<p>My daughter:
Academic interest : Premed/Biomedical engineering/Biology
Wants a environment that is not cut throat, loves the outdoors, plays sports, involved in religious groups.
Thank you for your help!</p>
<p>bump, bump. Anyone?</p>
<p>Bowdoin-very high premed placement in Med school, much more individualized environment.
Nothing more beautiful than the Maine coast-very active outing club and plenty of club and college sports…Kayaking, hiking, trips to the mountains…LLBean right down the road!</p>
<p>WashU is very good for pre-med and probably offers more research opportunities in biomed engineering, however, I’m no expert. I have, however, visited Bowdoin and it is very beautiful and offers lots of outdoor activities. Lots of students are athletic as well.</p>
<p>Wash U has one of the best biology programs in the country. If the tipping factor is a school with more research opportunities than you can shake a stick at - then Wash U is probably the winner, if that’s the tipping factor. </p>
<p>Bowdoin will have the very small college liberal arts environment, which is great for many people. Just make sure that you know what you’re getting yourself into – I knew many people who went to schools like that and transferred because they didn’t realize how small it was until they got there, how few curriculum options there were, and how little there was to do in terms of city/town life. Schools like that always felt a bit too “summer campy” to me – and I really don’t want that to sound bad, because it’s great for many people and I also had many friends go to schools that LOVED that environment, but just make sure that she is fully aware of the pros/cons. Maine is beautiful, though!!! Keep in mind that when you’re in school, it’s the Fall/Spring/Winter, when it’ll likely be too cold most of that time to enjoy the outdoors</p>
<p>Vanderbilt is the most similar to Wash U out of the choices, but has a different vibe (much more Greek, a touch of southern charm, etc). Vanderbilt’s campus is an arboretum or something, so that’s helpful for the “outdoorsy” factor for Vanderbilt. Although it’s very urban right when you leave campus.</p>
<p>Wash U impressed me the most when I was looking at colleges because it had the best balance of any school I found. It never feels too academically intense, never feels too party/Greek heavy, never feels too small or too big, and is in a city that isn’t too small or too big. Couple all that with the research opportunities, thousands of classes (yet pretty small ones, especially your upperclassman years… the freshman ones can be a bit big for science, but they’re not awful), amazing dorms and overall quality of life, and tons of activities to do on-campus and immediately off-campus in walking distance. It has something for everyone, which is why I think the overall happiness level here is so high.</p>
<p>In terms of “outdoors” for Wash U, I mean Forest Park is just right across the street. It’s 1,500 acres and has so many walking trails, lakes, streams, etc, that will keep her busy for awhile! There’s a student group called the Outing Club which plans outdoor excursions to various places in Missouri, and other things in STL like rock-climbing gyms. I know that the Outing Club plans a Pre-Orienation program for freshman, too. The Ozark mountains/forests are 2 - 3 hours away from campus, which is great for weekend excursions… hiking, camping, canoeing, biking, etc. The Katy Trail is a bike trail that runs nearly the whole length of Missouri (follows the path of a former railroad), and begins about 30min from campus. Missouri is actually a really pretty state.</p>
<p>Thank you all for your input. She will visit Vandy this weekend. She will visit WashU April 15/16, to attend the multicultural event, then the next weekend she will visit Bowdoin. She worries about the heavy greek life at Vandy. She really likes the balance aspect of WashU. Not too party, not cut throat. And she loves the outdoors at Bowdoin.</p>