Colby College v. Notre Dame [both around $21k, pre-MD/PhD]

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I got accepted into Colby College as a Pulver Science Scholar and Notre Dame with a likely call.

I am a Domestic Student!

I’m doing Biological Science, specifically their infectious disease track and a dbl minor in French and Global Health at Notre Dame

I’d do Chemistry with a concentration in biochemistry/cell and molecular biology and a minor in French at Colby.

I am interested in Public Health and hope to do infectious disease research in the future. I plan to do an MD or MD/PhD but leaning toward the latter.

I didn’t get into any specific program for ND, but I got into Colby’s Pulver Science Scholar Program. 10 people per class get at least 2 research or internships with guaranteed funding.

I received similar aid from both, with net cost around 21k/yr for both.

I will likely be doing campus employment at either, with parent contribution to pay the rest.

I am currently leaning Colby because I prefer the smaller school, and I’m not huge on sports. I prefer chem over bio, but it feels kinda dumb to do chem at ND when the infectious disease track is in their bio major. However, I can major in Chem with a bio concentration at Colby. Also the Pulver Scholar is a huge plus for a prospective PhD student. I also really love Colby’s Jan Plan because I’d love to do study abroad or internships during that period.

The reason I’m torn is because I know that Notre Dame is a great school! It has the Eck Institute for Global Health, it has a plethora of opportunities for research, and the alumni network is incomparable to Colby. But I also worry that I’ll be overwhelmed with the bio major, pre med, dbl minor, and competition for labs. I did a lot during high school, and I fear I could burnout if I don’t preserve my health before grad years.

Please let me know your thoughts, thanks!

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Two excellent but very different schools. Assuming both are comfortably affordable, go with your preference. This is a case where two reasonable people could make two different choices.

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I think your reasons for preferring Colby sound a lot more compelling. Assuming you continue with your current plans (of course you might change your mind), you’ll be at a research university eventually. You don’t need that for undergrad specifically.

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I agree with this entirely. I think that these are both very good schools, and that you could do very well with a degree from either of them.

My understanding is that there are plenty of research opportunities at Colby. Since Colby does not have graduate students, this suggests that you will not be competing with graduate students to get these research opportunities. Also, being in the Science Scholar program sounds very worthwhile.

One daughter attended a different relatively small school. Because she had small classes, she got to know her professors. This helped her get very good research opportunities (lab based in her case). I would expect you to have a similar experience at Colby if you want to. If you are premed, then at some point you might need to think about how much effort you want to put into lab based research versus how much effort you want to put into medical shadowing. However, this is something that you can figure out while you are an undergraduate student at either of these very good schools.

You will be both competing and cooperating with a lot of very strong students at either of these schools. However, you will also be both competing and cooperating with a lot of very strong students at pretty much any MD program or any MD/PhD program.

It would not surprise me at all if you end up dropping either one of your minors or both of your minors. That is okay. You can pick up French some other time (eg, there are some great intensive French immersion courses over the summer both in Canada and in France). You could pick up global health a different time (master’s degree?) or just take a few classes in it without an official minor. Lab work will be important with either a biology or chemistry major.

I think that you go to whichever school you would be most comfortable at, or whichever feels the most like somewhere that you want to be for four years.

And plan to show up at either of these schools in September ready to put in a lot of effort and make a very strong effort to stay ahead in your class work.

Finally, I might mention one of the most important things in life. Sometimes it is very important to find things to NOT do. Between a major in either biology or chemistry, and taking tough premed classes, and a minor in French, and a minor in global health, and lab-based research, and medical shadowing, that is a LOT to do even if you were not going to also have a job on the side. My expectation is that you are going to need to drop a few things from this list. You can show up on campus in September, see how it goes, and think about what to drop. There is a limit however on how much any of us can do at once. Some things we just need to either drop, or put aside for now with the plan to get back to it later.

Best wishes. Congratulations on these two great acceptances, and on what sounds like probably pretty good financial aid at both of these schools.

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Alumni bases are often overrated. People want to help but can’t always.

