<p>In your opinion, which one would you pick if the money isn't the problem?</p>
<p>I also got waitlisted at Upenn, Duke, Rice, WUSTL, Vandy. Do I have any chance of getting off the waitlist if I need generous financial aid? </p>
<p>Thank you so much for your help. I appreciate ANY advice!</p>
<p>Berkeley. It offers the best college experience out of those four, from what I’ve gathered. It also is the most prestigious.</p>
<p>You need to look at the the city of Berkeley & see if you would be comfortable in the area surrounding the campus.</p>
<p>I can’t speak specifically about any of the schools you were wait listed at but most schools are not need blind for wait listed students. It all depends upon how much FA they still have, if any, after they know who accepts the initial offers. If I were you, I wouldn’t count on getting into any of them. If you do, great. But don’t plan on it.</p>
<p>I don’t know you or anything about you so it is impossible to give you meaningful advice. If it were my daughter (who I obviously do know), I’d recommend Wellesley, Barnard, Emory, and Berkeley, in that order. Berkeley is great for graduate work but a combination of UC’s financial problems and size make it less desirable for undergraduate work.</p>
<p>If you like women’s college, see if you like Manhattan or Boston. Barnard vs Wellesley
If you like co-ed, see if you like small learning environment or huge university. Emory vs Berkeley</p>
<p>^Yes, these schools seem really different. What was the logic in choosing them? What’s the common thread? Do you want a university experience or a LAC experience?</p>
<p>Personally, if I were an OOS full-pay student, I would not pay 50K plus for Berkeley. It has a great history, but CA is broke and cutting staff and programs left and right. You won’t see the rapid decline at well-endowed privates that you’ll be seeing at CA publics over the next few years. If you’re instate, it’s another matter. Are you a CA resident?</p>
<p>I’m from WA. Yeah, it’s unlikely that I’ll be able to go to Cal. If I do, I would have to get a loan. I can afford other schools on the list though.</p>
<p>Well, if you can go to the others without debt, choose one of them. They are all great schools. </p>
<p>I would recommend making a choice from the schools that accepted you and forget the waitlists. The vast majority never get accepted from them, and they simply prolong the agony of the whole process. Go to a school that wants you now. You’ll feel better about it.</p>
<p>Yep. The more I think about it, I don’t think Cal is worth the loan.</p>
<p>So I am trying to choose between Emory, Wellesley, and Barnard. Any advoces about those schools would help me a lot. :)</p>
<p>Provide more information about your academic goals (i.e. intended major) and preferences (location, social life) and you will get better answers. No one can tell you which one would be better for you without this information.</p>
<p>I applied as a mathematics major, but I’m interested in other possibilities as welll. I just want to explore various subjects before choosing the major. Location is not that important factor for me. I lived in sub-urban town in S. Korea for 13 years and lived in rural town in WA for 4 years. I haven’t really experienced a city life, but I do get a little excited when I imagine myself in NY. But MA and GA doesn’t seem that bad either.</p>
<p>I’m having a hard time. haha…</p>
<p>How do you feel about being in the classroom with only women? That is a big question. </p>
<p>Barnard is a true urban campus, right in the middle of NYC. Barnard students can take classes at Columbia.
Wellesley is in a suburb of Boston. It is a traditional self-contained campus. Wellesley women can take classes at MIT but it’s a hike.</p>
<p>Have you visited any of these schools? What motivated you to apply to them?</p>
<p>I have only been in co-ed environment, but I applied to two women’s colleges because I like the idea of empowering women’s education and leadership skills. To say it briefly, for wellesley, I liked the alumni connection, strong education, and prestige. For Barnard, I liked the concept of tight-knit community within the big university. For emory, I have a friend who goes there, and she talked highly of the student body. Emory is also pretty small school, so that was definitely a plus. </p>
<p>On the other hand, someone did NOT recommend wellesley because they said the students there are mainly upper-class girls, and even if I want to work for student governments, most of the leadership positions will be taken by those girls. She went to all-girls high school, and she said she did not quite fit in. Her classmates’ parents all had high positions(in government or big companies). When her friends’ parents visited them, she felt like they were looking down on her, and she was really sincere when she was talking to me about these stuffs.</p>
<p>Also, one of my friend told me that Barnard is overshadowed by Columbia and that at times, I might feel discouraged at times. I am Korean-American, and since very few Koreans are at Barnard, I would want to interact with Koreans at Columbia if I were to go there. I would like to hear any Korean’s opinions on the interaction between the students at Barnard/ Columbia. </p>
<p>I don’t have anything against Emory. It’s just that before getting my decision, I leaned more towards Wellesley/Barnard than Emory. But after listening to some people’s suggestions, I’m just confused.</p>
