Bowdoin VS Emory VS Vanderbilt

verdricity
Mon, 19 Jul 2010 04:21:20 +0000

Knowing that you are applying through Questbridge changes the ED situation; I’m not very familiar with that program, so I’m afraid I can’t help you there. In addition, I don’t know much about the particulars of the colleges you’re considering, so take what I’m saying with a grain of salt. However, I do stand by what I said before: while you may like all three of these schools, as long as you do not have a clear-cut favorite, you should be wary of ED. Think about it this way: yes, you would most likely thrive at each of these schools, but if you make a decision now, is there a chance that you will look back with regret and wish that you were somewhere else? If you feel even a hint of uncertainty, it may be a sign that applying ED is a little premature.

I know you’re very concerned about your admission prospects, and I certainly don’t blame you, as all three of these schools are highly competitive. Yet ED may not give you as much of a boost as you may think. If you feel sure that you will not be accepted in regular decision, there is little chance you will be accepted ED, taking into consideration that the ED applicant pool is usually more competitive, with more qualified, prepared, and polished applicants. That being said, have a little more faith in yourself. You are aiming high, and that means on a subconscious level, at the very least, you believe you have what it takes to succeed at any of these schools. You should have no fear of applying regular decision to all three of them.

On another note, if you’re having trouble deciding between these schools, I’d suggest taking a closer look at the difference between Bowdoin versus Vanderbilt and Emory. Bowdoin strikes me as very different from your other choices, since it is a liberal arts college in the Northeast. The differences between LACs and universities are critical, as each has distinct advantages and disadvantages. It is not simply a matter of size and number of students–the fundamental philosophies of these respective institutions tend to be different. LACs are completely focused on the undergraduate, while universities inevitably divide their attention between their undergraduate and graduate programs. This manifests itself in virtually every aspect of a school. If you are, as you say, “totally lost on which type of school [you] would prefer to be at,” a bit more research may be in order. (I’ve been yammering on for a while, but if you’d like to know more, feel free to ask me, as I recently had to choose between an LAC and a university, or search the CC forums, where this topic has been debated to death.)