<p>For all you current college students or those about to attend in the fall or even those of you who have graduated:</p>
<p>Why did you pick the school you did, specifically? What other schools were you accepted to? Was it a clear cut decision or did you go back and forth for days?
Basically, if you had a pro/con list for all your schools, what would be on it?</p>
<p>very good questions. someone care to answer?</p>
<p>I'll go.</p>
<p>I only applied to one school-- the University of Chicago. The decision for me was pretty easy: I wanted to go to a school that had strong academics and good professors, but every school has strong academics and good professors (you might just have to find them, but believe me, they're at every school). So my first criteria, academics, didn't help me narrow down my list at all.</p>
<p>So I went to my second criteria-- I wanted to be in a place where I could make friends easily. For me, that meant being in an environment where other students wanted strong academics and where I could chat with other people about what we were reading and such. Chicago's core curriculum enabled me to do that with other people. It also helped if they were like me-- kinda out there-ish, nerdy, noncompetitive/nonpre-professional, unafraid to speak up in class. I also wanted to be in or near a city, and I wanted a medium-size school. I also liked Gothic architecture, greenery and good bookstores. UChicago offered all of these.</p>
<p>Other schools I thought about applying to: Yale, Harvard, Princeton (my reaches), Tufts, Northwestern, JHU, Cornell (matches), SUNY Binghamton (safety). Upon reflection, I should have looked at different schools and I should have been less concerned with prestige. Schools I should have considered more carefully: Oberlin, Reed, St. John's, Carleton, Wesleyan, Vassar, Bryn Mawr, Smith, Colorado College, Macalester, etc.</p>
<p>You only applied to UChicago, and you got in?</p>
<p>Talk about risky.</p>
<p>hahahaha I applied Early Action and I decided not to apply elsewhere. (Luckily, I didn't have to worry about tuition-- otherwise, I probably would have applied to a lot of other places to compare financial aid offers). Though it might sound silly to some that I didn't even try my luck at Yalevardton, I'm far from alone in applying to Chicago EA, getting in, and deciding not to apply elsewhere RD.</p>
<p>thats exactly what this one kid i met when i was at Chicago did, Unalove. Did u take classes there this summer?</p>
<p>DD doesn't post here but I think I know how her decision went down. She chose Boston U. over several others because of strong program in her field of study (why she looked at BU in first place) but moreover to broaden her worldview a bit. A new part of the country with the potential for gleaning new perspectives looked inviting. Generous scholarship sealed the deal.</p>
<p>I guess the choices I had was: UC Davis, Santa Barbara, and Irvine. </p>
<p>I chose Irvine since it was one of the few universities that offered the undergraduate research program, and since I am aspiring to be either a programmer or researcher in math after graduate school, that alone won me over. Then there's the fact that the university has dedicated an entire department for computer and information sciences.</p>
<p>I did the same as Unalove. I had a magnificent impression of Uchicago--there is a Russian composer named Balakirev whose piece Islamey automatically triggered butterflies about possibly getting in. Not sure why.</p>
<p>When I read the acceptance letter in December I knew this was it. I wouldn't apply anywhere else.</p>
<p>S doesn't post here but I knew which school was his top the day we walked through campus. We went to see Wake Forest, Duke, Lehigh, UVA, Virginia Tech, Cornell, Bucknell and Lafayette. I know my kid's body language, the first time he smiled and his shoulders relaxed was at VT. It was his safety school and it was the first school to send the acceptance. He never looked back.</p>
<p>Why was it his favorite? He looked at engineering departments at each of those schools first and then to the atmosphere of the school itself. VT felt like a home. Those were his words!</p>
<p>The truth is that many students, especially the more ambitious and academically-inclined ones, often cannot get into their number one choice (usually Harvard, MIT, etc.) and end up going elsewhere (generally their second best available option). </p>
<p>Considering however that there is a fairly high quality standard among, let's say, the top 30 nationally ranked schools in the US, not getting into the top 5 is not really a big deal and won't significantly hurt you in the long run (except for a possible temporary damage to your own self-esteem).</p>
<p>I ended up applying to Maryland, Texas, Georgia Tech, and UMBC</p>
<p>Some of the things I knew I wanted:<br>
-A big campus with lots of people
-Division I sports, preferably with good teams and a decent fan base
-Public
-Out of state, I'm a Maryland resident so I had to apply to Maryland and UMBC
-Above average academics in different areas, but I was mainly looking at math/science depts</p>
<p>That's pretty much it. I got into every school, although Maryland deferred me until the spring semester. I chose Tech and I'm very happy with it. Texas was my dream school, but they waited until it was almost May to let me know that I got in...and by that time I had been looking into Tech more in depth and was sold on it.</p>
<p>When I got into Chicago, I was thinking that I wanted a smaller school closer to home. The only school that fit my criteria and satisfied my GC was Colgate, which is a marvelous school, but on the opposite side of the spectrum from Chicago. I wanted a school like Colgate because I thought I would get more attention there. My ultimate "should I apply to Colgate?" test was testing if the signature on the UChicago acceptance letter was real. I thought that letters signed by hand suggested a level of intimacy that machine-signed letters didn't. So I licked my finger, attempted to smudge the ink, and it smudged.</p>
