<p>Co-A, ND being an hour and half from Chicago is like Smith being an hour and a half from Boston...you don't get there often. As for SB being a small city, trust me, quite a few people would die of boredom there.</p>
<p>I'd like to put in a word for Georgetown.</p>
<p>Granted, GU isn't known for its sciences like other schools, but there is a relatively strong pre-med program here. </p>
<p>A modest response.</p>
<p>tlaktan
Haven't heard from u for awhile. How is it going?</p>
<p>TheDad,</p>
<p>Well, I would get there often! It is certainly possible to spend the weekends in Chicago. Whether or not someone would want to is another question. There are tons of kids who love Smith and Dartmouth and ND. (I don't really remember if the person on this thread loves/hates/is indifferent toward cities.)</p>
<p>And, I completely agree on the South Bend assessment.</p>
<p>Just sticking up for my father's alma mater, where I'm also applying (albeit not by choice). :)</p>
<p>-student</p>
<p>The possibility of spending weekends in Chicago is offset by the potential demands of academics. I think in three semesters D made it to NYC three times, Boston once. Which is why she made making sure that NoHo would be interesting enough for her was one of her prime concerns before applying.</p>
<p>I would always counsel a propsective student to be comfortable where they <em>are</em>, not where they could get to.</p>
<p>Vanderbilt Number One Party School In The South.</p>
<p>I suppose VNOPSITS = Vanderbilt Number One Party School In The South.</p>
<p>lol, fightingirish. in that respect, there are several schools that are a bit above vandy.</p>
<p>In my opinion, all three schools are unbelievable. Although the schools encompass a few similarities, there differences are significant. First and foremost, the issue would be whether or not you feel comfortable with a southern environment. A lot of people aren't, and thus Vanderbilt would not be a good option. When comparing Georgetown and Notre Dame (which I did myself last year) It came down to location, school spirit and campus atmosphere. Georgetown's location in DC is unbeatable, its school spirit tends to be slightly lackluster except for the bball games, and it has a fairly liberal student body.</p>
<p>More specifically about Notre Dame: The school spirit is really amazing, and the alumni connections (ESPECIALLY in the midwest) are probably some of the best in the nation. Socially, Notre Dame tends to have a conservative student body (50-50 Democrats/Republicans). </p>
<p>Whoever said they would get bored in South Bend is partially true, but its still an exaggeration. There are 5 decent bars near campus, and if thats not your thing, then Notre Dame still has tons of performances (Vince Vaughn was there recently) to go to. As mentioned before, Chicago is 1.5 Hours away, but people DO go there frequently. Since about 8% of the student body comes from metro chicago, kids are always taking there friends home for weekends to go to the city.</p>
<p>Basically, Notre Dame isn't as remote as some places like Dartmouth of Middleburry, and it isn't in as great a location like Northwestern, Boston College, Vanderbilt, or Georgetown. </p>
<p>Granted, someone who is considering schools like Smith or Swarthmorre or Berkely would probably detest ND. However, the thought of going to one of those three schools (especially the first two) would personally make me want to die.</p>
<p>Gtown is a much superior school to Notre Dame. It is one of the most prestigious universities in the couintry, in a great location. Notre Dame just has a football team and is in a terrible place.</p>
<p>Ehh, bball, i wouldn't go that far. I'd take Gtown over ND, but thats because apparantly the girls at ND are fugly lol. Overall though, I'd still say you can't go wrong with either choice. Make your decision based on the town, and feel of the school. Academically you can't go wrong at either place.</p>
<p>I'd still go with Vandy ;-)</p>
<p>it seems apparently jags86 is going with where the hot girls are............I understand.</p>
<p>well, why spend 4 years looking at ugly faces? its not as if we're choosing between notre dame and ASU. these schools are all academic peers. you will have equal job opportunities out of all of them. you won't be looked at as smarter or dumber for attending one over the other. If you're a football nut go to ND. If your a politico, or city nut, go to Gtown. If you're super preppy, like southern culture, want frat life, go to Vandy. but out of the 3, only 1 has disappointing lookers.</p>
<p>I find the notion that certain colleges self-select for people who aren't good looking according to one particular sense of esthetics to be one of the recurring notions among students that's so ludicrous and <em>dumb</em> that it should be grounds for revocation of admission wherever they've been accepted to.</p>
<p>
[quote]
...[Georgetown's] school spirit tends to be slightly lackluster except for the bball games, and it has a fairly liberal student body...
[/quote]
</p>
<p>Not necessarily. From what I've seen thus far, everyone here bleeds Hoya Blue, regardless of the sport in play. As for the student body, it's about half-half; the College Republicans are going to have their Take-Back-Georgetown-Day which is basically a symposium on conservatism. The College Dems always have some event going on, so I'd say it's about even.</p>
<p>I realise that you have an interest in the sciences, and Georgetown's biology department is strong, yet unnoticed. There are also plenty of opportunities for you in the city, including various internships that you could take during the school year (my knowledge of health/biological science-related internships are limited, but I'm sure they're out there in D.C.). </p>
<p>I technically faced this dilemma last year, having to pick one of the three schools (okay, it wasn't a dilemma, once Georgetown came into play, it was all over). Having researched all three of them, they all have their advantages.</p>
<p>I guess its a good thing TheDad doesn't make any of these decisions now isn't it? Its not that the schools self select, it just happens to be that way. Same way that the popular kids at a (normal co-ed) high school are always the best looking ones? Some schools just have ended up getting a lot of good looking applicants and attendees. Maybe parents don't pay attention to that sort of thing on tours. But I have a lot of friends at schools I've visted to just party at, and as someone who's not interested in these schools, you pay attention to things besides how many books the library has. As a 20 year old, you notice how many hot people are around, how much boozin goes on, and how the students act. These are things I believe parents are a little displaced from and either don't know it, or don't admit to it.</p>
<p>The choice shouldn't be made on prestige (how can anyone state that they don't have a great start in life going to anyone of these three schools?), but on how the schools coincide with an individual's interests. And these factors are too numerous too mention. But, by way of example, think you want a business career and likely to be attracted to Chicago? Go to Notre Dame (I was raised in Chicago and can verify this). To say the Domer alumni network in Chicago is strong is an understatement. Pre-med? One could do well anywhere but Vanderbilt probably offers the most choices in terms of volunteer jobs, research, curriculum, etc. that would enhance a medical school application? Int'l relations? Georgetown is one of the very, very few places from where one can get a job in this field without a graduate degree. And I could go on and on...Maybe there's a nod to Georgetown if one is completely undecided and wants to explore the liberal arts in general - but that is far from conclusive. And remember that all have their positive and negatives - but DC, for all of its positives, is one of the most dysfunctional and crime ridden cities in America (I went to GU for graduate school) - with a hostile entitlement attitude to boot - so if a student isn't willing to put up with this (and it affects even swanky Georgetown), choose another place.</p>
<p>jags what does this mean exactly ? "If you're super preppy, like southern culture, want frat life, go to Vandy" frat life?</p>
<p>georgetown and notre dame don't have a greek system. If you want to be part of that, then obviously take those two schools off your list.</p>
<p>tlaktan
Nice to hear from you. I am also curious about life at Georgetown with a son still in HS. I hope you are having a fabulous time there and happy with life in DC. Also that life in your home state is also shaping up in a positive way.<br>
Tell us about the life of a Georgetown freshman when you have time.</p>