<p>my daughter has been accepted to all the above schools and more. She is a liberal arts type from the east. she has received merit money from vanderbilt, rice and wash u. i am looking for some input.</p>
<p>Welcome to the parents forum.</p>
<p>Congratulations to you and your daughter because she has some great schools to choose from.</p>
<p>I think that you will have to sit down and decide as a family is money ultimately going to be the deciding factor in where she attends. If it is, then you really should put the issue on the table now so that she knows upfront what options are available to her.</p>
<p>If money is not an issue an all other things are equal:</p>
<p>I think that it is important for her to visit during the admitted student days so that she can get a feel for each school. Sit in on classes, talk to the professors and students. Find out what they like about the schools and what they dislike.</p>
<p>Is there a specific course of study that she wants to pursue. Is one of these schools stronger in that area? Should see change her mind and prospective major, will she still be happy at that school?</p>
<p>Peter, you have a wonderful problem. All three schools draw from the nation and will have students brave enough to fly a long way to get to their college each year. Three schools that are well-knitted into three interesting cities and not really suburban. Time to make some plane reservations and be proactive about "getting" the university cultures of each school. Read their school papers and editorial pages--who impresses you with debate and writing quality. The degree of focus on frat/sorority life is more important to freshmen than you might think and tends to color the first year quite a bit..what is her interest in this or tolerance level for it if she is independent minded? Get a sense of how Blue state or Red state or mixed politically the student body is. (Vandy went 50/50 on a mock Presidential last fall but was historically more conservative) Does she want a certain mix in religious attitudes? Would she like a school with a Law, Div, Business and Medical grad school on the premises? Vandy just built a Jewish Studies Center. My point is all of these schools have historic contributions/reputations in their regions and have certain school spirit feelings and cultural norms. At Vandy, you will not meet a Teaching Asst despite the large school size, and people tend to say Hi wherever you walk Southern style even though the student body is now national. With Rice, WashU and Vandy, I would eliminate Georgetown with zip merit money. Now you still have three fabulous universities. You need to consider her preferences for classroom style..intimate, tolerance for TAs, looking for intense or prefer supportive premed path or is classical music her hobby? (If she is a string player, the conservatory orchestras at Rice is only "friendly" to the super talented, not the merely competent as Rice is a superior conservatory.) Does she want school spirit for sports? Is she interested in a school that has produced influential novelists? Does she want to intern in a capital city? Does she prefer a huge city? How does she feel about Southern accents? Does she want to immerse herself in a state with Latino culture abounding like Texas? My S was so picky that dorm quality actually mattered to him and he was reluctant to live in cinder block towers..take a look at such tangibles as food and shelter. Take a look at town gown relations.<br>
I have actually lived in St. Louis, Nashville and was born in Texas. All friendly cultures. Spouse and I did Vandy for grad school years and I am bullish on Nashville for quality of life and for a very upbeat, friendly place that has reams of cultural offerings more on the scale of what you expect in St. Louis. Nashville is Southern but is also connected to the landlocked states that begin to make up the Midwest. Rice might feel more like an undergraduate focused life which has its selling points. When you visit, she can soak up the stress factors re work loads and expectations and student points of view.<br>
you won the lottery..enjoy your month of contemplation with your D.</p>