<p>Wellesley has need-blind admissions and excellent need-based financial aid. It is not mostly rich girls. I suspect that Barnard is similar. Top colleges have a commitment to a socioeconomically diverse class. They do not want to be playgrounds for rich kids.</p>
<p>There will be some competition for leadership positions (not based on family origin, BTW) and you will have to put yourself out there. If you are uncomfortable doing so, then any of the schools on your list is going to make you uncomfortable. You will be with a lot of bright people who are used to doing well and who are not afraid to let their light shine.</p>
<p>Thanks for the advice. I thought that way at first but I got swayed a bit for a moment.</p>
<p>For me, I would choose Emory or Barnard.</p>
<p>My D is at Wellesley, and that is absolutely, unequivocally untrue. There is excellent financial aid and it is by no means all rich girls.</p>
<p>RML’s construct of what is prestigious is heavily weighted by the proverbial “what do they think in Asia.” Wellesley has a prestige in certain circles that Berkeley doesn’t. depends upon whether you care about prestige in refined circles or whether you care about prestige among the masses.</p>
<p>hmm…I’m not sure if I want to go to Korea or stay in US after graduate school. I’m a US citizen, so it’s most likely that I will spend more time in US. </p>
<p>Some more info about me that might help…I prefer math+science over English+history,etc, but I’m pretty clueless when it comes to the “major” and “career” I’ll eventually have to choose. I’m really scared about the academic rigor when I move to college, and I don’t want to be one of those people who fall behind in college 
I also plan to go to graduate school afterward. I want to go to a college with careful, helpful advising system. I like collaborative over competitive, and I prefer small classes. </p>
<p>Oh, I procrastinate a little bit, which I will work hard to fix! 
I do not like parties, and I just enjoy having fun with small group of friends. I haven’t ever experienced single sex school, so going to women’s college will be a new experience for me. I don’t particularly prefer that setting, but I don’t mind it at all. But I also like to have some “guy” friend as well. </p>
<p>Based on my personality, does anyone have advice? Feel free to ask me more!! Thanks</p>
<p>Hmm…Wellesley, Emory seems like a better fit for you than barnard</p>
<p>hey!</p>
<p>I don’t know if you already made your decision (I’m still making mine!) but I thought I’d give you some input. From your description of yourself, Wellesley would be a PERFECT fit! I’m currently choosing between Barnard and Wellesley myself but my sister is a sophomore at Wellesley and I’ve gotten to visit campus many times.</p>
<p>Wellesley has amazing academics and I think they get a lot of their strength (besides the incredible professors) from the small size of the school (which sounds like something you have interest in). There are such great student-professor relationships and that in turn, produces real passion in the students. Wellesley is consistently ranked #1 by Princeton Review for classroom experience. My sister is going to her professor’s house for dinner this weekend, for example.</p>
<p>If you’re leaning towards math-science, Wellesley is REALLY strong in those areas. And it’s a really unique experience to have ALL of the research opportunities in those areas be available to women. Funny story about my sister’s friend, an economics major at Wellesley, she applied for an internship outside of Wellesley. And in the information they sent back to her, they identified her as a minority (she’s white btw haha) and she was worried she had accidently checked the wrong box or given them the wrong impression about her ethnicity. She tried to think of what minority they could be thinking of and then finally she realized they were referring to her status as a woman! That’s how empowering the environment at Wellesley is, especially for women going into the science and math fields traditionally dominated by men. She couldn’t even fathom being thought of as a minority because ALL of the talented math and science majors and researchers she knew were women.</p>
<p>Besides the departments at Wellesley, you’re able to take classes at MIT, Babson, and Olin, all great schools for math and science.</p>
<p>Also as someone who as you said wants to explore some different fields in college, a liberal arts school like Wellesley could be ideal. Through the general requirements, you’re encouraged to take classes in a wide range of subjects.</p>
<p>In terms of social life, it sounds like Wellesley would be ideal for you too! My sister, like you, doesn’t like to party and prefers a small group of friends. Most of the parties are off-campus at Wellesley (at MIT, Harvard, Babson, and Olin) and so for the most part the events that occur on campus are more cultural. Also it sounds like you’re interested in the atmosphere of NYC but aren’t 100% sold on it. Wellesley offers you the big city feel with Boston and its great museums/restaurants/night life nearby but you get to return to a calm and STUNNING campus.</p>
<p>Finally, you mentioned you were Korean and would like to find a group on campus. I don’t know any statistics about the Korean population, but I know Wellesley has a REALLY large and active Asian community on campus.</p>
<p>I hope this helps you with your decision if you’ve yet to make it, and good luck in college, whichever school you choose!</p>