I have narrowed my college search to three programs/schools. I will lay out all the details, and then I would love feedback on what you all recommend and what your personal experiences have been.
For GA State, I have Zell and the Second Century, meaning I would just have to pay for housing. A family friend owns a condo in Vinings about 15 minutes from the school where I would stay, which is safer than the dorms. (We would rent this at about $700/month, making this cost about the same as the other schools). I am awaiting to hear back on the Presidential here, which would be a full ride, but I am assuming I won’t get it and want to consider my options without it. 250 students/year in the honors program, close to home and friends/church/family, solid study abroad, law program, and internship opportunities.
MSU… $18k/year in tuition scholarships, first year of housing covered, and a $4400 study abroad stipend. If I were an RA after the first year, this would be a little shy of $6k each year, making it the most cost effective. If not, it would be close to $11k and would be a bit more than the others. This has a solid honors program but is larger than GSU and Mercer’s, has comfortable housing, is 4-5 hours from home, and has a safer area, but much less opportunity for internships and job placement.
Mercer… I received the Presidential and Tift, so this would be just shy of $10k per year and is about two hours from home. Incredible study abroad opportunities, 100% internship placement, but very uppity and shallow atmosphere, not a very safe area, and uncomfortable dorms and dining halls.
What do you all recommend? What has been your experience at any of these schools? I want to find the right balance of prestige, comfort, education, internship placement, etc… Each has a strength over the others. GSU would be the most comfortable and would have a high sense of community given its location, as well as a great city for internship placement. MSU is wonderful for cost, honors program, and its chance to start somewhere completely fresh. Mercer has the most prestige and has amazing study abroad opportunities, and claims to place each student in an internship though being far from a business-oriented city. Thoughts?