Good Program v. Good Fit

Applying to College
1

<p>Hello, all! I’m trying to make a hard decision here, and I figured since some of you guys are probably in the same boat, maybe you’d have some feedback!</p>

<p>I’ve applied and been accepted to both Ohio State and the University of Pittsburgh (and the University of Alabama, but that’s not relevant to this thread) for nursing. Ohio State felt like the best “fit” to me on my visit- I got a great feeling from being on campus and really liked the whole atmosphere. However, Pitt has a much more highly ranked nursing program, and their facilities were definitely better. Not that I didn’t “like” Pitt, because I thought it was fine, but I didn’t get the same feeling there as I did at OSU.</p>

<p>I was hoping the decision would be made for me based on financial offers, but both schools have offered full tuition. How do you decide between a better program for your field and a better fit? Thanks so much!</p>

<p>Kelsey</p>

2

<p>Congratulations Kelsey! </p>

<p>The ‘gut’ response would be to say go with the better “fit”. But if your feeling of “fit” is based just on one visit to each place, it may not be so reliable. Maybe you were having a bad day, or Pittsburgh was, or both, when you visited there. Now that you have full tuition, perhaps you can spend the money to go to Pittsburgh (and maybe also Ohio State) again and give a second look? </p>

<p>Unlike regular college where you get most of your education from lectures books and labs, in something like nursing, you really want to train at the place that will give you the most intense experience and most hands-on training that will serve you well for a lifetime in the profession.</p>