I’m in the very fortunate situation of getting into three amazing colleges. My only problem: now I have to choose which one to attend… As the title suggests, the three colleges are Case Western Reserve University, the College of William and Mary, and the University of Rochester.
Any input and advice you could give me on the differences between them would be greatly appreciated. Specific attention paid to the social life and student community, academic culture, and quality of the mathematics department and faculty (and also economics, as math is my main major with econ as my lesser second one).
For an indication of the strength of the economics departments of these schools, note that UR places 65th and W&M lands at #103 in this national analysis based on faculty publishing: https://ideas.repec.org/top/top.usecondept.html.
Regarding your interest in math, note that the University of Rochester appears in a Princeton Review sampling, “Great schools for Mathematics Majors.”
@collegemom3717 The numbers at all are different, but I would graduate debt free from all of them. When I was making my college list, some important to me were being in a smallish city environment (no LA, NY, Seattle), having Greek life not be a big deal or part of campus, and a collaborative and fun student body. As for what I want to do after obtaining my bachelor’s degree, I’m not really sure at this point. If I forced to give an answer, I would say that I want to go on to get my PhD in Math and become a professor at a university. But in four years when I will be making that decision, I could also picture myself deciding to get my Master’s in Econ, an MBA, or maybe even a CPA license. I do like the idea of doing a little undergraduate research that way I can get a feel for it and see if it (and a math PhD) is the right path for me; but I do also want to make sure the teachers are good, personable, and committed to teaching.
What a great set of answers, @Brandon109! First, super news on affordability. All 3 of your choices are great for smallish city environment, and collaborative student body. I don’t know anything about Greek at CWU, but I know that at at W&M it is present but not dominant. All of them will let you get research experience- and it is a great plan to do some, partly to see if you like it and partly b/c it will be an important part of grad school apps if you go that direction. You will find dud teachers at all of them- b/c I have yet to see the school that doesn’t have a few! - but you will find some really superb ones.
Did you visit them all? If so, trust your gut. There is no bad or ‘wrong’ choice amongst the three, and where you felt the most ‘at home’ is as good a metric as any.
Unfortunately, I wasn’t able to visit any of them… I was going to do that this April after I got my decisions since I’m on the west coast, but then a global pandemic happened, haha! I’m not sure how familiar you are with them, but could you (or anyone else) try to answer a couple of questions?
I read that a lot of students at CWRU major in engineering or pre-med. How does this translate into the feeling of the student body? Does it feel homogonous? Are people still well-rounded with varying interests?
Then about William and Mary, how does the city of Williamsburg feel? Obviously it’s much smaller and different than Rochester and Cleveland. Does it feel like there’s nothing to do and that you’re trapped on campus? If so, are there ample things to do on campus?
And lastly (for right now), how overblown is the “stress culture” at W&M? Even if it is overblown, isn’t the fact that people still talk about it an issue in and of itself? I don’t hear about one as prominently at the other schools.
We visited both CWRU and U of Rochester. CWRU definitely feels more urban and integrated into Cleveland. It’s a very linear campus and close to 4 (?) major hospitals - you definitely feel like you’re in a city. U of Rochester has a much more defined campus and feels separate from Rochester. My daughter preferred the “vibe” at University of Rochester. Students seemed particularly friendly. She was also looking for less urban and more of a defined campus. University of Rochester has a significant international presence which is where they pick up quite a bit of diversity.
W&M is porous to Williamsburg, and is a big presence in town. I know- & have known - a fair few students, and it was a top 3 pick for one of my collegekids. She loved the physics & math departments (her subjects), the support for research & the accessibility of profs. The work part wouldn’t have bothered her- it’s real, but it’s a lot self driven. None of the students I have known there were overwhelmed by the work or ‘stress’, and all are big into being part of the Tribe. My collegekid is more reserved and in the end plumped for a very NE school that had a much more Yankee / understated vibe.
Can you describe the students at WM (and/or the other two)? Are they outgoing? Geeky (and what kind)? Quirky?
Is it really loud on CWRU’s campus? Is it in the heart of downtown or more on the edge of the city? For reference, I visited Seattle U and UW this past summer. SU is in the heart of downtown with four major hospitals surrounding it and was very loud. That, combined with the small size of 50 acres, turned me off from it. UW, on the other hand, is in University Place away from the heart of downtown, which made it a lot more tolerable and nice.
How far away is U of R from the city of Rochester? Is it hard to get to? Can you talk some more about the difference in “vibe” and “feel” at U of R and CWRU?
“Can you describe the students at WM (and/or the other two)? Are they outgoing? Geeky (and what kind)? Quirky?”
Yes, and more. All of these schools are too big to have one kind of student- you will be able to find your people at any of them. Also, college isn’t HS: you will probably have several pods of friends, not just your 1 gang: You’ll likely have friends from your major / from your hall / from your favorite EC / etc.
With respect to quantifiable differences, with 62% in-state enrollment at W&M, you would encounter a less geographically diverse student body than at your other choices.
UR’s Georgian Colonial and Greek Rival campus resides about two miles from downtown Rochester.
The money label may be true in most cases but the aid office differs by school to school too. Like a state uni thats less competitive in terms of rank likely has a less financial aid package for you. School with higher ranking may has a higher financial aid for you and cancels more and left less in its amount.
Son is a junior Finance major. Very happy atUR. It is a rigorous place and most students welcome that. Quality people from all over the world. Son ended up joining a frat ( much to his and our surprise) and found it a great way to meet very nice people. Not a party atmosphere at all, but a wonderful place filled with fascinating people who study very hard but know how to have fun.
