Son got full-tuition scholarships (merit-based) at both and his interest is in CS and Math. Any strong suggestions?
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They’re similar but different. WUSTL is more contained.
WUSTL has great dorms.
Both are fantastic names.
Weather at Vandy will be a tinge better - and nature is close by.
Do you want division 1 sports?
They’re both fantastic - and in those two majors both are solid - and it’s hard to really know which is better other than visiting both and seeing where you’re feeling the magic.
Congrats to you.
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Have you and/or your son visited both campuses ?
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No - not yet. This is in our “to do” list for April.
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Congratulations to your son!!! That is amazing to have two great options with tuition fully paid for.
Both will have wonderful opportunities for him to be engaged in - one will feel more “right” after he visits most likely.
When you visit in April try to go during the week when students are there in class. For this level of academic merit recruitment these colleges should be eager to have him visit them. Make sure he reaches out to any professors or deans who may contact him. He should be able to sit in on a class and hopefully they will have a student for him to talk to and show him around a little in addition to the normal tours. He needs to figure out where he will be most comfortable day to day.
Additional things to consider:
- Ease of getting home - direct flights, train with no middle of the night layovers.
- Are there family friends or relatives near either? Even an hour or two away if you are further can help. They may only visit once in 4 years, but it can help.
- Where do most freshman live? Sophomores? If room and board is covered partially with scholarships on top of the merit for tuition, can that funding be used for off campus housing if there is not on campus housing available?
- Do either provide additional perks, access to programs (leadership development, travel), or summer research projects?
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That’s really a great advice. Thank you! Both the schools are 3-4 hours drive away from home. WashU has scheduled a few virtual meetings with him - one with students and one with dean of engineering. I heard that there is $1000 additional payment over the full tuition (on the website) at WashU.
We are waiting on other results so that we know what all campus to visit and plan a route.
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How did this come about? Did he apply to one ED and get deferred and then applied to another ED2 and was deferred and now both want him?
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No - he applied regular decision to both. The results were out last week.
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How were results out last week?
I would choose Vanderbilt.
Congratulations!
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Big scholarship winners at these schools are notified earlier than the regular admission pool.
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This is so amazing! Congratulations to you and your son. Would you be willing to share stats?
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This is really a no lose situation. The 2 universities are fairly comparable in mathematics. Perhaps the edge goes to WashU for computer science.
Judging by these 2 fantastic opportunities, it sounds like he is a stellar applicant. As gcpyar alluded to, the applicant may be offered one or more even better options before things are said and done.
Congratulations and enjoy the results of his hard work!
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Is your student a Langsdorf scholarship recipient?
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WashU Merit scholarship finalists or recipients are typically notified mid-late February
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If your son received merit scholarships this early in the game, he will undoubtedly have more choices once the RD results are in. Are there any other colleges that he is waiting for?
What is his ultimate career goal? That would help narrow things down.
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Yes!
That’s a good point. Do you think a top Ivy will be better than these? At this point, he does not have a said career choice, but he loves math, machine learning, research, etc.
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Depends again on long-term plans and how much you are willing to pay.
For example if he has interest in Investment Banking, then going to a place like Harvard, would make things much easier than WashU. But I wouldn’t get into serious debt over it. The motivation and drive of the individual student also plays a part. There are students who hustle and network and are able to get into IB from local State U.
If he has interest in working at a tech startup, entrepreneurship or VC in the future then I’d say Stanford would be one of the best places.
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My kid is a Langsdorfer. He is very happy at WashU.
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They are both wonderful schools and quite comparable in many ways, so visiting will help a lot. It seems that your son will be able to determine which is a better fit by visiting, and both schools will provide great opportunities, especially being a scholarship recipient. My son has loved his time at Vanderbilt and he and his friends have been very successful in recruiting for selective companies/fields.
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