<p>Ok I'm a senior this year and obviously I have been thinking about college. I have managed to narrow down my list to nine colleges: in order that I like them (I think) is: UWisconsin, UMichigan, UTexas, U of Notre Dame, UNC, Purdue, Yale, Texas A&M and Northwestern. I live in Texas, but might want to get away. I probably want to major in psychology (#1) or biology(#2) or economics/business(#3) and might want to be a doctor.</p>
<p>Obviously I want to go to a good school but also a nice place to live.
I love sports and want to be in a good sports town
I want atmosphere, good ways to relax, great college town
Friendly students, town, area, etc.</p>
<p>Where do you think I should consider foremost, or do I have it right? (Lets just say I get into all of them, even though I know that's not likely, for the sake of the discussion haha)</p>
<p>Will your parents pay for whatever school you choose? If not, then you need to consider schools that will be affordable. OOS publics won’t help you with financial aid to cover big OOS costs. However, some might offer a merit scholarship based on high stats.</p>
<p>I toured Northwestern and the campus seemed pretty nice and you get into all sporting events for free. However, being from Texas, youd also have to put up with some cold Chicago Winters.</p>
<p>Dont overestimate getting away. Im from IL and wanted to get away to CA, pref. UCLA. My parents made me realize, however, the cost of traveling. Depending how far you go, you could probably only come home once or twice a year. Not to mention that if you HAD to go back to TX and say you were at UMich, youd be paying a lot of money to fly back on short notice</p>
<p>I agree with mom2collegekids, if cost is an issue, I’d go with UTexas or Texas A&M, they’re both good schools, they’re both in state for you (lots less money), and lets face it, The Big 12 Conference is pretty sick, and UTexas and Texas A&M are often near the top.</p>
<p>Have you considered the U of Minnesota?
-Great programs in the areas you mentioned.
-Great sports town (NFL, NBA, MLB, NHL, and of course, a D-1 Big Ten sports program)
-Good school spirit.
-Not much of a “college town,” but it’s one of the nicest major cities in the US with lots to do.
Just another suggestion…</p>
<p>Other than that, if we’re assuming you can get into and pay for each of those schools:
-Research which school is best for your academic interests.
-Visit/research the schools you’re interested in and see where you feel most comfortable. </p>
<p>Ok well here are my stats
I got a 31 on ACT and 2050 on SAT, so not sure about rice…and I visited rice, didnt like it that much. And I’m prob around top 5 6 % of my class, so I can prob go to Texas or Texas A&M because of the top ten rule.</p>
<p>Our family is pretty well off (I have 3 sisters and 2 went out of state) so tuition isn’t a huge deal, my parents just want me to be happy. I grew up in the Midwest (Indiana) so I kind of want to go back, I love it so much.
I have been to Madison, WI countless times (2 sisters went there, I’m the only boy) and have loved a lot about it, and the atmosphere.
Minnesota does sound good too though!</p>
<p>Apply to Wisconsin before the priority date (11/1) and early action to Michigan, Notre Dame and UNC. You have Texas and A&M as your safeties (top 10 rule). You should be all set come mid-December. And if you are still in the mood, apply to Yale and Northwestern.</p>
<p>I basically have the same criteria in schools as you and have considered similar schools. Your list looks good and you seem pretty settled on it, but if you are looking for a few more schools to think about, you might consider UFlorida, Penn State, and Boston College. They all have good academics, great sports, nice college towns. I just visited Florida and it’s now my first choice school, loved BC during the visit, and I know a lot of people at Penn State, all of whom are crazy about it.</p>
<p>If you have med school in your future (very expensive), then I’d go to UT or A&M and save money for that…unless your parents are so affluent that they’ll pay big bucks for undergrad and big bucks for med school as well! </p>
<p>If your parents won’t pay big bucks for undergrad **AND **med school, ask them if they’ll help pay for med school if you save them money for undergrad. (that’s what were doing for our son. He took a big scholarship to our flagship, and we’ll help pay for med school. )</p>
<p>If you want to save money for med school, and you want to get out of Texas, then you can also go to some schools with scholarships for your stats.</p>
<p>But, if money is no object for undergrad and med school…then go wherever you love best and can get in! :)</p>
<p>Well the thing is my parents are like the only ones down here…Almost everyone else in my family is in the Midwest (parents probably want to retire there too). All my siblings live there and I think I want to eventually too. So would it be a bad idea to test it out in undergrad? (Obviously only if I like the school) We travel every year to Chicago for Thanksgiving for a family gathering so it might actually be cheaper travel wise to visit family, other than at Christmas and summer, when we go back home.</p>
<p>Well, when you’re in Chicago this Thanksgiving, use that time to think about whether you’d like living in the Midwest. </p>
<p>However, I don’t think you have to go to undergrad in the Midwest to “test it out” to see if you’ll want to settle there eventually. It sounds like you have plenty of other opportunities to test it out…holidays…maybe summers. </p>
<p>Also, you could always go to med school in the midwest.</p>
<p>Besides…who knows where your future will take you…you may get a great opportunity with a med practice in some other part of the country, or you might meet the love of your life and settle where that person is.</p>
<p>I’m looking at the same type of schools as you. </p>
<p>I suggest Georgia. It’s in Athens, which is one of the best- if not the best- college towns in the country. UGA’s campus is also very nice. All of the buildings on campus are beautiful and look like they are either fairly new, or have been recently renovated. Obviously as a SEC school, they love their football there. You also have the Southern hospitality in Athens. I’m from California and I was shocked at how polite and nice the people were at UGA and the rest of the South. </p>
<p>Other schools you should consider:</p>
<p>Florida
Virginia Tech
Oregon
UVA
Iowa
Auburn</p>
<p>thanks guys for the help. but mom2collegekids, I think I am leaning towards Wisconsin. I know it will be expensive to go out of state, but its one of the cheapest and best schools in the Big Ten (at like 22k tuition or something?) and I like it so much already. Ill definitely check out the others though.</p>