I’m an international student from China. I was just rejected from all the need-blind school, so my option has come down to USC, Wake Forest, Davidson, Colorado College, U of Rochester, Brandeis, and Wisconsin-Madison (possibly honors college).
They offer me different amount of scholarship. Money is probably the most important factor in my decision. However, at first, I would like to compare those colleges without looking at the money.
As for now, I’m leaning towards to Wake Forest, Davidson, Colorado College, and USC, based on hearsay and ranking in the US News (Horrible way to decide college?).
I’ll visit Colorado College, and hopefully Davidson. I’ve also spent four years in an American high school that has way too many international students, so in college I definitely do not want to be stuck with those international students who are taking ESL class. I know some college try to make money that way, and I’m not sure if that is with Wisonsin and USC.
Also, what is the major difference between liberal art college, national university, and research university? Is it true that a liberal arts college graduate has less chance in getting a job, but can get into a better graduate school? Is Liberal art college generally more conservative, less drinking and party?
I would really appreciate any adivice and feel free to leave comments even they are unrelated!
Anyone who’s read my posts over the years knows I’m a huge fan of Davidson and Wake. That said, all of your options are excellent.
Name recognition in Asia, for better or worse, is something you should consider. USC wins on that front.
LACs offer more a more intimate education due to smaller classes and the absence of graduate students.
Universities offer many more courses across a wider range of subjects, but it often comes at the price of decreased emphasis on undergraduate education.
One isn’t better than the other, so you’ll have to decide what’s right for you.
No.
No. Some are very liberal; some are very conservative. Some have lots of partying; some have very little.
Thank you! I’m leaning toward to Davidson College, although USC is probably the most well known college in Asia.
Also, I heard Davidson has lots of homework. Does Davidson have the most workload among these colleges I am considering?
Colorado College is not conservative at all. Its most distinctive feature (aside from the Rocky Mountain location) is its unusual, one course at a time “block plan”. The 10-week blocks are intense, but you get a 4.5 day break after each one. These create good opportunities to explore the spectacular surrounding area.
What majors are you considering? The block plan is relatively advantageous for certain majors (such as geology or environmental science, which can benefit from the field work opportunities created by having only one course at a time.)
Colorado college is probably the most intense academically because of the block plan. However, as tk said above, you get little break after each block.
Davidson is intense but so are all other universities you chose; learning how to create a balanced schedule will be a key skill to learn - don’t overload (ie., 17 credits first semester is the maximum you can deal with, no semester with 5 super hard classes with labs, because you want them done…), take a “fun” or “easy” class every semester, etc.
Thank you guys for all the input! I visited Colorado College last week. From the first impression, I love the block plan and the mountains. Also, it seemed like everyone can find their group, whether he is non-drinker or party animal.
At this point, I feel that I really need to check out Davidson on the 20th. I doubt I will be able to visit any other college before May 1. @MYOS1634 It seems like Davidson is better known than Colorado College (CC), however the admission rate of CC drops by like 3% every year in the last 5 years. The admission rate of CC is the lowest among all these colleges I’m considering at. So maybe CC will be better known in the future. I’m also considering the 3-2 engineering program, which Colubia offers to both CC and Davidson.
If you want to do engineering, it is generally better to go to a school that offers it natively. Few students intending to do 3+2 actually transfer to the “2” school due to not being able to be admitted to the “2” school, finding the extra year to be too expensive, and/or not wanting to leave their small “3” school.
Davidson NC is only about 105 km from Winston-Salem NC, home of Wake Forest U. The driving time between the two is only about an hour. If you schedule your trip to Davidson wisely, I would think you’d have time to visit Wake Forest also. Good luck!
Polically, Wake Forest is more conservative, Davidson is moderate with a mix of everything, Colorado College is more liberal, USC is huge so you have a everything.
Colorado College is virtually the only selective LAC for hundreds of miles in any direction from Colorado Springs. Carleton is over 900 mi away; Whitman is over 1100 mi away. So within the Rocky Mountain West, it doesn’t have much competition for applicants seeking a LAC. This may explain why its admit rates have been so low relative to its average test scores.
