p>Wow! Thank you for the response... I'm actually talking to another Echols student at UVA too and she seems to see things the same way you and your son do.
When I visit, unless I find something horribly wrong with UVA, such as goblins in the basement of Alderman, or something amazingly awesome about Penn, I'm fairly confident I'll choose UVA =)!</p>
<p>There are way too many threads cluttering this forum for UVA vs. _______, especially since many of these comparisons have come up. So.........</p>
<p>bump.</p>
<p>
[quote]
If you guys want better advice, you should probably list some basic info, like expected cost of attendance, grad school plans, where you want to work post-graduation, what type of social atmosphere you'd prefer, etc...
[/quote]
</p>
<p>agreed. you don't need to add your life story; if you're offered any money, general location, etc.</p>
<p>HELP! i need to choose between both, i visited them, and each seem to have their ups and downs .... i mean i like that UVA is warmer, and seems more relaxed and not so cut throat, but then again Cornell is amazingly beautiful and the food is amazing, the housing seems great too. people seem friendly at Cornell, but UVA students are mega friendly. my parents seem to like Cornell a lot more, for the typical reasons of " it is more well respected, and such". Is that really true, I mean, is UVA not that well known? i think i might see myself more at UVA, i heard some say that you are just a number at cornell. I also heard that the amount of work at Cornell is suicidal. I asume the work at UVA is also difficult though. I am going to be a bio major. Can you tell me a bit about the housing at UVa, how is it? Is the food good? i thought getting in was the hard part... too bad i can't even decide. Any input regarding UVa and deciding would be appreciated.</p>