Williams vs. Vassar vs. Wesleyan

College Search & Selection
1

<p>Hello everyone!</p>

<p>Hope your admissions decisions turned out well. Congratulations to those admitted and deep regrets to those who have been denied admissions.</p>

<p>This admissions season, many claim, has been very tough for most students, especially international students and students who request financial aid.</p>

<p>I would like to hear some advice from you. :D</p>

<p>I am a Korean (by blood), but Mexican (by birth), holding Permanent Residence status in the United States. I applied to many schools, among which were very competitive ones.</p>

<p>Remarkably, though, I was accepted to Vassar College and Wesleyan University, both with huge financial aid packages.</p>

<p>I was also waitlisted for Williams College.</p>

<p>These are some important things you should consider, when recommending me a school:</p>

<p>Vassar - $51k = scholarship and work-study (NO LOANS) Paying around $7900 yearly
Wesleyan - $51k = scholarship + loan ($3500 per year) + work-study. Paying around $7500 yearly.
Williams - waitlisted, expecting similar aid</p>

<p>Goals: Med-School, wanting to pursue a dual-degree in Engineering (giving undergrad education some more value)
Method: Vassar has a Dual-Degree on Engineering with Dartmouth. Wes and Williams have a Combined Program Dual-Degree on Engineering with Columbia U.
Major: Originally Biology, but discarded since it does not qualify for the dual-degree programs. Now trying to decide between Physics OR Chemistry.</p>

<p>Other information: Academically and reputation-wise, Williams might outstand Vassar and Wes, but what about general living, community/location, and other college life factors? I have heard that Williamstown (where Williams is) is quite a boring place, very uninteresting, and such. Vassar (Poughkeepsie, NY) and Wesleyan (Middletown, CT) are very similar to each other(academics, population, climate, and other factors) but better to live in. Vassar is closer to NYC. Wesleyan is similarly close to NYC; its campus is smaller.</p>

<p>Should I drop Williams? Should I pursue to get accepted from its waitlist? Should I enroll Vassar? Or Wesleyan?</p>

<p>Please contribute and make suggestions. I would GREATLY appreciate it!! :D</p>

<p>Thanks.</p>

2

<p>First of all, Williams is what it is: a small college in an alpine village. It is good at one thing: attracting male athletes and people who love being around male athletes. So, yes, if you wish to spend the next four years of your life pretending you like the finer points of beer pong, or a bunch of sports you’ve never heard of, sure, firmly place your nose between it’s huge, purple, waitlist cheeks.</p>

<p>Or, you can just choose between Vassar or Wesleyan. </p>

<p>Academically, I think they are a wash. Wesleyan is thirty-five minutes away from Yale, and Trinity, less than an hour from Brown. Vassar’s closest collegiate neighbor is Bard. Vassar’s campus is a bit more enclosed and designed in an era when women were not permitted to step off campus. Wesleyan’s tends to merge into the surrounding community with upper-classmen living in former faculty homes.</p>

3

<p>I also got into both schools, great schools, congratulations for the great fin aid. packages. Well, it really depends on what kind of person you are because academically they are both amazing schools, so it should all come down to if you really see yourself living in the school</p>