<p>Another friend, probably one of the smartest and talented people I know, was turned down by Cornell, Vassar, and Wash U (probably a combination of being female and not having the grades for those schools) but was welcomed with open arms by Bates, Colby, Bryn Mawr, Wellesley, and Oberlin, schools that are worlds apart from each other. Though the school that did the most to get her to go was Colby, she was turned off by the ivy attitude of Wellesley and by the drinking scenes at Colby, Bates, and Bryn Mawr. She felt that students found alcohol an event in itself, and she thought that was silly. At Oberlin, she felt, people partied, but they also attended concerts and did other things. That was really the clincher for her.</p>
<p>Well, I chose NYU Stern over UChicago (those were the two I was deciding between because UConn, the third school I got into, was a safety) because of location, mainly. Money wasn't a terribly big issue, though it helped tip the balance in NYU's favor, strangely, because Chicago would have cost about $5000 more (no financial aid either way). I love NYC, and at the time, it was a really easy decision, because I had got NYU's offer weeks before Chicago's, and I was just waiting for the other decisions to roll in.</p>
<p>I dunno... a few things I think I should have done differently: I should have looked at Chicago a bit more, visited, you know? Because at times, I think the really academic atmosphere would have fit me well, and I would have been going for economics, which is excellent there. Possibly, I would have applied to Columbia ED (I got deferred and waitlisted on RD), rather than Harvard EA (which is a shot in the dark for nearly everyone). I also would have looked into schools like Duke and Rice... I didn't look at any southern schools.</p>
<p>But anyway, to answer your original third question about pros and cons:</p>
<p>Pros:</p>
<p>NYU - location, lower cost (strange, isn't it?), very good dorms, study abroad opportunities seem to be better</p>
<p>UChicago - academic atmosphere, slightly more prestigious, more liberal arts, really nice and slightly quirky (it seems)</p>
<p>Cons:</p>
<p>NYU - Very big school, focus on one field (could be good or bad), lots of distractions</p>
<p>UChicago - location, slightly higher cost</p>
<p>" I thought that letters signed by hand suggested a level of intimacy that machine-signed letters didn't. So I licked my finger, attempted to smudge the ink, and it smudged."</p>
<p>You are so Chicago:)</p>
<p>My son refused at first to even look into Chicago. Family friends had a daughter who had always been, even two years older, my son's academic nemesis. At Chicago she was one of the kids that gave tours. Over the summer she hounded him and he was having none of it.</p>
<p>We visited Brown and he thought it was perfect. Applied ED. </p>
<p>The day or two before ED results came out I came home to find my strapping, never cried a day in his life son, teary eyed faced pressed into a vaguely sympathetic cat. I assumed the poor kid had been rejected from Brown.......but no, our friend's fiendish daughter had sent him a bunch of Chicago stuff, ended the email with yo mama in latin and he was totally, absolutely, completely in love.(Chicago definitely appeals with it's wry humor....and my son has noted it runs through everything) </p>
<p>The tears? Terrified he was going to get into Brown ED and have no chance at Chicago. Probaly the only kid that felt getting deferred from Brown was the
luckiest day of his life.</p>
<p>My senior year of high school, I only applied to one school - a less-than-stellar local State U. Attending was free, and I had no idea as to what I wanted to do or where I wanted to go, so I decided I'd stay for a year and transfer when I figured it all out. </p>
<p>As a transfer, I applied and was accepted to Simmons, Stonehill, Suffolk and Clark. I also applied to Brandeis and BU. I don't know if I was accepted to either, because I had to make a decision at the other schools before I found out, and pulled my applications after accepting admissions elsewhere (I didn't want to have any regrets and thought it better not to know). I chose Simmons, and I've never regretted it.</p>
<p>I wound up at Simmons for a lot of reasons, though I never thought I'd ever attend a women's college. First, in terms of the school itself, it was exactly what I was looking for - a small, traditional, residential campus, right in the center of Boston. It has wonderful internship programs, reputable faculty, and the broad range of social science/humanities majors I was looking for. I love that I have small classes, that my professors know me by name, that it's easy to get involved, and that there's always something going on both on and off campus. I love that the student body is focussed on academics, but in a supportive, rather than a competitive way. You really are encouraged to challenge yoursef, in all respects. But really, it's just that it's a perfect fit. I knew as soon as a visited that it was what I was looking for but hadn't been able to fully articulate, and I didn't look back from that point on.</p>
<p>In-state tuition even though I was out of state, a good party/activity scene, very strong in my major, close enough that I could go home on breaks but not close enough that I'd be tempted (guilted) into going home on weekends, loved the campus and loved the sports. I had the stats to get into a "more prestigious" university, but I liked VT much more than any of the other places I could have gone. Applied only to VT.</p>
<p>Middlebury had the language strengths i wanted combined with small classes and the right feel. The only other school i really considered was Chicago, but it just felt a little to intimidating. Plus Middlebury paid for me to visit (based off my Asian heritage) and i could never afford a visit to Chicago. Even the technology helpdesk is friendly at Midd, while the people from Chicago's fin aid office were scary and not helpful.</p>