If I loved school A far more than school B but School B had a perceived better alumni, I wouldn’t bat an eye. It’d be school A all the way.

This isn’t a tough decision at all - everything you’ve noted says Colby. You will be somewhere four years, day after day. Don’t you want to be super happy?

You also have two funded - not just two research opportunities. That’s amazing. Just because UND has an affiliation doesn’t assure a research opportunity. And you can find similar opportunities, especially given your funding.

This doesn’t seem a close call - at all.

Congrats on such wonderful offers but Colby (for you) stands out.

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Enjoy your visits as an accepted student…I hope you are doing those. I think your gut feeling after these visits will give you your decision.

Two wonderful acceptances. As noted, you are looking at some kind of post undergrad program after either of these undergrads. So my free advice…choose the undergrad where you can see yourself being happiest for the next four years.

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Notre Dame feels smaller than it’s true size. Probably due to its close knit community. All Notre Dame students experience the campus culture in a more similar manner than do those at similarly sized schools with a less dominant campus culture.

If you do not like sports, then you should not have any difficulty finding quiet study space in the library on Saturdays as well as lots of available lab space.

Two solid options; attend the accepted student revisit days at both schools before committing.

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I would love to, but unfortunately their admitted student days are back to back. I am planning to attend Colby’s because I have already been on a ND campus tour

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Wise advice, thank you

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I think that is why I am leaning Colby, a lot of these things could be streamlined in a way that relieve more time in my schedule. But I agree, I definitely need to accept the idea I can’t do everything

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There’s also that Notre Dame is Catholic if that’s a concern.

I don’t think you need to second guess yourself - and hopefully the Colby visit will solidify your clear preference.

Does any of your hesitation have to do with the name - Notre Dame is far more known?

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Somewhat, it feels lousy to drop ND when some people have been dreaming about attending this place for years. However, I am trying to remember that prestige isn’t an indicator of fit.

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Both are prestigious - but yes, Notre Dame is far more well known by the general public.

But given the fields you plan to enter, and grad school will be required, there is zero let down going to Colby. Zero. Those who know - know. So Colby will not lack there.

Why do you think their admission stats are so crazy. They admitted 8% and they report 98% of the class of 2024 are either employed or in grad school.

So this shouldn’t concern you - IMHO.

btw - many choose lesser known or safe schools for various reasons. You will be far from alone. Colby is likely filled with kids who chose it - because they love it!!

College Profile - Colby College Admissions

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If it helps, I think Colby would actually be a good choice for an LAC that is right around an academic peer of Notre Dame for undergrad purposes. Which is a compliment to both. Point being, though, particularly in the paths you are talking about, I also don’t think the people who will matter to you are going to think one or the other is a more “prestigious” undergrad choice.

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In that some may associate prestige with selectivity, note that it might be the case that Colby is slightly more selective than Notre Dame.

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Congratulations on having such excellent options. I would assume that Colby is having a specific session for Pulver recipients. If not, ask admissions if they can connect you with current Pulver scholars. You might find it helpful to hear about their experiences.

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I believe they have an event for that at Admitted Student Days!

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I think you can’t go wrong with either choice but I can share that my husband who is a biology professor would tell our kids to choose Colby for the guaranteed (and funded!) research opportunities. That is a huge deal at the undergrad level where there isn’t always enough room/time/funding for every undergrad who wishes to do lab research. Assuming you still prefer Colby after your visit, I wouldn’t hesitate to trust your gut on this one and ignore any outside noise that has you doubting your choice!

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Kids love it at Colby. Congrats on making a great choice.

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The more or less guaranteed funded research (important for you as someone who would otherwise be doing work-study) and major alignment seems like pluses for Colby.

One thing is the availability of research relating to infectious disease at Colby. https://www.colby.edu/people/people-directory/jim-scott/ For example, this professor’s work is more on the statistical side rather than the bench/microbio side. (Note that statistics is important if you do an MD and very important if you go on to do an MD-PhD, so this might not necessarily be a bad thing)

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