I got into both: should I go to WashU or Barrett Honors @ ASU?

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i’m SO torn. I got into washu yesterday & i was so happy. but i already committed to barrett (i wasn’t betting on washu accepting me). of course i can always just forfeit that spot, if i choose to.

i made a pros & cons list but i’m not sure if it’s helping. the main things drawing me to washu are the campus, the prestige, & the location / weather. these 3 things are also cons on the barrett side of things (phoenix is hot, the campus doesn’t have the gorgeous architecture washu does, & going to a state honors college is not as prestigious as going to washu)

but barrett does have special academic programs just for honors students (some of which i like, but also there’s no guarantee i’d get in any of them, so i don’t know if i should make a decision using that). also barrett is SIGNIFICANTLY less expensive, & asu gave me some money in merit scholarships.

barrett’s closer to the city. washu has a quad. i have a really nice dorm at barrett. i love the underpass at washu. this is an impossible decision.

i have no idea what to do!!

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A question: if you hadn’t already placed a deposit at ASU, would you be having this same discussion in your head right now? (Wondering if the sunk cost fallacy is at work here)

Another (maybe more important) question: is WashU affordable for your family without loans?

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Assuming you can pay for both, and parents/guardians are on board with cost which is step 1.

Did you make a list of “must-haves” and “wants” way back in Summer/Fall? Maybe go back to basics and compare 2 on that… as SJ2727 says, I would pretend you didn’t put a deposit down on ASU too..

These seem like VERY different experiences to me - a huge state school (even if in honors college) and a much, much smaller private one - student populations will feel different, clubs will feel different, intro classes will feel different (though not entirely sure how honors college impacts this). Envision yourself in these settings day to day…

Personally, I wouldn’t bank on programs that aren’t guaranteed at ASU given its size, but then again I know little about them specifically or their selectivity - you are obviously a great student!.

I suspect the alumni network at Wash U is strong and pretty available in major cities everywhere (I know a few Wash U grads and a lot of wealthy Wash U parents in New England, for example), which may be a benefit. I don’t know anyone who went to ASU or sent their kids there (at least off the top of my head). It obviously has extreme name recognition, though! Not like anyone would discount it.

Also, check how hard it is to change majors / or how hard it is to add minors, double major, etc. Students often end up finding new interests and niches they like, and some places make this VERY hard. Some don’t. Personally, I find some flexibility important, but not everyone does.

Good luck! You clearly are a great student, do well at either place and I am sure you will do well in life:)

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ASU honors is one of the best programs. Very prestigious actually. What school can your family cleanly afford? WashU is WashU.

You seem to have a great problem :smiling_face_with_sunglasses:

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So first, I agree the most important question is whether you and your family can comfortably afford both.

Assuming yes, then we can’t make this decision for you, but I would suggest a framing that might at least clarify the nature of the decision.

I would personally start by banishing the word “prestige” from my thinking. The name on your sweatshirt doesn’t have the impact some people seem to think. What is true is sometimes some colleges are better networked in some particular job market or industry/field, but that’s not the same thing as generic “prestige”. And the same institution can have stronger and weaker networks in different places and/or fields. So if it helps, you can think about actual, real world networks you might be interested in. But I would not think about generic “prestige”.

I then also suggest you think about resources, including access to resources. This is a legitimate plus to WashU–it is a highly resourced institution, particularly on a per student basis. It has a large endowment, gets a lot of research funding particularly given its size, gets operating revenues from the medical system, and so on. Among other things, it uses those resources to offer a robust variety of academic programs (including a lot of cool interdisciplinary options) with relatively modest classes sizes, lots of support for student activities, and a very swank campus in an excellent location (I note it is right across the street from a truly world-class park, Forest Park, and there are also Metro stations on either end of campus that can take you quickly downtown).

So that’s attractive.

That said, Honors programs are basically about trying to close that sort of per capita resources gap by devoting disproportionate resources/access to certain favored students. The degree to which that works for you can depend on the exact nature of the program and what it offers, and what you are looking for both academically and non-academically.

OK, so along with however you value the locations and networks, you ultimately have to decide if your practical use of resources at WashU would be worth the additional cost to you, in light of how you would plausibly use the resources at Barrett/ASU. That’s not an easy question to answer, and ultimately you are sort of guessing. But at least that is a sensible question to be asking, and you can investigate various academic and non-academic factors of interest through this lens to at least help your guess be as well-informed as possible.

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Besides the finances of the decision, I think a big factor should be if the OP is interested in medicine as a career and majoring in some kind of bio or is interested in other things. From people who attend Wash U., it seems as if the humanities are not all that rigorous. So, nod to ASU if the OP is a humanities kid.

