<p>MercedesAMG - Thanks for the different perspective. </p>
<p>On the other hand:
“and wash u and bowdoin for…art? is that even a choice?”</p>
<p>I don’t really know. Is Bowdoin much better? Maybe. I am not qualified. I hope my son has a better idea. Sitting at my desk all the way from Turkey, both Bowdoin and WashU are big question marks. Don’t misunderstand, I know many US universities very well. I lived in Connecticut, US for 20 years, 14 of it as a businessman, hiring hundreds of BS/MS/BA titled employees. Not once I came across Bowdoin or WashU. We learned about Bowdoin only August 2009, WashU was probably a few months earlier, both from an American private college advisor/counselor living in Istanbul.</p>
<p>What I am trying to say is, they are not household names. My son also got accepted in Duke, and even half of the Turks in Istanbul streets know that name. I am not suggesting name recognition makes an institution better than the other. But what does?
As you suggest, Bowdoin may be much better than WashU, but only a small group of people have that insight. Check the Princeton review ratings:</p>
<p>Quality of life: B: 99/100, WashU 99/100
Academics: B: 98/100, WashU 95/100
Admission: B: 98/100, WashU 99/100
Financials: B: 98/100, WashU 99/100</p>
<p>SAT Mid Scores Average: B: 2115, WashU: 2190</p>
<p>Pretty close? They are quantitative, and what may make Bowdoin better is not in those numbers. But where are they? I am trying to vent my frustration, and picking on your “everybody knows” type question maybe unfairly. Sorry.</p>