I applied to UT, Rice, Penn, Colgate, and Haverford and was set on going east. A big determinant was winning a four-year scholarship I could use at any school in Texas. UT was too big, so my real decision was between Trinity and Rice. I chose Trinity, mainly because I didn’t like Houston’s sprawl.
I had a great academic experience. I liked the small classes and, without realizing it at the time, having a true liberal arts experience, taking English, French, Spanish, history, religion, economics, sociology, political science, and music classes. Chemistry, with about 70-80 students was my biggest class. For a small school, we had excellent resources, like a great library, big dorms (with balconies!), and athletic facilities that were for the entire student body.
It wasn’t all perfect–no school is. A small school like Trinity can get cliquish and suffocating. Nor does it have a big college sports atmosphere. (I love sports, but I’m glad I didn’t go somewhere like UT that probably would have made me a hypocrite defending the outsize influence of sports on D1 college campuses.) But TU is in the middle of a big city, making it easy to escape the “Trinity bubble” when it becomes mandatory. Also, the beach, the Hill Country, and Austin are short distances.
I went east to two big research U’s for grad school. There, I was confused the first time a GS prof said I was a good writer; I assumed everyone was by that point. All the writing at Trinity pays dividends for future schooling, work, and life. I must thank two English profs in particular (not my major), both of whom I took for two classes, who gave me great feedback to make me a stronger writer.