<p>Hi,
I received acceptances from both Northwestern (Weinberg) and Wellesley, but I'm having a tough decision deciding between the two. As someone who has no idea what she wants to do in college and what she wants out of it (I feel very lost...), I was wondering if anyone could make some recommendations on either college. Any information would be appreciated!</p>
<p>Thanks!</p>
<p>Great options – Congrats!! Northwestern has a liberal arts foundation which will let you explore much like Wellesley’s distribution requirements do. I’d say the biggest differences are school size, location, and culture. Have you visited both campuses or can you attend both admitted student weekends? Wellesley is a pretty small campus and as it’s a college, all the focus is on the undergraduate students. That means you don’t have to compete for faculty attention with graduate students ; faculty members are literally around all the time to answer questions or to chat about a recent news article. As I’ve said before, what I love about Wellesley is that everyone in the community is interested in so many different topics and really want to change the world now as cheesy as that sounds. That helps in figuring out what you want to do because everyone else has been or is still in your shoes and can offer advice for or against various directions.</p>
<p>You should also consider if you want to be near Chicago or Boston. Are you trying to explore a new city, stay close to home? </p>
<p>Again, great options and visit if you can – the visit will tell you a lot about the school and if you’ll be a fit there. Go somewhere where you feel comfortable, where you feel like yourself.</p>
<p>The Cats went 10 - 3 this year in the B1G football. Something you might consider. Although, Wellesley remained undefeated.</p>
<p>NU 71, NU72, NU74</p>
<p>@bn12gg : whoa…Go Wellesley… we are undefeatd…and who was Wellesley quaterback again ? RG3 right ?</p>
<p>LOL ! The accepted one should visit each and study up on the differences in a fine women’s LAC versus a first class, top tier research institution. Both would be a great choice to attend. My daughter happens to be a Smith student at this time. She turned up her nose at Northwestern wishing the closer attention that an LAC provides.</p>
<p>Anyway, ^^^^ just kidding re B1G football.</p>
<p>.02</p>
<p>NU71, NU72, NU74</p>
<p>Congratulations on having gotten into two such wonderful schools.
They are both first rate and therefore each would be an excellent choice, but the schools are very different in nature.
Because my spouse and I love LACs, we showed our daughter all of the top ones in the region: Williams, Amherst, Wellesley, Middlebury, Swarthmore, Haverford, Colgate, etc. She decided rather quickly that this was just not for her. She wanted a larger school (not too large - she rejected Cornell and larger schools as being way too big for her taste) that had great academics, Div 1 sports (the “rah rah” factor), Greek life (just in case she wanted to try it), and proximity to a great city.
After a tour of Wellesley, she also decided that an all girls school was not for her.
Ultimately, she picked Northwestern, and I cannot conceive of her having made a better choice for herself. It is a wonderful school in just about every respect. She has graduated and still glows when she talks about her four years there.
But, of course, when you pick a mid-sized or larger school (NU has about 8000 undergrads), you lose the intimacy of a LAC.
I really think that the only way for you to decide is to visit to both schools, attend a class or two at each, eat in the dining halls, and possibly stay overnight.
You should then pick the school that just feels right to you, and which you think offers the best environment for academic and personal growth for YOU PERSONALLY.
Good luck. As they say, having to make a decision like this is a high class problem!</p>
<p>Thanks for all the advice! It is very appreciated :)</p>
<p>@bn12gg pwhahahaha! that just made my day XD</p>