<p>I was accepted to both Williams and Johns Hopkins. Williams has been my dream school for quite a while now, and I was positive I would go there if I got in. But then I got the Hodson Trust Scholarship from JHU, which is a $26,500 scholarship that is renewable for all four years. I would love to go to Williams, but I would also feel really bad passing up this scholarship opportunity since it is only offered to 20 applicants each year.
Suggestions?</p>
<p>Hmmm … are you getting any Fin Aid from Williams? If you are, and it is far less, perhaps you could speak with the aid office. It would be one thing if you were looking at two very similar schools – but if Williams is your dream school, Hopkins is likely not – VERY different undergrad populations, educational emphasis, curriculum, setting, location, etc. If you can either get close to that amount in Fin Aid from Williams, or your family can afford Williams without making major sacrifices, go to the school that better suits you – it is four very important years of your life, and likely, lifetime friendships and alumni connections after the fact. Put it this way, if someone now offered me 100k NOT to have gone to Williams (even if I could have gone to some other great school which didn’t suit me nearly as well), no way in hell I’d take that offer. I’d only consider taking the deal if the difference in aid packages would impose a significant financial hardship on your family (aka, you or your family goes into serious debt to make it happen) … in that case, it might be too good an offer to pass up for an institution that is basically equal in prestige.</p>