<p>I was accepted at Washington University in St. Louis, University of Chicago and Bowdoin.</p>
<p>I'm undecided about my major.</p>
<p>What are the pros and cons of each?</p>
<p>Pros and Cons are relative to your preferences.
Unless we get more information about your preferences and wants, a general list of pros and cons now, will be wasted effort.</p>
<p>If you’re undecided on your major, I would concentrate on defining your interests. Is it the humanities, is it the sciences, is it the social sciences, etc?</p>
<p>If financial aid is an issue, chose the school that gives you the most money. If not, go with uchicago in a heartbeat. WashU and Bowdoin are great schools, but they aren’t anywhere near the level of Chicago.</p>
<p>^^ they are actually near the level of Chicago.</p>
<p>hegemon91 that’s actually patently false. </p>
<p>uchicago: class of 2013
acceptace rate: 27%
top 10%: 85%
SAT: 1320-1530
ACT: 29-34</p>
<p>bowdoin: class of 2013
acceptance rate: 19%
top 10%: 81%
SAT: 1320-1500
ACT: 30-33</p>
<p>WUSTL, statistically is, I think, better than both.</p>
<p>I love Chicago–great location, quirky but not socially stilted, core curriculum (something to seriously consider, since some people hate it), and hilarious slogans (my favorite: Where the only thing that goes down on you is your GPA). </p>
<p>But that’s my entirely subjective opinion, obviously. They’re academically comparable, though in terms of laymen’s prestige I’d say WUSTL, UChic, then Bowdoin (though depending on where you are geographically, WUSTL and UChic may be interchangable, especially since Chicago’s grad schools are prestigious).</p>
<h2>“in terms of laymen’s prestige I’d say WUSTL, UChic, then Bowdoin”</h2>
<p>wait, what? who thinks WashU is more prestigious than Chicago among laymen??? Forget about rankings for a moment. Chicago has been one of the great think tanks of the world in many fields, including philosophy and economics, for at least 75 years. At the Ph.D. level it is certainly among the top 10.</p>
<p>WashU wasn’t even on the map until USNWR placed it for the first time in the top 20 abot 15 years ago… and its known for premed more than anything else. What layman can tell you the differnce between WashU, UWash, GeorgeWash, and Mary Wash?</p>
<p>neither are particularly known among laymen but Chicago is definitely known more.</p>
<p>Personally, I would choose Bowdoin then Chicago then WUSTL. </p>
<p>FWIW, my prestige meter would place Bowdoin and Chicago in the same group and WUSTL just below.</p>
<p>But the question is what environment do you like? which school do you feel like you would fit with? What kind of undergrad educational experience do you want? As the poster #2 above noted, the relative pros and cons are relative to your preferences.</p>
<p>All are great schools. Certainly as an undecided major, Bowdoin’s classic residential LAC system would work well.</p>
<p>Chicago has a really tough workload. It’s an extremely difficult school, so if you can handle that, it’s rewarding, but if you’re not a workaholic who’s extremely interested in academics, then it’s not for you. I have a friend who goes to Bowdoin and loves it, i’ve only heard great things about it. If it’s ok that Bowdoin is a smaller school, i’d advise to go there.</p>
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<p>Plenty of people in the midwest have heard about and have recognized WashU’s excellence for many, many years – and now it’s becoming more widely known in other parts of the country. Just as U Chicago has been ascending in popular consciousness (and got a boost from the Obama affiliation). Dunnin, you’re taking your California-centric viewpoint and pretending that it’s a universal one. It’s not. Could we all please stop acting as though no one ever heard of WashU til right-this-minute? It’s about as dumb as the people who act as though Carleton and Oberlin are “up and coming” schools. The coasts are not the entire country nor are they the only people who matter.</p>