<p>Okay, so I understand that it’s my choice and in the end, it’s all up to me… I should go with what fits me best and what’s right for me. I wouldn’t mind some outside opinion though… I feel like sometimes, I am a bit biased.</p>
<p>So the three schools I am considering are (in no particular order)…</p>
<li>Hendrix College (In-state…)</li>
<li>Florida State University</li>
<li>University of Maryland at College Park</li>
</ol>
<p>So there are ups and downs to them all. As always… </p>
<p>I have basically a full-ride to Hendrix. Private, small school in Arkansas. About 1,200 students. I kinda imagined a big college… But…the money is tempting. I have never heard negative comments associated with Hendrix… I have actually lived on campus for two months while doing Governor’s School at Hendrix… Nice, small campus…</p>
<p>Then there’s Florida State… Big school that I dreamed about. Good with sports and so forth… I could have a life outside my books… But it’s OOS. More money. However, they are pretty darn good with IB credits. FSU seems to be the easiest university of the three for me to receive credit. I could knock a lot of intro classes out of the way… Visited the campus last summer. Nice, compact…I liked it.</p>
<p>And then UMD… I have yet to visit. But they seem to be a medium sized school. I don’t know much about them. Waiting to hear back on schoalrships. Much more expensive for me. OOS… They’re decent with IB. They’re ranked higher up on USNews.com… I don’t know if that matters. I suppose it shouldn’t??</p>
<p>I know I should visit College Park before deciding, to give all three choices a fair shot… But, any thoughts? Any suggestions? I’d appreciate anything. :)</p>
<p>Thanks for your input, world changer. I’ve been thinking about Hendrix more and more…</p>
<p>Oh, and I forgot to add that I’m taking the pre-med path… I’m wondering if UMD at CP is good with pre-med? I really don’t know much about that school. I should look into it more…</p>
<p>Hendrix is a strong school, as is UMaryland (College Park). I don’t know much about Florida State.</p>
<p>Just to let you know, Fiske (2008 edition) calls Hendrix a best buy (i.e. it’s not as expensive: less than $27,000 per year at a private school is quite inexpensive). Hendrix has an 84% acceptance rate and SAT mid-50% ranges of: CR 560-690 and M 550-690. Also, it’s mentioned in Colleges that Change Lives, which is pretty cool. CTCL says 100% of Hendrix faculty have the terminal degree in their field (i.e. a PhD or equivalent, typically), and has a med school acceptance rate that’s two times the national average.</p>
<p>UMaryland has a 49% acceptance rate and is priced at $6,000 to $8,000 (says Fiske). The SAT range is CR 580-670 and M 600-700. Various figures for the percent of faculty with terminal degrees are available, from a low of 69% ([DC-CAP</a> - University of Maryland College Park](<a href=“http://www.dccap.org/colleges/umcp.shtml]DC-CAP”>http://www.dccap.org/colleges/umcp.shtml)) to a high of 90% ([Peterson’s</a> Education Portal - Colleges, Graduate Programs, Financial Aid](<a href=“http://www.petersons.com/)%5DPeterson’s”>http://www.petersons.com/)). </p>
<p>Honestly, if you’re a hard worker who can be focused in large or large-ish classes and you live in-state, go for Maryland. If you live out-of-state or can’t do large-ish/large classes, choose Hendrix.</p>
<p>Thank you! That was very informative. I’ve been accepted at all 3. I have 8k at FSU. That’s to cover books… But other than that, I’ve only heard from Hendrix concerning scholarships. I think I’d be fine in a big class…same goes for a small class. I feel that I can adapt well. Right now, all my classes at school have no more than 12 students. So I’m used to that. That’s why I wanted larger classes, but then again, I see the benefits of smaller classes that Hendrix would have… It is in-state for me…</p>
<p>UMaryland would be 35k for me per year so far. Seeing that I have no heard back about scholarships. I don’t think I’ll get much from them… </p>
<p>Leaving from Hendrix, I see myself having little or no debt. As long as I’ll be prepared for med school… I’ll be happy.</p>
<p>Haha, honestly, the only thing that I don’t like about Hendrix, besides it’s small student population (lol), is that it’s in-state. I really wanted to get out of Arkansas and all… But…when looking at the big picture… It’s not a bad deal. And I’m still waiting to hear back about some other scholarships. Thanks for your input as well. :)</p>
<p>if you’re truly interested in going to med school, Hendrix is probably the best choice. More help is available when needed because professors are more available and more invested in their students–less competition for a professsor’s time and attention than on a bigger campus–these can lead to the higher grades needed for med school. Also less competition for research opportunities and truly personal recommendations. AND you would have all that money available for med school tuition, instead of having to take out hefty loans.</p>
<p><em>sigh</em> Yes… I’m wondering if I would still have a good “complete” college experience at Hendrix… I’m not sure how important it is to have that “complete” feeling. Maybe it comes as you become apart of the school…? I just always pictured myself at a big university. But…I think in the long run, I’d like what’s best for me overall. I’d like to be on track with my career goals (getting closer to them anyways), and to just be happy at college. I wonder if that’s possible to have if I go to a school that has not always been my “idealistic dream school”…</p>
<p>Whether you are at a small school or a large school, most kids have about a dozen good friends and bunches of acquaintances, so that won’t change. You can only be involved in a certain number of activities, so that doesn’t change either .</p>
<p>Does Hendrix have a semester-exchange program where you could experience life on another campus if it begins to feel too small to you over time? For example, a lot of schools have Washington semesters where students spend a semester at American University in DC, or a semester at sea kind of program. With the money you could save, you could have the money to do a lot of cool things with semesters abroad/summer programs etc., for example, you could sign on for a summer doing a volunteer medical mission in Africa or south America–since your money worries wouldn’t be as significant, you could enhance your med school application in a lot of interesting ways.</p>
Thanks for your input as well. :)</p>