I am currently a senior living in NC. I attend the number one public high school in NC and have a 4.95 weighted, 3.75 unweighted GPA. My test scores are good, with a 33 on ACT and 1500 SAT.
What I am wondering is what college I should go to? I like the idea of toronto, as I will only have to pay canadian tuition and it is a world leading university. However, there is still a large appeal to going to college in the states.
Anyone have advice for my choice.
Btw I have already gotten into U of Pitt and Allegheny, awaiting decisions on the rest.
You really should think through the type of setting (city, suburb, little town). There is a huge range in your schools…from big city all the way down to Meadville PA (though Allegheny is a good school there is Meadville is pretty meh).
That said, if you like Toronto and are comfortable with a huge school then you really cannot beat that tuition (assuming you get Canadian tuition). There is a lot to be said for graduating from college with little to no debt.
What’s your budget?
Would you rather have small, interactive classes where you know your classmates and your professors well, or a university with huge grade deflation but also great prestige?
I’d wait to see where you’re admitted so you are weighing real choices and not hypothetical ones.
Other than that, it really depends on your personal preferences. You’ve got some pretty big differences here - some large public universities in big cities (like Pitt) and some small colleges in small town (like Allegheny), plus a bunch in between.
My personal preference would be Emory or Tulane - both are medium-sized universities in big cities in the South, which will offer a great college experience IMO. Atlanta is a great college town - there are so many other colleges and students. But New Orleans sounds fun, too.
One thing that is curious is why you applied to W&M and Pitt but not NC State or UNC-CH? Or any other UNC?
I have lived in chapel hill all my life and would probably go into depression if I did not move out of town. I want a clean start, which would be hard to do at either of those schools since my high school sends about 100 to unc-ch and 40 to NC-State. Additionally, the campus as nc-state is very bland and the scene is pretty boring
To answer other questions, I don’t care so much about the enrollment number as the ability to find a community within the school. My enrollment into toronto would be contingent with me getting accepted into the molecular genetics and microbiology department as well as Trinity college, as the residence is the most intimate of the 7 colleges in the school of arts and science. Additionally, I have allegheny on my list because they gave me a trustee scholarship, and unrelated to the scholarship my mom is on the board there.
Although they are really good schools, I completely get not wanting to attend UNC CH or NC State. S had a similar situation where our whole area (large school district) send tons of kids to UF and FSU. Half of them (or more) decide to room with a high school or local friend freshmen yr. Not exactly what I call an environment to grow as a person.
S decided, with our support, to look out of state and “go away” to college. Went to a school where he literally knew no one (and he was very popular in high school - class President, etc.- just wanted to spread his wings). It’s working out great and he now has friends from all over the country.
I don’t think you can go wrong with this list - good for you!
What were your impressions when you visited each school? They are very different!’
My thoughts…
Lehigh - I love this campus and the sciences are top notch
W&M - colonial Williamsburg is charming and students love it
Pitt- guessing you’d get some merit? enough to sway you?
Allegheny - lovely small little school. Can you pass that money up?
Tulane - do you like the city setting?
Emory - like Lehigh, top notch sciences. Do you like Atlanta?
Think of school size and setting…what appeals to you?
Thanks for putting time into your response. I will consider all those things in making my decision. Also, I am heavily considering trinity college at University of Toronto. They have an amazing molecular genetics and microbiology program.
I was deferred from Tulane early action. With my statistics the way they are, do you guys think that it was qualification that got me deferred, or lack of demonstrated interest, as I didn’t visit the school or interview
@nickkraut, you absolutely, totally and undoubtedly have the statistics to be admitted to Tulane. Your SAT would put you abive 75% of Tulane’s freshman class this year, and your ACT is above 65-75% as well. I think people are making a mistake when they view all the deferrals from Tulane as a dichotomy consisting of, on the one hand, those who showed interest and were underqualified and, on the other hand, those who were well qualified and did not show sufficient interest. I would submit that that is a false dichotomy reflecting people‘s desire to have simple explanations, when the reality is not so simple.
The reality is that, college admissions has become so competitive that there are many well-qualified students who show more than enough interest in Tulane and wind up disappointed nonetheless. This is because, above and beyond qualifications and interest, there are considerations of geographic and other types of diversity as well as the need to have a student body comprised of people wanting to study the entire gamut of offerings of the University. Therefore, it is not just qualifications and interest that are the determining factors. Rather it is the applicant’s academic focus as well.
My suggestion is that, if you are really interested in Tulane, you make out the case for your academic interests and how you intend to further them at the University. I would look up what faculty in your area of interest are doing at the moment and propose working with them on some of their current work as well as other ideas that you have in mind.
In any event, do not look at deferral from Tulane, or any other school for that matter, as determinative in any way, shape or form of your future. Best of luck to you!
If you are interested in those majors then I would go to a school that is a member of SEAPHAGES which encourages hands on research on bacteriophages as early as first semester freshman year.
If you go to Pitt, you might be able to apply to work in Graham Hafull’s lab. Sophomore students can also work as UTAs for the two semester course sequence.
Some more information about biological sciences at Pitt:
Guys I was waitlisted at Tulane, William and Mary and Lehigh, rejected at emory, and my application cancelled at Toronto and currently in the appeals process (school’s midyears were late).
so what are your choices again? and can you get to accepted students day at each place? - that will help cement your choice
waitlist at those places is so slim - check for common data set - so most likely eliminate those choices
for example 66 out of 1250 at Lehigh enrolled of wait list - last year
actually more at WM - 154 out of 1529 enrolled - but even that is ten percent - and over 2000 were offered wait list https://www.collegedata.com/cs/data/college/college_pg02_tmpl.jhtml?schoolId=1593