Wisconsin vs. Colby vs. Tulane vs. UC's (SanDiego/Irvine/SantaBarbara) vs. Wake Forest

College Search & Selection
1

These are the schools to which I’ve been accepted. I am having a very hard time choosing; I’m very undecided about everything. Please tell me what you think.

At Wisconsin, I got direct admission to the business school. I really love the fact that their sports teams are fantastic and would be very fun to watch. I also think that a school this big would be very fun and I’m not worried about “getting lost” so to speak. It’s also less expensive than most of my other options, which is a plus. I don’t really like the cold weather, but I feel that I would adapt.

Colby, out of these schools, is the most “prestigious” and “best school” with the lowest acceptance rate. I think this school would look the best on a resume to get into graduate school or get a high-paying job. I wouldn’t get to study business here, however I think getting an economics or political science degree and then going to business grad school or law school is just as good of an option if not better. Once again I’m very undecided as to what I want to do. The cold weather is a little bit of a turnoff here but once again I could adapt to it. I feel that I can excel in a small school environment, but I would definitely miss the spirited sports atmosphere at a school like Wisconsin. Colby is also very expensive.

At Tulane, I got a $22,000/year scholarship, which would put the price around where Wisconsin’s is and make it a cheaper option than Colby, Wake, and the UC’s too. This school looks sooo much fun, however I do not think it is as academically prestigious as some of my other options. I would want to study business here, and it’s good I would not have to actually apply to the business school–I’d be automatically in. However I got accepted into better business schools ie. Wisconsin. The weather is a huge plus here. Tulane does not have very good sports teams though, something that matters to me.

Out of the UC’s, the one that I’m most interested in (and always have been) is UC San Diego. I feel that this is the best UC other than UCLA and UC Berkeley. The weather is outstanding. I got accepted into Muir and my major is International Business here. Again, not the best business school I got accepted into. I live in MD, but the long distance to Cali does not really worry me. Sports teams not good here either. Also, the UC’s are expensive out of state, but not as expensive as Colby or Wake Forest would be.

As for Wake Forest, it’s beautiful and I love the school, but I did not get any money there. It seems very comparable to Tulane, and Tulane would be a lot cheaper because of my scholarship. I would want to study business here, too, but I’d actually have to apply to the business school during my time. One pull that Wake has it that they are D1 ACC sports.

Basically, I want the best education I can get, to go to a “prestigious” school, and I value things like weather, sports teams, good party culture, etc.) I want to study business (probably International business or just management) but I’m also very interested in the liberal arts like political science and economics. If not business, I see myself potentially going to law school after undergraduate.

Would y’all mind helping me out in my decision with your reasoning too? Thanks.

2

Colby is a great school but as a LAC it is an apples to oranges comparison to the other schools. It is prestigious in that world. It is also small, cold, and D3 so it’s not at all like the others. It does have a very low acceptance rate and high ranking in USNWR of LACs if that is your benchmark. Personally, while the path might be a bit different depending on where you go, I think you can reach your long term goals at all of these schools. Most of these schools are overlaps (UCs aside?). Wake and Tulane are the most similar with Wake having a marginal edge in the pecking order but, as you note, all things considered Tulane may be the better fit for you. Tulane’s undergrad functions essentially like a LAC with great flexibility of curriculum. Wisconsin would give you the academics, big school sports and is supposed to be a lot of fun. UCSD too with better weather but less of a sports culture. Good choices to have but I think only you can choose which flavor is your favorite.

3

You mention an interest in International Business - have you looked into the Altman Program at Tulane? It might be too late to apply, but take a look - quickly! - it’s an awesome program.

My daughter is graduating from Tulane this year from the Altman Program, and it has been a fabulous experience. She was also accepted to Cornell, UNC OOS, W&M, Wake, and 5 other great schools (36 ACT), and after lots of consideration chose Tulane/Altman and it was a great choice for her. BTW they just opened a new Business school building, which is very nice. The campus is beautiful.

As far as your choices - “fit” is definitely important, and with all those great schools you have options for, I think you’re best off where you’ll fit the best and thrive the most.

Best,
Ken

4

Just reflecting your own deliberations back at you, I hear you leaning to Wisconsin. I don’t have specific opinions about these schools beyond what’s known generally. Agree that Colby is such an outlier here, hard to compare. If the sports are important and the direct admit to a top biz school is important and some of the potential drawbacks of Wisconsin (huge school, cold) don’t bother you, AND it’s the cheapest option? I think we have a winner, folks. On, Wisconsin! Go Badgers!

