I narrowed down my choices between these two schools and I’m looking to major in Economics with intention of going into Foreign Service or economic policy on global/national level. The reason I’m posting on this board is because I feel spiritually drawn to WashU; I had visited both schools and seeing how both have stellar economics departments, I gravitate towards better food/dorms/campus and ease of double-majoring (also interested in polisci/poliecon). Swarthmore, however, has honors seminars that allow for more real-life application of knowledge, and the general intensity that the school is known for usually paves way for the best grad school options across the fields. Plus, I don’t mind food and dorms and actually feel like I fit in more with Swarthmore people, despite not being far-left liberal. It’s just that WashU seems a lot more lively with a more variety of people to meet over the years.
Given my intentions and desire to be most competitive for grad school, would I be worse off going to WashU than Swarthmore? Is that a factor that should strongly weigh into my decision?