Hardly any LAC has very strong name recognition to the average person. They’re small … and they don’t have big D1 football or basketball programs.
All 4 of these schools are academically strong, so I think you can safely choose based on cost and personal preferences, if what you want is a liberal arts degree. However, if you really are leaning toward engineering, USC would be the obvious choice. I’ve never met anyone (or even heard of any friend of a friend) who has completed a 3+2 engineering program.
Also, all the Colorado schools have seen a spike in admissions since they legalized pot in Colorado, so that might be skewing the numbers. But CC is still a fine school, and a good option.
Davidson will have a completely different feel, which you might love, so it is smart to visit it, too.
The blocks at Colorado College are actually 3.5 weeks each (I think 10 weeks was mentioned upstream). I honestly don’t think you can find a better mix of academics, community, outdoor opportunities, field study, and even independent study type tracks since the block plan offers flexibility that simply isn’t available to students on a semester plan. The intensity of the academics will vary from block to block. Students can plan their course load from year to year with that in mind, and it helps to break up the particularly demanding classes with a less demanding block every now and then. Another advantage to the block plan in my opinion is that it attracts a very special kind of professor, one that thrives teaching in an immersive and fast paced environment.
What is the difference between the university’s LACs and real LACs? I was admitted to Dornsife at USC, which claimed to be a LAC, and Wake Forest also says they are a liberal arts university.
@ucbalumnus I think I want a liberal arts education more than an engineering degree for my undergraduate. Too many international students are pursuing an engineering degree, which I can still do in a graduate school or a 3-2 program if I still want to, but not many international students can get the liberal arts education, which only exists in undergraduate.
@tk21769 Thanks, I intend to major in Physics and probably a minor in economics or political science. Although I am not very sure about my major or the 3-2 engineer program, I really like physics, and physics major seems to have an edge in 3-2 program, so I’d like to build my schedule towards to that first. If I change my mind eventually, I must find something better to do.
Physics is a relatively less popular major; some colleges have very small physics departments. Make sure that the core junior/senior level courses for the physics major are offered at reasonable frequency at the college you go to:
mechanics
quantum mechanics (often two courses)
electromagnetism and optics (often two courses)
statistical and thermal physics
advanced physics lab
If you like math, you may want to consider how quantitative the economics courses are. The typical intermediate economics courses list single variable calculus as a prerequisite. Some schools offer math-heavy courses that list multivariable calculus or linear algebra as a prerequisite.
Thank you everyone for helping me decide! I made the decision that I will go to Davidson College, which also gives me $40,000 financial aid per year.
I am about to commit. However, is it possible for me to negotiate for more aid? My family income is only $20,000 per year, and Davidson promise to meet the need. I guess the reason they did not give me full ride is that we have bank savings, our apartment value is too high for being in the city, and my relatives provide additional assists. I mean, typically, Chinese tend to save money and purchase property. Should I ask the financial aid office before I commit or after? Also, is there a downside since I am an international student? Thanks!
Your total family income is 20k per year? I think you can qualify for more or even full aid. Yeah definitely ask, and ask if you can receive anything else, before you commit/have them review your financial situation.
If you want to appeal, it has to before your commit, ie., prepare the paperwork today, scan and send it all Sunday evening and keep your fingers crossed as May 1st is coming fast.
You can show that if you deplete your lifesavings for the first year, you won’t be able to use them for subsequent years. You can always appeal, highlighting your family’s annual income, but since you were able to visit colleges in the US, they may not be very sympathetic (I suppose 20k go further in China than in the US). In addition, any savings that are earmarked in a “retirement account” don’t count the same as “savings”, Americans would have different savings accounts for retirement and for other savings; same thing for the house, they wouldn’t buy it cash but with a loan (called a mortgage) and your assets would be evaluated based on how much of the house is yours vs. how much of the house is left to pay.