5

Wisconsin meets your needs for everything but weather. Paying OOS prices for a UC makes no sense to this parent and California resident.

On Wisconsin!

(Wake would be my second choice, but at ~$70k/yr, yikes.)

6

@bluebayou is right on the target. Wisconsin is sensational. Great school. Great town. Great spirit and Big Ten sports.
Buy a winter coat.

7

I am a huge fan of Colby for all it offers its students and the ease with which they can access it, but it doesn’t sound like what you are looking for, and since the price tag doesn’t make it compelling, I think you can drop that one.

Wake will have the school spirit, but that’s too much to pay for it. It sounds like Wisconsin is what you want!

8

Wisconsin. It’s pretty clear that you like it the best. It’s well known, great price, has all you are looking for.

You have to be brutal about this. Eliminate the ones that interest you the least. None of those UCs are worth paying more for than Wisconsin. Take them off the list. You don’t like Tulane’s lack of sports vibe. Take it off. Getting into grad schools is going to be about your grades and scores. All of those colleges will be good roads to grad school. If rah rah spirit is important to you, not sure Colby has that. Your other reasons are valid though. I think Wake might be a good compromise between the small fit you want and the sports vibe. Choose between Wisconsin and Wake. I would also argue that Wake is on par with Colby as far as reputation. Really though, you aren’t listing any negatives for Wisconsin.

9

You have some really good options and you’ll find the best place for you. You have, however, underestimated Tulane’s academic strength…it takes a back seat to no school on your list.

10

Agree with @pishicaca (above).

According to prepscholar
Tulane: Avg SAT 1410, acceptance rate 21.5%
Wake: Avg SAT 1350, acceptance rate 27.6%
Wisconsin: Avg SAT 1359, acceptance rate 53.8%
UC San Diego: 1257, 34.2%
Colby: 1410, 15.8%

Ironically Tulane gets a bad rap because it is also rated highly on student happiness, go figure. Since Katrina hit NOLA, they’ve really been on the upswing at Tulane - stats, students, selectivity, and rankings have gone up almost every year. Many new buildings on campus. A caring faculty. Its a great school!

Of course, pick the school thats right for you, but don’t pass on Tulane because of perceived “prestige”, it’s actually one of your top 2 choices academically, and about tied for the lowest cost (factoring in scholarship) with Wisconsin.

Ken

11

Tulane Class of 2023, 13% admit rate. 41,365 apps. https://news.tulane.edu/news/tulane-sees-record-applications-students-nationwide-apply-university. In 2018, Tulane ranked in first place for “Best College City,” second for students “Most Engaged in Community Service,” fourth in both the “Happiest Students” category and in the “Their Students Love These Colleges” list, fifth for “Best Quality of Life,” and eighth for “Best-Run Colleges.” In Princeton Review’s just released publication, The Best Value Colleges: 200 Schools with Exceptional ROI for Your Tuition Investment, Tulane is ranked 13th in the “Impact Schools” category, which measures the opportunities universities provide for community service, student government involvement, sustainability efforts and on-campus engagement.

12

Direct admit to UW B school, and least expensive option, and you want big time sports? Sounds like you should be a Badger! My kid is a UW alum, not B school, but has many friends who were, and they all got good jobs.Epic is a huge software company just outside Madison that recruits heavily from UW – Epic has been compared to a privately held Google, complete with fanciful campus with tree houses etc. If your interests evolve and you wanted to focus on poli sci or econ, those are two top programs at UW, real powerhouse departments with deep expertise among the faculty. Don’t get hung up on admit rates at public universities – as public institutions, their primary obligation is to in-state students, which is about 50% of UW undergrad population. I’ve followed UW acceptances for about 6-7 years, and OOS students generally need at least a 3.75 unweighted and a minimum 30 ACT. There will be plenty of very smart kids at UW.

My kid had a blast at UW, tailgating on football weekends, spontaneous party on State St after Basketball went to the Final Four (might be a while before that happens again but . . . .), pond hockey on Lake Mendota in the winter, and sailing on the Lake in the summer, not to mention beers on the Terrace.

13

As a CA taxpayer the choice for you is clear: UCSD. I’m trying to raise $1 million for UC and if you enroll that will be $100K towards the goal with your OOS tuition. Sure on paper your other choices sound better but forget about that. Like you say, great weather!!