<p>elsijfdl, you must understand that the revealed prefence study does not measure the quality of a school (quality of student body, facilities, professors, financial resources...etc) it simply measures desireabilty, which is strongly influenced by geography, sports results, and centuries old perceptions of prestige. A school is not necessarily "better" than another school because it is chosen more often, it might simply be in a more popular location or have a great football team.</p>
<p>i didn't say anything about the academic quality of either school, i was simply trying to connote that potential students in this situation (that is, those choosing between washu and georgetown) almost unanimously decide GEORGETOWN.</p>
<p>That doesn't have any implications necessarily for the poster, however unless he has circumstances that would cause him to be in the extreme minority, georgetown appears to be the more "correct" choice as decided by past matriculants.</p>
<p>elsijfdl, "CORRECT" choice? How can you possibly say that? More POPULAR choice for sure, but all you need to do is read Hawkettes post #18 above to see that the schools are comparable in many ways. </p>
<p>WashU often loses in head to head choices with other elite schools because of it's midwestern location. If WashU moved its campus to Boston, I guarantee that its revealed preference score would soar. I wouldn't recommend that an applicant use revealed preference scores to determine their own preference. They need to think about what qualities are important to them.</p>
<p>I hate when people bring up revealed preference in a thread like this. What other people "prefer" should have ZERO bearing on your decision. The "revealed preference" for wearing Hollister T-Shirts with obscene expressions on them is much greater than the "revealed preference" for wearing tasteful clothes at my school. Doesn't mean I'm about to wear a shirt that says something along the lines of "Your girlfriend and I had amazing sex last night when we were drunk". Just because "everyone is doing it" doesn't mean its right, or best, for you.</p>
<p>Besides the fact that "revealed preference" merely indicates what high school students that have had, oh, maybe a couple days or a week's at most personal contact with a school (as in visiting and being there) decided. Far more important to me would be the feelings of current students that have been at the school for a year or two. There's a reason NYU is the #1 dream school for high school students and also probably one of the few top schools where many students are dissatisfied.</p>