<p>So I heard that I got accepted to both WashU and Caltech in the past week.</p>
<p>After I heard about Caltech, I knew immediately which one I would choose over the other.</p>
<p>However, I just received a $10,000 per year merit scholarship from WashU. Now I'm torn.</p>
<p>I've always been a math/science person, and plan on pursuing a Masters or PhD in Chemical or Biomedical Engineering. I realize that both schools offer very different experiences, so I will lay out my "expectations" for college:</p>
<p>I want a quirky and slightly nerdy college
I want people to be universally smart and interested in what they are doing
I want an engineering degree that will stand out on job applications
I want connections to engineering jobs and internships during and after college
Weather doesn't matter much
Cost wise, I CAN pay full, and won't get any FA, but I am very conscious about money</p>
<p>Essentially my question is : is having a "better" degree and better overall experience worth $40,000?</p>
<p>Depends, if your degree will yield a high amount of pay out of college. (Which it should, the avg salary for an Engineer is like 60k) Then you have a bit of room for leeway.</p>
<p>Wow tough decision.
Congratulations on your achievement, man!</p>
<p>I want a quirky and slightly nerdy college.
WashU is probably less nerdy than Caltech, I would think.
I want people to be universally smart and interested in what they are doing
Both schools will have this
I want an engineering degree that will stand out on job applications
If you’re doing biomedical engineering, definitely go WashU. If chemical engineering, go Caltech.
Weather doesn’t matter much
Cost wise, I CAN pay full, and won’t get any FA, but I am very conscious about money
How much is tuition/year at Caltech? WashU gave you a sizeable $10,000 but they cost $45000 a year too.</p>
<p>Happier students–> Probably WashU
Less medically-related research/ more basic research –> Probably Caltech</p>
<p>Washington U is a great school . . . but Caltech is in a whole different league, especially if you’re already planning to go into a sciency/techie field. $10,000 a year’s difference is very little in the grand scheme of things. Definitely go with your first choice, Caltech, and do not hesitate (we got a $12,000 annual scholarship for our son to go to a nice but second choice college than the one he goes to now and as a parent, I am THRILLED that we are paying the extra money for the school he really loves and which can do the most for him as a student).</p>
<p>Visit Caltech if you can. Don’t commit to four (or more ) years of really hard work because some random high school students on the internet told you to. Basically, when you say you want to do problem sets at 2am and be around really nerdy people, you should make sure that you really mean it. But from what you’ve said, it would seem that Caltech would fit what you want better.</p>
<p>I’m a junior in chemical engineering btw, if you have any questions regarding the program. </p>
<p>Are you considering any other engineering schools? I thought that WashU’s engineering department was going through some hard times lately and doing a lot of reorganizing, but maybe things have changed. I got the same scholarship back in the day that you got, but I was still considering UIUC over WashU, since it was even cheaper and arguably better for engineering.</p>
<p>^ I heard that too about WashU’s engineering programs.</p>
<p>OP, you could ask Caltech’s financial aid office if they’d match WashU’s offer. Probably not likely but always worth asking (esp. with $40k on the table.)</p>
<p>Isn’t the choice obvious? Caltech is world-famous in math and science! With all due respect to WashU, I guess the only schools which can match caltech are stanford, mit and berkeley. Caltech grads are highly sought after and if i were you, i would definitely choose caltech.</p>
<p>my vote is for cal tech
however, if you’re planning on graduate school also look into grad school placement. i’ve heard(maybe incorrectly) that cal tech has severe grade deflation. if you have to low of a gpa, wont that end up hurting your chances at grad school later?</p>
<p>I don’t think any school fits your descriptions better than Caltech. And if your family is willing to pay, $10,000/year hardly seems like a reason to give it up. Make sure to visit, though. Caltech was also my first acceptance and I was pretty positive I would end up there, for similar reasons you described. When I actually visited, I completely changed my mind and ended up choosing somewhere very different. Now I can’t imagine staying up until 3am doing problem sets all the time. It may seem very exciting now, but try to think realistically about it.</p>
) years of really hard work because some random high school students on the internet told you to. Basically, when you say you want to do problem sets at 2am and be around really nerdy people, you should make sure that you really mean it. But from what you’ve said, it would seem that Caltech would fit what you want better.</p>