Hi, so I’m really struggling to decide which college I want to apply early decision to and could really use some help! (especially from those of you that attend or have attended these schools) I’m most interested in Wesleyan, Brown, Vassar, Tufts, and Yale and I think I have a pretty reasonable shot at getting into any of them ED, but I don’t want to commit to a school unless it’s the “best fit” for me.
I’m planning on double majoring in English and Woman’s Studies and I’m hoping/assuming that each of these schools have reasonable programs for these fields…? (Let me know if that’s not the case cause the major thing is kinda a must have.) Besides that as far as like social stuff goes I’m definitely drawn to creative minded people. I would describe my current friends as (for lack of better words) artsy, outdoorsy, free-spirited, hippy-ish people and I’m looking to be part of a similar community in college. Also, I’m definitely looking for a work hard/play hard typa atmosphere. I’m not really into the whole frat/sorority scene, but a couple big parties every weekend and a pretty prevalent alcohol/drug culture would be good. At this point, opinions on the social scenes at the schools rather than opinions on the academics would be more valuable to me, because academically I feel that all these schools are a good fit for me. I just want to be re-assured that I won’t end up bored every weekend at the school I end up applying ED to.
Also you don’t have to read this if you don’t want, but I just wanted to offer some context as to why I’m interested in each school:
Yale: It’s definitely the most “prestigious” of the schools, which is both a good and a bad thing I feel. The reason I’m drawn to that is because that prestige has brought in many accomplished professors who I think would offer a lot of insight due to their accomplishments.
Tufts: Being close to Boston is a HUGE plus for me. I’d love to be close to an awesome music scene and Tufts offers that more than any of my other choices.
Brown, Wesleyan, and Vassar: I think I would find the most like-minded people at these schools and I would love to be surrounded by a community so similar to me.
If you have to ask the question about 4 schools then you shouldn’t ED. ED is for the ONE school above all others you want to attend (and can work with the FA).
You are going to ED without even knowing if they have your majors??
That’s exactly what I’m trying to do: find the “ONE” school that I want to attend by asking others for their experience with these schools, so thank you for your concern, but this is really not the type of response I was looking for.
Also, I know that they all have my majors (obviously), I was just wondering if anyone with inside experience had enjoyed the classes that were offered in these specific fields.
I do know my major, I’m going to double major in english and women’s studies… did I not make that clear? And why does that have anything to do with applying ED?
Have you visited all of these schools? Checked out the social scene for yourself? Maybe talked to some students in each of the departments you’re interested in, or sat in on a class?
Have you had the financial talk with your parents, meaning that they’ve given you an explicit budget? This can be anything from “we can afford $X a year” to “you don’t have to worry about price, we are aware that these schools will cost our family $60k a year and we can afford that.”
OP, I apologize for the responses from some of the grown-ups, here. You don’t have to worry about whether Yale and Wesleyan have English departments. They do. It’s clear that you’ve done a lot of research on your own. Your thumbnail analyses for each school are spot on. Keep doing what you are doing and you will eventually figure out which of these fine colleges and universities is your “dream” pick.
I guess I would quibble with how accessible Boston’s music scene is to Tufts. The train or “T” system shuts down at midnight, meaning. you’ll still need a car in order to get in a decent number of sets before going home. If driving is an option, then you might as well put Williams, Middlebury, Bates, Bowdoin and the rest of NESCAC on the table.
Wesleyan has the best home-grown music scene for a college its size. Honestly, I’ve seen complaints in the Yale Daily News that Wesleyan has better Spring Fling line-ups than Yale. I’ve heard Vassar’s is decent, too, but, since their student-run blog shut down a few years ago http://www.madsvassarblog.com/, it’s been hard too verify.
It sounds to me like Wesleyan would be your best fit and best opportunity for ED.
No one has a “pretty reasonable shot” of getting in ED to Yale or Brown, unless you are a recruited athlete (and even then…), or fit a very specific profile that they are looking for. If you think you’d be happy at Wes, apply ED there and be happy that you are done with the whole god awful process in December.
I’m not sure any of these schools have “a couple big parties” each weekend, and I think you’ll find that the big parties are sponsored by fraternities at Brown, Tufts and to lesser extent, Wes. Yale might be the closest to what you looking for “play hard” wise.
My Daughter and her friends (for the most part middle class NE white girls) went through this last fall and the only ED admits were recruited athletes. One girl (Salutatorian) who did not get in ED to Brown ended up getting in to Harvard, Yale, Chicago, WUSTL, et al (but strangely denied RD at Brown).
I also wouldn’t put too much weight in the bump you get for ED and my advice would be to not waste an ED app on an Ivy (unless it’s Penn). They don’t care about your “demonstrated interest” and as I said, unless you represent something unique beyond great academics, you are probably not what they are looking for in ED.
Sorry for the rant. I think you’ll like Wes the best of these options and should apply ED.
If my kid was actively searching the internet for a college with a prevalent alcohol/drug culture, I would be concerned. I also find it odd that people are actually advising you to apply ED to top tier schools based on your assumption that you have a pretty reasonable shot at admission.