My Friend Needs Help Now!!! Williams vs. UMCP

princessbell
Sat, 25 Apr 2009 22:03:29 +0000

My friend is trying to decide which of these two schools to go to. For me the choice is fairly obvious, but she is still having a great deal of trouble trying to choose. There are a number of factors that are making this decision fairly arduous, and as you all know, time is running out.

Williams:
Will cost very little; no financial hardship, no debt.
She is worried about the distance from her home and feels it is too inaccessible and that she will have trouble coming home in case of a family emergency.
She is worried about the isolation and fears missing out on things like concerts, city life, etc.
They do not have a journalism program, although she likes their English program.
Worried about the smallness of the minority population
Worried about all the stuff people on here worry about…domination of atheltics, drinking culture, etc.

UMCP:
Gave her a loan and a renewable grant worth about $3000; she will have to take out loans to pay for the next 3 years though…about $20000 in debt by graduation.
Has a “good” journalism program, access to internships in DC
Near home (she would actually live at home)
More of a comfort zone (most of our graduation class attends)

My friend is very bright, hard-working, and she’d probably do very well at either school. She is relatively quiet and soft-spoken, but becomes much more vociferous when she is involved in a class or activity that she enjoys. She’s been in public schools all her life, so she probably doesn’t really understand the difference that small class sizes and dedicated teachers make…

She really just wants an unbiased opinion, because she’s only been hearing the opinions of her cousin (who is pro-UMCP) and me (pro-LAC) for the past few weeks. She’s never visited and only has a few days to make this decision.