<p>Thank-you all for your input, I really appreciate it. And I did mean Wheaton (MA) …I am indeed an atheist! Just to clarify, I received 17,000 merit from Wheaton, full tuition is actually 55,000 and 12,000 merit from Bard, I received 8,000 in student loans from both. </p>
<p>And Danceclass, you brought up a really good point that really resonated with me; that whole idea of being comfortable versus being challenged really articulated the difference between the two schools. I definitely think I would be comfortable at Wheaton, but Bard would obviously be more challenging. </p>
<p>I think I am beginning to lean towards Bard. Statistically comparing the schools, Bard is better, 28% acceptance rate of the class of 2015, ranked around 50 whereas Wheaton is around 60% I realize that in the grand scheme of things rankings and acceptance rates are not the determining factor of my college experience and that it’s up to me to embrace all of my opportunities. Yet in the same breath, it is difficult to let that sort of mentality supersede my desire to go to a “good” school like bard</p>