<p>Hi!</p>
<p>So I've been accepted at some great schools, and I've narrowed it down to these two (knocked Wellesley off the list after some agonizing and at least one friend going, "but don't you want to be Hillary when you grow up?" but y'know, not a convincing factor), now I am mostly confused.</p>
<p>Luckily, financial aid isn't an issue-- I've received enough need-based aid that my parents say I can go to whichever school I pick-- though UChicago did give me a 5000k/yr merit scholarship. However, it seems to just be subtracted from the grant money.</p>
<p>I have no idea what I want to major in, but right now I'm leaning towards physics or computer science, maaaaybe doing something with political science. I attended a comp sci class at UChicago when I did the STEM overnight, and while it really wasn't great, I was assured that it didn't represent the classroom experience there overall. I've only been to a dance class at Vassar (which was AMAZING, the head of the dance department is fabulous) but I spoke to the head of the physics department on Tuesday at the open campus and really liked what I heard. I also liked that I would have opportunities for research at Vassar that I might not get at UChi.</p>
<p>I know Poughkeepsie isn't a great college town, so UChicago wins for location, however I'm from NYC so it wouldn't be too expensive to go to the city for the weekend if I wanted. I loved both campuses, and liked that Vassar has great stuff going on, specifically in regards to theater. Of course, the city of Chicago has plenty of that too! </p>
<p>I know that they're both very different schools down to the curriculum, so any advice or factors I haven't considered (especially about social life) would be really appreciated. </p>
<p>By the way, tried the coin-flip thing. Results have been inconclusive. :/</p>
<p>I imagine UChicago is much, much better for physics. I’m also pretty sure that there are plenty of research opportunities for physics majors at UChicago. UChicago is also a much better school overall so unless you have some specific reason to prefer Vasser I would choose UChicago.</p>
<p>They truly are very different schools. To be happy at Chicago, you must really buy into the intensity and iconoclast nature of the school. To see yourself as an intellectual. Vassar is more mainstream, and a less intense, LAC college experience.</p>
<p>The thing about UChicago is I’ve been told by a teacher who went there (who actually wrote my rec) that the intensity and culture can be, in his words, kind of sadistic. And the atmosphere at Vassar seemed intellectual, but without that harsher aspect. </p>
<p>On the other hand, I don’t know if Chicago would look better for grad schools/on a resume 4 years down the line :/</p>
<p>The difference to grad schools is negligible.</p>
<p>Thanks :)</p>
<p>I might just give it another couple days and see. Only thing motivating me to decide sooner is that housing at Chicago is based on when you submit your deposit.</p>
<p>The culture at UChicago has changed considerably in recent years so your teacher’s experience might not reflect the current environment there. When I visited UChicago for an overnight it was not overly intellectual and certainly not sadistic. Given how minimal the physics curriculum at Vassar is compared to UChicago’s it seems extremely unlikely that a strong physics students would do as well going to Vassar as UChicago. Vassar’s offerings in physics are quite limited. At Vassar, only a single semester of quantum mechanics is offered, and excluding topics classes there is only one upper division physics elective. From the course descriptions the physics classes at Vassar also seem to cover much less material than classes at other UChicago. I imagine that UChicago would prepare you much better for physics graduate programs and would probably substantially increase your odds of getting to top programs as well.</p>