Hello there! So I’ve narrowed my choices down to the following schools: Wellesley, Georgetown, Middlebury, UC Berkeley. I’m so torn as to what to do - I’m thinking of majoring in psychology, perhaps pre-med. I’m in love with Boston, but also would love exploring a new town since that is where I am originally from. In my mind, here are some pros and cons for each of the various schools… if you have any advice or anything to add to these, please do!
Wellesley:
Pros are location (although maybe Boston itself is not very accessible?), incredibly alums and networking, classic liberal arts experience
Cons are the all women’s aspect negatively impacting my social life, not as prestigious as others as I’ve been told
Georgetown:
Pros are easy access to internships, great social life, school spirit, international focus, excellent professors
Cons are I’m not pursuing government and think Georgetown is renowned for this specifically
Middlebury and UC Berkeley:
Honestly don’t know enough about these two to make an educated lists of pros and cons, except that Midd is very rural and isolated while Berkeley is huge and perhaps not the best for undergrads.
Please let me know your thoughts because I unfortunately need to make a decision very very soon, and I won’t have the chance to visit any of these schools before then. Thanks in advance!
I would probably take out Berkeley and Middlebury from your list. I don’t know much about Middlebury but I think if you’re in love with Boston, you wouldn’t like Middlebury’s location. UC Berkeley is huge, large class sizes, too many premeds, and cutthroat (at least that is what I’ve heard). I think at Wellesley and Georgetown you would be able to get way more individualized attention and resources. I would say the deciding factor between those two would be financial aid. Also, Wellesley has a great alumni network…not too sure about Georgetown. Hope this is helpful!
Just visited Middlebury today. Possibly the world’s most beautiful campus-- Grey stone buildings with wide expanses of lawn and the Green Mountains and Adirondack Mountains in clear view on either side. Everything there is so immaculately clean, new and perfect looking.
The resources are scary amazing. I mean, how many colleges have their own ski mountain and golf course?
The food is outstanding- and unlimited; kids can go in and out of the dining hall as often as they like.
Diversity is great; in many dining halls on other campuses, kids sit self segregated-- but tables are integrated at Midd. And students we saw also ranged from hockey players to cross dressers to Quidditch players (we saw a game of Quidditch in progress).
Commons dorm system and orientation programs build a sense of community and help students get to know one another.
Everyone was super friendly.
Students described amazing opportunities they had had in internships and study abroad and campus research with their professors. Campus is environmentally friendly. Language study is a real strength, but most departments are strong. You have to take courses in at least seven out of eight distribution areas, but there is lots of choice within those.
As the tour guide pointed out, no one needs to leave campus because there is so much happening on campus. Middlebury is wealthy and brings the world to its students to make up for physical isolation. Speakers, performers, etc. And the town is lovely.
That does not mean it is the right choice for you, but you said you did not know much about it, so I shared my very recent impressions.
I loved Wellesley back when I was looking for a college for myself a hundred years ago. But, after admitted student days, I was convinced I did not want an all female school.
In general, Small liberal arts colleges provide amazing opportunities to their students with small discussion based classes, interactions with professors that include getting to dine with them and meet their families as well as helping them with research and serving on committees with them.
But Washington, DC is a great city and the area around Georgetown is really beautiful. Neither I nor my son looked at the college itself, though.
We also did not visit UC Berkeley.
You have some great choices. I am sure you could be happy at any of them. Which appeals most to you?
Someone on this board once made a great suggestion. Divide your choices into every possible pairing. For each pairing,flip a coin. Which do you feel most disappointed when it comes up the other way? That is the one you have already chosen in your heart. With schools this good, if financial aid is not a factor, that is all you need.
@seniorsenior2017 I would choose Georgetown without even thinking. It is a Jesuit school, so you will receive one of the best educations out there. Plus they got DC so they have connections with many of the local hospitals and research centers.
If you are thinking about pre med, I would cross the UCs off just because of their huge student population.
The more students, the more competition. Plus, at Georgetown, you would have more access to professors.
I understand your problem about Georgetown being only good at government. Even though they are good with business and government, their science department is no slouch whatsoever. Very good…
I have no heard too many things about Middlebury, but I do know its a prestigious institution.
Good luck and definitely let us know where you end up committing.
All four are excellent schools and you’ll find plenty of Psychology or Pre-Med students at each.
Are you attending W's spring open campus next week? Recommend you ask current students about the social life concern. During the week this may be fair (assuming you're seeking men). But on weekends, your social life will have access to the 250k+ college students in the Boston metro area.
You've been given bad information. Wellesley is definitely as prestigious (or even more so) than the other schools you mentioned.
Yes, Gtown is a leader in Government, but it is also a great school in general, offering an excellent Psychology or Pre-Med education.
True...but students seem to love it there. As @TheGreyKing notes, the school puts tremendous effort into building community on campus.
Cal has extensive resources for undergrads, but you may not get as much personal attention as you would at a smaller school like Wellesley or Middlebury. Sure there are lots of grad students…if that’s a positive or a negative depends on you.
Are there any cost differences between them? That’s an easy tiebreaker.
