<p>Ok so I decided I wanted to go to Willamette in Salem Oregon. I liked my visit a lot, and I’m getting 16K/year for merit scholarships. While they aren’t ranked super highly or anything, I don’t care much about that. They still seem to stress academics a lot. However, I am beginning to have doubts-- I looked at ratemyprofessors.com or whatever, and it seemed to me that a lot of the biology teachers (my prospective major) didn’t have the greatest rankings. Other schools that I got into, such as Colorado College (some merit $) and Pomona (no $, so I never really considered, but now I’m wondering if I should), had very high marks for professors (esp. Pomona). Should these professor rankings be taken seriously? Should I doubt the academics at Willamette because of this? I’m just beginning to think maybe I’m going to a “lower” college because of the attitude I get from some people on CC and in my school. I have a 4.0 and a 35 on the ACT, but I just really like the Pacific NW which is why Willamette was my decision. I’ve been telling myself that I will still be able to succeed at Willamette (there are plenty of options for research w/ profs) and get into a good graduate school.</p>
<p>I guess the point of this long-winded post is that I am in need of some reassurance. Am I selling myself short at Willamette, as some people seem to think, or will I still enjoy my college experience and learn a lot, as I thought was the case through this whole process? Should I reconsider Colorado College and Pomona?
(by the way, I have not yet sent in a deposit anywhere)</p>
<p>stuff like ratemyprofessors.com should be taken with a grain of salt. you enjoyed the visit so that must mean a lot. and don’t have second thoughts just because of what other people think about the college you’ve chosen. another thing though - did you decide to go to williamette simply because of the location? if so, you might want to rethink your decision unless you have strong reasons for picking the pacific nw. otherwise, just stick with it.</p>
<p>As I just added in an edit… I haven’t actually deposited yet, but I have been telling people that I’m 98% sure or whatever going to Willamette</p>
<p>bonbear- It wasn’t just because of the location. It was more of that I looked West in general for colleges (looked at a couple of EC but not my cup of tea), and the atmosphere of the Pacific NW colleges was the most inviting for me. But thanks for the responses!</p>
<p>There may not be a lot of people on CC who are familiar with Willamette. I earned 2 degrees from there so I am biased. I purposely selected Willamette BECAUSE the admissions office at Stanford Med School gave it high marks for its pre-med program, and that is what I was interested in pursuing. I appreciated the small class size, the inter-face I had with my professors who challeneged me academically, and the BEAUTIFUL campus. It was the right fit for me, and it may be for you as well. G’Luck!</p>
<p>Many people who post on sites like ratemyprofessordotcom are unhappy about a bad grade. Willamette is great and you’ll be very happy you chose it. You will be challenged there and they will prepare you well for whatever you choose to do next!</p>
<p>Sites like ratemyprofessor.com, campusdirt.com and such have very few students that offer comments if you look at the whole student body population. Many comments are years old. Hopefully you had a chance to visit departments that were of interest to you and actually talk to professors. You might check out facebook and such to see if you can contact students in your major who might also be able to give you opinions.</p>
<p>Yeah, I visited the bio department, a class, and got shown around the science building by a prof, and I liked all of it. Seeing the ratemyprofessor just made me doubt what I had seen… But thank you all for the encouraging replies!! I will return to being excited to be a bearcat next year!</p>
<p>As an Easterner I’ve never visited any of the schools mentioned, but I HAVE heard of Willamette and Pomona, not Colorado College (obviously it’s in Colorado just as Illinois State must be in Illinois). Or was Colorado College previously the Colorado School of Mines? In any event, my take is that Willamette is a solid choice but probably not as many apply because of its out of the way location (which appears to be what you want!).</p>
<p>The average SAT at Pomona is the same as Princeton. That clearly doesn’t tell the whole story, but it does speak to the quality of the student body. You’re deciding between an Ivy caliber school and Willamette. I think you should be concerned about the academics. One does not choose Willamette over Pomona for the education. One does so because of other factors, i.e. financial reasons etc. You need to decide on your greatest priority.
I, for one, would never hesitate to pay the extra 16,000. Perhaps you should speak to Pomona’s financial aid office.</p>
<p>I agree with UCLA ad TellETubE… med schools are very selective, as I’m sure you know, and a lot of value to your school’s name won’t hurt you at all. </p>
<p>Will you be in big trouble (or big debt) if you go to a school that isn’t offering you aid? </p>
<p>Btw, a 35 on the ACT is really impressive, and I can’t help but feel that you’ll be out of the league of many students at Willamette, and fewer at Pomona.</p>
<p>Letting people on this forum make this decision for you is not the way to go. Yes, you can gather information, but these 3 schools offer different styles, opportunities and courses of study (Colorado with it’s block system, Pomona as part of the Claremont Consortium, Willamette as a small stand alone school). All offer a good education, all have graduates going to med school, all have students who have won prestigious fellowships. Climate may or may not make a difference to you (heat of southern CA, cold of CO, rain of OR), but the feel you got from each school while visiting (hopefully you did visit each) will tell you more than anyone here can. Best of luck</p>
<p>It seems like you made good decision. Sites like ratemyprofessor are often baised. There will always be people who dislike the school, teacher or the subject. As far as academics go Willamette seems pretty strong and the fact that you like it will go a long way. Also that scholarship is really something to consider if you want to go to grad school. Pomona is great on paper but it might be a bad choice for you, there’s nothing wrong with that.</p>