<p>My own daughter has a similar dilemma, does she take a fellowship at a state univesity or enter as a regular student at an elite private college?
Money is a big factor for us, so our decision matrices may be quite different.
I have done quite a bit of counseling college students (I’m a prof) so let me take a crack. I’m a Chicago native who is on faculty at a SE college now, but I have lived all over the country.</p>
<p>Bottom Line: Think very carefully over which school wants YOU the most. Who will take better care of you? Who will make your four years of college the best experience? As a Williams Scholar at Mizzou, you’ll be treated as royalty…dinners with university officials, showcased to visiting DVs, first shot at housing, at fellowships, at travel opportunites, at internships, and at registration. You’ll probably finish in 3 years, with your AP credits. Your other two choices specialize in care and feeding of students, W more so than NU, but you’ll be one of many. So my recommendation is Mizzou.</p>
<p>I do have a bias. 
I went to Mizzou for my M.A. about ten years ago; it is a great university in a classic college town of wonderful livibility. Traffic and expenses and urban stress will be a joke compared to Chicago. I liked Columbia better than Champaign, but not as much as Ann Arbor, if that helps. Mizzou is one of the few universities with a regular TV/radio station and newspaper, not a “college” one, which is one reason their journalism majors get such great jobs upon graduation. </p>
<p>I can’t speak to Wellsley, other than first hand knowledge that it is a beautiful campus, but so is NU and Missouri. Wellsley is an elite East coast liberal arts college, with all the benefits and liablities that brings with it. If you’re from money, the social and values issues probably won’t be a problem for you. If you’re more middle class, it might be difficult.<br>
At Wellsley, you’ll be treated as one of many, but as a small elite school, that isn’t so bad. I don’t know your stats, but if you think you fall in the lower half of applicants to Wellsley, then your care and feeding will probably be different then if you’re one of the chosen ones at Missouri.
I know Northwestern well; I turned down entry there (a while ago!) to attend a small Midwestern liberal arts college. I have returned there many times for work and pleasure, since my family is still in Chicago. I did not go to NU because my only way to pay for it was to do Navy ROTC, and I didn’t want to take that path. Northwestern is a great school in a fabulous location. It, like Mizzou, also has a fabulous Journalism school, although if you did not apply through that school initially, you may have your work cut out for you to get in as a transfer student. Northwestern has a weird schedule, by the way, it starts late in Sep and finishes in June, which means you’ll miss a month in fall and summer seeing old friends, if that’s an issue. But if you live in the Chi area, then they can come see you at NU. They also give you a whole week off between classes and finals, which is very nice. </p>
<p>Well, I too, am getting to War and Peace length, so I’ll close by wishing you all the best. And if you decide on Mizzou, then hit up Mom and Dad for a new car!</p>