UC Berkeley is going to give you a giant university experience, whereas Middlebury and Wellesley are about small liberal arts college life. Do you want one or the other? They are very different experiences to have. Which one appeals to you more?
If money not part of this equation, I’d tell you to follow your heart and go to Georgetown or Wellesley. Academics will be solid at both and won’t decide this. An all women’s suburban lovely campused LAC vs a mid sized u in a large city? This is where your decision should lie.
Thank you all so much! I actually went to visit Middlebury and really, really loved it. The campus is gorgeous, the people are so nice, and it feels like such a good fit for me. The only thing is, as someone thinking about global health, Georgetown seems pretty hard to top. Middlebury doesn’t have the strongest ranking in that department, and my mom is also worried that I will not be able to have easy access to research and internships like I would have access to in DC. The professors at Georgetown also seem hard to beat. Do any of you agree?
DC is an amazing place for UG, so many opportunities right there, esp for subjects like global health. And it’s obviously an intetnational city. Everything is accessible, which, in addition, means exploring, fun. Did you visit? If not, see if Gtown has virtual tours or other insights via you tube. Often you can even find dept related.
All good colleges. I’m not pushing toward Gtown, but it’s a great environment for those who can see themselves there.
Middlebury is a small school with a significant global reach. Career services does an excellent job connecting students with alumni to secure internships throughout the world. Contact them and I’m sure they’d assuage any concerns you have about that. It all comes down to environment. Tony urban neighborhood vs. a college in a valley sourrounded by mountains.
Cal is a world class research university. The #1 top public university. Great weather, fun place to be. The town of Berkeley is a lot like Cambridge, Ma. True, you are more on your own. No one is going to hold your hand. But what a great place to be with great opportunities! Georgetown would be my second choice, though it’s hard I’ve heard to get into clubs and some ECs. And the food is not so good. Wellesley being all women would not be my choice, and Midd is cold. We got caught on 84 in an ice storm on our way up and were held in check for one hour so they could move out a roll-over. My daughter decided then and there Midd would be too cold and isolated, and decided on warmer weather. Good Luck. All great choices!
I will say that I am the father of a recent Midd grad and a first year Midd student so my feelings will be skewed. As others have stated all are great schools and I am sure you will do wonderful things at which ever you select. That being said, I can not say enough great things about Midd.The facilities are top notch, the proffessors are really there for the students. My son landed a job in New York from a company that came to campus. Their networking is very strong. This year three of the seniors on the Mens swim team are going the Med School route.
Someone on this site mentioned how most likely,upon graduation, almost everyone will work in a big city type environment. In your case, if its Med School you most likely will be in a city. Undergrad might be your last or only chance of really being in a nice rural bubble type environment. Midd affords you that luxury. You will have the opportunity at a first class education, along with the ability to make life long friendships magnified by Midds size and location. Waking up looking at those beautiful mountains every day is not to shabby either.
Best of luck and I am sure you will succeed at any of the schools
Thank you all for the responses! My heart is telling me to choose Middlebury – it feels like a better fit and such – but my brain is telling me to pick Georgetown because of the amazing opportunities for international studies/health. Any other advice would be appreciated
Both are great alternatives, and are fundamentally equivalent when it comes to opening doors to graduate school and employment opportunities. You can’t go wrong choosing Georgetown or Middlebury given your objectives.
You might want to look into Middlebury’s International & Global Studies Program. Middlebury is renowned for its language training, among other things, and it wouldn’t surprise me if there isn’t also excellent access to international opportunities.
For what it’s worth, a good friend loved her time at Middlebury and is now a plastic surgeon, and my nephew, who graduated recently, has an excellent job with an international bank. Neither, in retrospect, would have gone anywhere else. I also understand that the Midd Alumni Network is very strong, close and mutually supportive. Friends who have attended Georgetown don’t have the same degree of attachment to the school.
This is one where I would go with your fit preferences.
Georgetown offers a nice campus in a desirable location w.r.t. government-related internships. It’s also IMO a bit over-rated compared to other USNWR top 30 national universities. In university quality, good things tend to follow the money. Georgetown’s endowment per student is about $119K, compared to ~$362K for Midd and $763K for Wellesley (or over $1M for AWS or HYPSM). The difference seems to show in the library facilities. I think there is also a difference in overall faculty strength and research production compared to other “top” schools… although you may not notice either one. I doubt there’s a consistent big difference in classroom instruction quality across G/M/W, so you might prefer Georgetown just for the location (or for the health-related programs).
If it’s down to M or W, I’d lean toward Wellesley for the Boston-area location. I do really like Middlebury’s campus (setting and facilities) though. Which do you prefer: skiing and hiking, or shopping and museums? Assuming costs are similar.
I say go with your heart. You will probably find ways at Middlebury to find opportunities for internships and international/global opportunities (and people have mentioned how their career services is strong and they do have strong global reach in some areas). And it will probably be harder to find the things you like at Middlebury at other schools.
How did the idea that Midd is not strong on international/global opportunities creep in to this discussion? Just a few years ago, USNWR listed standouts in certain areas. Middlebury was listed as the top school for international studies (or something like that). It’s pretty much what the school is known for. I’m to sure who first had the idea that this was not a strength of the college.
