If you had to live in one of these cities, which one would you choose?
The options are:
-Orlando
-New Orleans
-Pittsburgh
-Burlington (In Vermont - I guess it’s less of a city and more of a college town)
-London
-Edinburgh
-Fife (Specifically St. Andrews)(not really a city either)
Personally, I like the big city.
I have no opinion on the cities at this moment, but I’d say that if you think of them as places to live, rather than visit, your own perspective will become clearer.
I’d choose London. I’ve been to Vermont, there’s not enough there for me. I’ve also visited Florida, it’s nice, but I like mountains. I want to visit New Orleans, for sure. I’ll visit Pittsburgh too, but I have tons of cities I’d visit before Pittsburgh.
I would also choose London! something different where you would get to spread your wings and really fly 
I’m visiting Pittsburgh in about 2 days.
I’m just really torn - I have been accepted to schools in all these areas and I just don’t know what to choose. Thanks for the feedback though! I think I probably will choose London, but it really depends on how the next few months go…
Would you be living there? Which colleges?
I’d pick Burlington for college, next New Orleans or Pittsburgh.
(London is too expensive for a college student, unless your parents can provide you with TONS of spare change, and I don’t know whether you can work with your student visa).
Pittsburgh
I’d choose Pittsburgh:
Second would be London, but I think being so far away from family and friends for extended periods would suck. Also, London is incredibly expensive.
@ MYOS1634 Indeed, I’d be living there. I’m going to go to college in one of these places.
You can work in London on a student visa I believe. I’d also like to think my family would be okay with me going to London (I’ve been accepted to an exceptionally good school there, which is why I’m so torn.) Also, why would you choose Burlington? I’m worried there wouldn’t be much to do out there. Then again, I’ve never been…
@zobroward @prezbucky I feel it. I have some strange feeling Pittsburgh is going to suck me in once I get there. My mother really wants me to go to Pittsburgh because of proximity (we live in Virginia) but also… you know… all these other choices?! Now I regret applying to so many schools honestly!
It’s far enough from Virginia to allow you to “have some space” but close enough to go home with some regularity if you wanted to (or for them to visit you…).
The most comprehensive way for you to know, of course, is to spend some time (a couple days at least) on each campus to get a feel for it. You might also want to browse course catalogs to get a feel for both the breadth and depth of the programs that interest you.
But in terms of cities/places you’ve listed, yeah, Pittsburgh seems to be a top option.
Where do you see yourself living and working after you graduate from university?
The answer will be different for different people. Nobody should presume to know what city would be best for you. And I assume you are not just choosing a city, but you would be choosing a college as well so you really need to consider the entire educational/social/financial package and not just the location.
It’d be better if you actually listed the universities, your stats, and what you plan on majoring in.
If you got into LSE for Economics AND are used to living on your own AND have linear algebra as a senior in HS, then LSE is a good choice. LSE for Economics for someone who’s never lived in a big city and with Calc AB would potentially be terrible.
You’d have to consider also how much your parents are willing to spend and how dedicated you are to your subject, since UK universities are specialized and London is SO expensive (think NYC but worse).
The college/campus is more important than the city. (Most residential college students spend most of their time on campus and HS seniors vastly overestimate how often they’ll be “in town”.)
@prezbucky thanks - I think I will do that. I’m going to Pittsburgh tomorrow, so I guess I’ll let everyone know how that goes…
@mamadefamilia I see myself in a big city working for probably a business firm. Probably arts management, honestly. I have a position “promised” to me in Germany (???) by my old boss from an internship with a big artistic management company and a very famous ballet company, but promises are merely promises…
@happy1 - I’m just trying to get different people’s opinions, tbh, but you’re absolutely right. I just wanted a bit of guidance because I don’t really know what city I’d want to live in/college I’d want to go to myself. I like all the programs I’ve applied for/gotten in to, so I’m just lost, but you are absolutely right, only I can make the right decision for myself.
@MYOS1634, I feel guilty talking about my options, honestly. Today whist discussing colleges with a friend of mine a jealous eavesdropper overheard me say I “have too many options” and tweeted quite a nasty tweet about what I had said.
I’ve been to London before, and I know it’s ridiculously expensive 
it makes me sad, as London is my favorite city on earth! But as my grandma says, visiting somewhere and living somewhere are two very different things.
I’ve applied for kind of different things to each place, by the way.
I’m currently uncomfortable sharing my stats, as my mother avidly reads CC and I know she would bite my head off for sharing them, so I’ll just tell you all that I have a lower GPA but HIGH test scores. I was diagnosed with ADHD my junior year and I have a 3.99 in my senior year (currently) after behavioral therapy for ADHD but… You know.
