Which school do you think I should choose?

[afrojack]

<p>Both are public state schools, and I plan on pursuing a major in either Economics or Statistics. I LOVE living in a city, and definitely need a school with a large student body.</p>

<p>I don't want to state names for privacy reasons but both are ranked about the same, within the top 60 schools.</p>

<p>Paying for college isn't really an issue, but... who doesn't like to save?</p>

<p>School A (out-of-state)
Pros:
- Honors college
- Nationally ranked SLIGHTLY higher than school B, with great programs in business and law (which I have potential interest in)
- HUGE active student body in an up-and-coming city with lots of events going on all the time (including school sporting events, which are huge here)
- Awesome nightlife with a balance of good academics
- My dad graduated from here, and I lived here until I was about 9
- 3 hours away from home; close enough if I need to come back, but far enough to be independent and meet new people</p>

<p>Cons:
- My boyfriend goes there, and I'm not sure if that's influencing me
- Not really a con since payment isn't a problem, but who doesn't want to save money? At this school, I would be paying around $33,000 a year.
- There are honestly no other cons that I can think of right now</p>

<p>School B (in-state)
Pros:
- Not in the honors college, but anyone can take honors courses
- Security of knowing for a fact that my boyfriend isn't influencing me
- Good nightlife
- Big student body, although it has about 18,000 fewer people than the other school
- My mom works for a company owned by the school, so I can save $10,000 a year on top of in-state tuition. Total, I would be paying around $18,000 a year at this school (room and board included)</p>

<p>Cons:
- Not really good for anything that isn't science or medicine related, and I'm AWFUL at science (biology, chemistry, etc.) so I know that I'm not majoring in anything like that
- Programs in economics and statistics aren't that great; like I said, it's mainly good for things like biology and chemistry. Engineering is alright too, but I'm not interested.
- Business school is ranked MUCH lower than the other school's, and law school is on a similar level
- TOO close to home. In the same city that I live in now, and I feel like I wouldn't really be becoming the independent person I was hoping I'd be. Plus, I want to explore somewhere new.</p>

<p>School C (in-state)
Pros:
- Highest national ranking among all three schools
- Good economics program (ranked similarly to school A) and an excellent statistics program
- HUGE student body, lots of parties
- Due to my mom's job, it would only cost me about $16,000 to go here
- Decent distance from home (about 3 hours)
- Avoids the "influence" problem of school A</p>

<p>Cons:
- Receives LOTS of people from my high school
- In a relatively small "college town" (I feel like I NEED to be in a large city, and it's HOURS away from the nearest city)
- I'm having trouble picturing myself living in this area for four years</p>

[pandamic]

<p>To me, you obviously seem to love School A the most! You stated great reasons for why you want to go there, so I wouldn’t worry about your boyfriend influencing your decision. If you are willing to pay the money, I think you should pick A.</p>

[katliamom]

<p>Eliminate school B right away: it’s not very good at what you want to study. So it would be a bad academic fit, one of the key considerations of picking a school. </p>

<p>That leaves School A and School C. Both offer you the academics/social life you want, but only School A offers you the setting you want. So the question becomes: is setting worth $17,000 per year? Saving that amount of money would pay for a fabulous semester abroad, or a few fabulous summers abroad It would pay for grad school, a few of cars, make a real nice down payment on a house. OTOH, it could possibly make the difference between a great college experience and only an OK-college experience. </p>

<p>Time to really think about that - with the help of your parents. You sound like a level-headed girl who thought it all out. Time for some parental input - after all, that’s whose money we’re talking about. I was willing to pay more for my kiddo to have the urban, OOS experience she wanted because I thought there was value in that experience. Your parents may feel the same way. Good luck!</p>

[Aerobug]

<p>Go with A. If you end up breaking up with your boyfriend, the school is big enough that you won’t see much of him anyway, and if you stay together, you’re in great proximity to him. So either way your boyfriend going there shouldn’t add too much weight.</p>

[SgtDonut]

<p>I agree, I would pick A for sure, it sounds like the best option (even if you are worried about your bf influencing your decision, which is a valid concern).</p>