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I have a kid at art school at the Sam Fox School of Art and Design at WashU and we’ve been very pleased / impressed with the academic rigor there and in the humanities courses they’ve taken in the Arts & Science school. Small sample size of 1 kid of course, but thought I’d share, as the humanities are a field I know a lot about professionally. They’ve been able to easily double major in an entirely different school, too. One with a STEM focus. Probably anyone who knows WashU knows those classes are no joke. (thank goodness I’m not in them! hahaha) You have two wonderful choices. Congrats! Assuming both are affordable, could you go to an accepted students day at each one and see what your future peers might be like? That was more helpful for my kids than we thought it would be.

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So for background, my S24 is a possible pre-med at WashU, and recently declared a double-major in Classics and Genomics and Computational Biology.

He has personally done well in all his classes, but from what he has said there are going to be more not-so-high grades in the difficult classes like Organic Chemistry.

I’m not sure that is specific to WashU, though. Like long ago I switched from Physics to Philosophy at a university very well-regarded for Humanities (and in general), and I found it much easier to get top grades (like as in went from not possible for me to not hard for me). I think it is more a matter of different norms by field as opposed to by institution.

What this doesn’t really address is how much you will actually get out of a class. To me a good college Humanities class has not just interesting readings but also very interesting discussions, and then you are challenged to show some serious engagement with the material in well-written papers and exams. It may be possible for more people to end up doing that well, but that doesn’t mean they can’t all be benefiting from the class as much as one would hope they would.

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Are you comfortable sharing the cost differential? Even if not, as others have said, if cost is NOT a consideration, then you are fortunate to choose where you feel is a better fit, and can consider the pros and cons pointed out here over and above the ones you have considered. Personally, if cost was not a factor, I like the environment, the cohorts, the opportunities at WashU. But if I was thinking about a price difference over 4 years of, say (making this up) $250K, I’d give that some pause. Do not let your parents change their lifestyle or retirement plans for your college education.

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Are you saying the humanities are actually stronger at ASU than WashU? Because otherwise, “they aren’t as strong as STEM at that particular college” isn’t necessarily an argument for another college.

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IMO St Louis has terrible weather.

It’s extremely hot and muggy in the summer and is very cold with snowstorms in the winter.

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As a person who likes four seasons, I view St Louis as relatively mild for a four season area most of the year (I would not usually choose to summer that far south if I could avoid it).

It actually reminds me a lot of DC, where I lived for a few years (and did not love the summers). This numerical comparison seems to suggest that makes sense:

https://www.bestplaces.net/climate/?c1=51150000&c2=52965000

A few degrees colder in winter, but still mild winters by my standards. In fact, aside from the Hot Days in summer, my main complaint about both would be the lack of actual Snowy Days in the winter.

Then here is St Louis versus Phoenix:

https://www.bestplaces.net/climate/?c1=52965000&c2=50455000

Obviously to each their own, but average highs of 84 in April, 94 in May, above 100 June, July, and August, 98 September, 88 October . . . I know it is “dry” but that is just not my thing.

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It’s subjective. But a person from Az may not be used to 35 degree weather from December - February. And March weather is unpredictable and can also be cold.

It’s also hot and super muggy June - August/early September.

I used to visit Wells Fargo quite often and would try to time my visits in October and April and avoid the other months.

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Indeed.

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This is a ridiculous statement. “The humanities are not all that rigorous.” Give me a break.

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How much of that time would someone actually be at college though? Maybe half if not less? Phoenix in summer isn’t exactly a cakewalk either.

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Summers are awful at both places. One is incredibly hot and dry. The other is not as hot but incredibly humid.

If you look at the school year, August/early September are bad at both places (one hotter but dry. The other humid and gross). St Louis is probably better in October but Phoenix weather is much better from November to February. (IMO unless you like 35 degree weather with snow storms, freezing rain and ocassional ice storms). March/April are probably a wash and St Louis slightly better in May.

IMO, I dont think St Louis has better weather than Phoenix unless you like cold and unpredictable winters.
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However, OP apparently does according to their first post. My husband and I also disagree about what “better weather” means, and as already noted it’s subjective.

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Sure. That’s fair. But if Phoenix is hot, what is St Louis? I used to go there multiple times a year for several years and the humidity is awful.

As we all note, it’s subjective so that’s just my opinion. But yes, OP may love St Louis weather.

Ill edit my original post to IMO.

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We need to know where OP is from! I’m from a very snowy and cold part of the country. “Winter” in St. Louis is really not a winter by our standards. But if they are from Arizona, I’m going to guess that St. Louis might be cold for them? That said, some people truly enjoy cold weather. My vote is still for them to visit campuses if possible and talk to current students.