Hello! I had the fortune of being accepted into these universities, and I was wondering if any would be better for me especially with respect to cost difference.
Princeton ($20k/year)
Pros:
My current top choice right now
Slightly warmer and less snow than other schools
Scenic campus
Larger town with proximity to cities
Junior project and Senior thesis
Eating clubs
Residential colleges
more ideal size for me in terms of undergrads
Large support for student engagement and study abroad
Alumni network
No Greek life
Very diverse
Academia vibes
School spirit
Parents love Ivy League Brand
my top choice
large breadth in geoscience courses
Cons:
Eating club culture could be weird
(uninformed and baseless opinion here but) seems a bit more competitive and elitist than others
expansive program for both orchestra and concert band
good breadth in courses
Cons
prominent Greek life
cold and snowy
smaller town
Williams ($9k/year)
Pros
love aesthetics(purple)!
4-1-4
tutorials
WEPO
Williams Mystic
very artsy
tight knit community
no Greek life
large connection with nature
large environmental focus
alumni network
bonuses in financial aid and cheap
more than one music lesson covered
mountain day
Cons
very cold
isolated and small
small undergrad size (not too big of an issue)
stressful
less breadth in geoscience offerings
no concert band or school wind Ensemble
I also did make a mistake in my Princeton financial aid and my sibling being in college was not included so I will probably receive a bit more financial aid once that is solved.
It seems Princeton fits you best. Once Priceton’s financial aid is fixed, if the cost is still higher than the other 2, you can ask if they will match it.
Will your parents be able to pay out of pocket for Princeton (from income and savings, no parental loans)? If so, then it’s an excellent choice!
If not, my 2nd choice would be Williams. It’s not as optimal as Princeton but it’s far cheaper and still meets a lot of your criteria.
Princeton: Proximate to folded sedimentary formations of the Paleozoic Era, especially those of Pennsylvania. Schists and gneisses of New York City may have good exposure. Lies just beyond the extent of Pleistocene Epoch glacial deposits. Alumnus John McPhee has written popular books on geology.
Dartmouth: Proximate to varied formations of Paleozoic Era orogenies, including igneous and metamorphic examples. Granite of the White Mountains has been associated with a mantle plume also responsible for the Hawaiian Islands, although it’s unlikely that this hypothesis is widely accepted. Pleistocene Epoch glacial deposits. Complex Precambrian metamorphics of the Adirondacks would offer a particular challenge.
Williams: Similar to Dartmouth, but within easier reach of geological and geomorphological lacustrine features of New York State.
Oh, c’mon. No matter how many bullet points you list (some of which are repeats of the same thing), it still boils down to how much money you are willing to pay for prestige. Princeton knows it. The question is, do you know it?
Princeton will match the financial aid offer from Williams College.
Are you really considering Dartmouth & Williams over Princeton ? I could understand this if participation on an athletic team was involved, but for academics, prestige, career, and personal growth, Princeton is the easy answer.
Although a list such as this is best regarded as a sampling, and therefore should not be regarded as definitive, you might find it interesting that, from among your choices, Princeton (only) appears:
Princeton does not match any aid. It re evaluates it’s calculations based on an offer from a peer institution. They consider that to be HYP. That being said they have some of the most liberal aid in these letters. I am sure once you give them the revised information it will come out at a similar amount.