I’ve also taken 10 AP courses so far and done well on all of the exams. I also come from one of the top public schools in Virginia and our GPA’s are ridiculously deflated. I have nowhere near a weighted 3.98, which is the average HS GPA for a freshman at Pitt, the school I heard from first, but I still got in, because my school is so well known for being a b*#?% when it comes to GPA.
I’ve gotten into so far: (and I’m aware I can change majors at my American schools, but not for UK schools)
Tulane for Neuroscience
University of Central Florida for Psychology (I received a scholarship from them too recently)
University College London for Psychology (conditional)
University of Edinburgh for Cognitive Science (unconditional)
St. Andrews University for Psychology and Philosophy(unconditional)
University of Pittsburgh for Neuroscience
University of Vermont for Animal Sciences (to go to vet school)
I’ve lived in a city before and I have also lived abroad without my parents. I also went to boarding school (in 11th grade). I’m fluent in 3 languages, too, if that makes any difference.
@jvliamp Burlington without question. Everything is accessible walking or by bike. UVM is part of Burlington. It is Disney Land for a college student. Public transportation is free, Vermont is clean, safe, beautiful and uncongested. Burlington is a small city that is just naturally a college town culturally. The way Ithaca NY is but its much bigger.
If you do not love skiing and intense winters, Burlington is not the place to be. It’s a charming city, but not for someone who might also be comfortable in New Orleans or Orlando. Pittsburgh is a very vibrant, cosmopolitan city, and Pitt is excellent in medical-related fields. Tulane is a great university, in an exciting location, as are the UK unis you are considering. You have some terrific options, and I don’t see how you can go wrong. I would say that UVM and UCF are not on the same academic plane as the others, unless you have been offered irresistible scholarships.
@woogzmama How would you account for Burlington being on virtually every Best College Town list. I was there this September and every student we spoke to said it was amazing.
BTW, UVM is actually a top school in many areas of science and health fields.
You aren’t serious about Pittsburgh are you?
I’d “firm” Edinburgh since it’s unconditionnal and “insure” UCL, or the reverse (check you can insure a 2nd choice if your 1st offer is unconditionnal - in that case, firm UCL and insure Edinburgh).
Since these are British universities, you will only get your “final” offer in July.
If, in July, you still feel like going overseas, it’s easy: just tell the American university at which you deposited on May 1st that you won’t be coming finally. It’s so common it’s got a name - “summer melt”.No big deal.
IN the meanwhile, go visit (with overnight in the dorms if possible and contact admissions to see if you can attend classes in the Honors College*, meet with professors, visit labs…) at UVT, Pitt, and Tulane.
Well, for a start that they aren’t all cities:
Orlando, New Orleans, Pittsburgh & Edinburgh are cities
London is a capital city
Burlington & Fife are towns.
Even within that, Orlando and Pittsburgh are really car-based; New Orleans moderately so; Edinburgh not.
St Andrews is far from anything and Burlington isn’t exactly central. Do you really not have a preference between being a city mouse and a country mouse?
Then there are the geographic realities- from New Orleans to Burlington: are you really equally tolerant of heat & humidity and serious cold that lasts deep into the spring? Pittsburgh and Edinburgh tend to be gray, damp and chilly in the winter- are you ready for that? At St Andrews during the winter it is dark by 3:30 in the afternoon, and doesn’t get light until 9ish; in Orlando it is dark from 6pm ish to 7ish- and extra 4-5 hours more daylight- are you ok with that?
And then there is the nature of the universities. UCL is a 3 year course, in which almost nearly all your classes first and second year are required (1 elective/non-psych class first year, 1/2 an elective non-psych class second year, and no non-psych classes third year). At Edinburgh you will have one non-psych course per year (possibly 2 in second year). On the other hand at the US colleges you are required to take courses outside your subject. Surely one of those sounds better to you than the other.
Listing the schools helps.
From a “prestige” standpoint, the top two in the US are Tulane and Pitt. If you decide to stay stateside, to me those are your top two choices on paper.
I am not as acquainted with UK schools’ strength/rep beyond Cambridge, Oxford and LSE. I have heard of all the schools you’ve listed, though – I probably saw them on the Times World U or the Times Rep rankings (which would be good), or witnessed other posters on this site mentioning them. Regardless, if you want to keep the British schools in the game, you’ll do your due diligence in comparing them to each other and to the US schools.
Let those things guide you chiefly.