<p>Well frankly, this thread is a bit disappointing. Of course everyone who picks a school will have nice things to say about it. What I would be more interested in is hearing about the admissions horror stories out there. Though admittedly mistakes are made at EVERY SCHOOL.</p>
<p>Let me start out with one:</p>
<p>We are southerners. We looked PRIMARILY at Southern Schools. We were picky on things because my D has particular interests and particular dislikes...not that it wont be a marvelous experience for someone else....not THAT kind of picky....just subjectively picky for herself. Not snotty and arrogant either. She didnt want a large state school. Not her thing. Sports is fun but not the center of her life, so being Div I wasnt key. However, knowing from friends what they had been through we applied to a couple of state schools, including UVa.</p>
<p>We toured campus ourselves and then again in a guided tour. Some things turned us on and some things turned us off. But one thing that really turned us on was the "speech" given by the admissions staff. They were very frank and honest. "Being out of state is hard because its uber selective of out of state kids." "We all makes mistakes. We try and avoid them, but yes, sometimes we get it wrong. Both on who we admit and who we reject or waitlist." "We look very hard at the complete application. If you have something to explain, its better that you do it and do it well, than say nothing and hope we dont see it." "Our application asks you to address any shortcomings you have and how you dealt with it."</p>
<p>In the end, they also contacted ANOTHER teacher who had not submitted a recommendation....a music instructor. But we didnt make the cut. It was disappointing though not the end of the world. But we certainly appreciated their candor. They will DEFINITELY be on the short list for graduate school.</p>
<p>And to IvyMom (if that post was for real and she was being honest...which I suspect was some person's idea of a practical joke....that went over badly.) The Ivy League was made up of the original 8 schools and was an athletic association, and had NOTHING to do with academics originally. The Ivy League historically was filled with Northeastern wealthy kids and prepsters. That has changed in 30 years or so, though a good number of feeder schools still send a bunch of kids there. But the Ivy League is not alone on having a perception of snobbery. There are PLENTY of schools across the country who can compete toe to toe on snob appeal and elitist admissions policies. I know about 6 kids in my immediate community who got into the Ivies this year. All of them are great kids, with most being from public schools. And the only complaints I heard about the admissions process were about Yale, and I think those comments were misplaced, frankly. </p>
<p>Going to college is all about fit, it seems to me. Because if you (your kid) has a good fit, they will have a better experience and do very well. Failure is a very sad thing. If its Virginia Tech, or Georgia Tech, or Ohio State, or Oberlin or Tufts or Dartmouth, or WashU or St. Louis U.....whatever it is....we ought to congratulate everyone and wish them the very best. </p>
<p>I only wish I could go back to college and learn some more....but who would want an old person like me sitting in a class of 20 year old kids? lol. When I was coming along, the vast majority of kids did NOT look out of state and most went to a local school.....regardless of gpa and SAT scores. Perhaps that was better....perhaps not. To me, ideally, a college would admit kids from all parts of the country and from all backgrounds and all kinds of scores....with a CLEAR mininum standard PUBLISHED for all to see. If 1400 is your cut off, SAY IT. If you admit 30 kids below that figure for statistical and other reasons, SAY IT. And I would abolish the "legacy" factor. I would also ask Congress to legislate a federal law that says that schools may NOT request or receive financial aid applications until AFTER they have completed their admissions process, making admissions TRULY needs blind. (Asking "what does your daddy do is cheating......" and it goes on at a LOT of schools.....!!!!!)</p>
<p>I went to a small private school ....not an elite school....and had a superb experience I would not trade for all the tea in china. </p>
<p>And yes, Virginia Tech is a beautiful campus, in a lovely city in a gorgeous part of the country, with superb faculty and caring administration. So for anyone going there, I congratulate you and wish you the best.</p>
<p>I was accepted to three schools: Carnegie Mellon, University of Miami, and Case Western Reserve University.</p>
<p>Miami gave me a $24k scholarship, Case $16.4k, CMU nothing, and with some really crappy FA that didn't meet my full need. (It was appealed and ended up looking much more satisfactory, but that first snub ultimately counted against them, for what was stopping them from doing the same thing next year?)</p>
<p>My wishlist read something like this:
- East Coast, urban/suburban
- 5k-10k undergraduates
- opportunity for me to swim, and not just as a walk-on - only UMiami didn't offer that
- research-heavy
- like-minded students - quirky/nerdy, intelligent, not into partying (again, Miami didn't fit the bill)</p>
<p>Case felt the best of the three when I visited. Everyone I met at orientation & on Facebook seem nice, I can stand the food, and I have 48 credits going in thanks to my AP scores. I'll also be able to double or maybe even triple major. The best thing is that Case is right next to the University Circle hospitals (including Rainbow Children's), and just a couple of miles away from the Cleveland Clinic. (Yes, I'm pre-med.)</p>
<p>It's not my "dream school", but who cares? I'll still be happy.</p>