<p>S is struggling with deciding between W&L and Columbia. We are attending Campus Days at Columbia this weekend and he is very excited, but I really believe that W&L is a better fit for him. He was a Johnson finalist but did not win, therefore, we will be paying for either college. I guess the question I have is the small and intimate college experience of W&L or the prestige and pressures of Columbia? Is anyone else facing a similar decision?</p>
<p>sstterry, I am also choosing between colleges. For me, I am trying to decide between Harvard, Yale, Stanford, Columbia, and Washington and Lee (Johnson Scholar). W&L is the only school I visited, so I will likely have to make a decision without the campus vibe benefit. Anyway, I certainly feel for you because I am in a similar position.</p>
<p>It might not be as well known as some of the schools mentioned above but employers hold W&L in very high regard and is known as an excellent school.</p>
<p>I am at Vanderbilt but seriously considered W&L. It is very good, but one thing to consider is its location. It is very isolated. People seem to say corporations like the school. How many recruit there? For interviews getting from Lexington to anywhere is difficult and was part of the reason I did not go.</p>
<p>Columbia is the only Ivy that still asks students to take courses on the foundations of the West. I think that is a great aspect of the school and wish I had considered it. A neighbor I respect a lot went there and loved it. They are working for an ad agency in New York because the connections they made.</p>
<p>Thank you for all of your responses. We visited Columbia last weekend and S was very very impressed. Although we like W&L, we are going to let him make the ultimate decision. Leia, you must be one very special young lady. And I am certain that wherever you choose, you will make the right decision!</p>
<p>My daughter is a first year Johnson at W&L and a friend of mine has a daughter who is a freshman at Barnard. We’ve been comparing notes all year. Both schools are extremely rigorous and both students have had some challenges adjusting to the increased demands. I would say her daughter has had more of a challenge. The locations of the schools seem like polar opposites…big city vs. small, rural college town. Her daughter loves all the city opportunities…she goes to Broadway, etc. She had to struggle to find a work study position, which I thought was odd and created extra stress. Both girls joined sororities, which has given them a family away from home. </p>
<p>The positive differences I have noticed about W&L, that didn’t seem to be in place for my friend’s daughter at Barnard/Columbia, are: all small classes, rapport/relationships with professors, getting first choice classes, confirming your course load the semester before (Columbia has “try it out” for the first week or two of class, and upperclassmen get dibs if the course is over capacity…ask about that…her daughter got burned a couple times), much more supportive campus community/staff, better social life, and easily arranged/automatic work study placement. My daughter had no interest in figuring out a big city, along with figuring out college, but everyone is different. She’d rather go to a research university for graduate school. An LAC is a great fit for her for undergraduate. I’m really glad she chose W&L. She has a whole network of people supporting her.</p>