<p>Hi parents, I’m really struggling with my decision and I post this at the risk of sounding shallow. I’m choosing between Princeton, Duke, and UChicago. I’m interested in international affairs and economics and I believe all three would satisfy my interests just fine. I also visited and found the student bodies at all 3 agreeable-- nice, interesting, and highly intellectual but in different ways. I could picture myself at all 3. </p>
<p>One area I’m concerned about though are my dating prospects at each of these schools. I can’t help liking the fact that I got much more attention from the girls at UChicago than the girls at Princeton and Duke. I feel that a greater percentage of the girls at Duke and Princeton are out of my league. The competition is also much greater at Duke and Princeton.</p>
<p>Am I being shallow by essentially liking UChicago because I could see myself actually having a nice dating life there? Having a decent romantic life is important to me. If it were not for this concern, I would probably choose Princeton.</p>
<p>I am not sure if this is a serious post or not. I don’t think it’s a shallow concern, but what if you go to U of Chicago and don’t date there either. Will you be pining for Princeton?</p>
<p>If you like Princeton better in other respects, I say go to Princeton and trust that social opportunities will present themselves there.</p>
<p>On the other hand, maybe you felt more comfortable with the social atmosphere at Chicago. That’s a different issue.</p>
<p>Are you kidding?! I wouldn’t turn down an Ivy League education solely because of your <em>impressions</em> about the dating pool. How long did you spend on those campuses? You are not basing this on scientific data. It’s not like the male/female ratio is 70/30 as it is at RPI
If you had a bunch of other reasons to turn down Princeton, such as the cost, and this was just another factor, then that would be a different story.</p>
<p>I wouldn’t pick an Ivy League education simply because it was from a group of schools who call themselves a fancy name! Don’t go to Princeton because it is in a league with some other schools, pick it because you liked it more! The OP stated that all of these schools were equal academically! I would never say that Duke and UChicago were at all weaker than Princeton, nonetheless in economics where UChicago is stronger! (Sorry, I hate when people post to go to an Ivy just cause it is an Ivy. You should pick your school based on fit, not prestige or the title of Ivy. )</p>
<p>Sounds like Woody Allen, but I didn’t realize he was going back to college… (joking). I don’t think it should be a significant concern… only takes one person to date.</p>
<p>Still, feeling comfortable in a social circle is not necessarily shallow. Still, if you prefer Princeton in all other areas, then believe that your social life will come to you there. It isn’t as if you felt like an outcast during your time there.</p>
<p>It was 85/15 when I was at RPI, unless you are talking about by volume, then that would be about right.</p>
<p>Competent and confident guys will date no matter where they are, including RPI. Don’t decide between the 3 based on that one issue because it will change drastically once you are there.</p>
<p>Given that these are 3 excellent choices, you can make the final decision on any criteria you like – weather, food, campus architecture, or your perceived impression of the opposite sex.</p>
<p>Since your userid is ‘princeton’ I presume that you have wanted to go to Princeton for a while. I agree with several of the posters above that the dating opportunities will present themselves to you at whatever college you choose. In addition, your confidence in yourself will change as you realize that kids at every school are as worried as you are about finding their group, so when you get to your college you will realize that and relax more yourself. </p>
<p>Create a spreadsheet with all the criteria that is important to you to pick your final college. Next to each criteria, add a ‘weight’, like 1.0, 1.1, 1.2, 1.3, next to each criteria. If the dating scene is more important than the dorm, you would weight that criteria higher. As you rate each college on each criteria, you ignore the weighting and rate them some other value (like 1 through 5). When you add up the columns for each college, you add up each (rating*weighting) and see what the total is. If you see that UChicago ranks the highest, and your gut doesn’t lurch, then that is the right school. On the other hand, if Princeton comes out higher even though the dating scene was rated low, you will see that it is an overall better fit. Let us know what you decide!</p>
<p>University of Chicago is a great school, huge; but not Ivy League obviously. Princeton is in “New Jersey” – just sayin’. Duke women are the most adorable. It’s ultimately irrelevant if you blast your abs. No woman can resist properly blasted abs.</p>
<p>“Am I being shallow by essentially liking UChicago because I could see myself actually having a nice dating life there?”</p>
<p>No, I think it’s reasonable to choose among academic peers for this reason. That said, I agree that if you go to Princeton or Duke, you can find girlfriends if you work at it and you’re willing to take the risk of being shot down. Not every woman at P/D is a skinny fashion plate looking to date an athlete. Get to know the girls in your league, ask them out, and you might be surprised. There are lots of happy nerd couples at all three schools.</p>
<p>Go to the school you like best. You certainly did not meet all of the women at any school, and there will be a whole new class coming in with you. Are you sure that you didn’t mean to say that you feel you may have a better shot at attracting the type of females you like at UChi rather than at Princeton? In other words, are you more concerned with the competition you might face?</p>
<p>Edit: I reread the OP and saw that you mentioned competition already.<br>
The only other thing I’d add is that my impression of these schools are that they attract very intellectual students, which hopefully means that the women would value intelligence over looks.</p>
<p>“which hopefully means that the women would value intelligence over looks.”</p>
<p>Sure they do, but everyone in the Princeton dating pool is smart. In that kind of population, smarts aren’t much of a distinguishing factor. Looks, confidence, humor, etc. are going to play an important role for everybody selecting romantic partners.</p>
<p>That is true. But I would expect intelligent people might choose their love interests based on all those factors in total, not just the best looking of the smart people. Or else, it would be all about picking the most beautiful person who was willing to go out with you.</p>
<p>wait a minute… This sounds a lot like the college search. There are people who will pick the most prestigious school they can get into, whether or not it is the best option for them. I would imagine that there are some who feel the same way about people, too.</p>
<p>“I would expect intelligent people might choose their love interests based on all those factors in total, not just the best looking of the smart people.”</p>
<p>Well, sure, but dumb people do this too. You don’t have to be book smart, or any kind of smart, to value character, humor, shared interests, etc. along with looks.</p>
<p>Duke, Chicago and Princeton are all excellent schools. If you like them equally, then you should use any tie-breaker you want to help you decide where to enroll. </p>
<p>Name recognition? Choose Princeton
Weather? choose Duke
Dating potential? Choose Chicago</p>
<p>It doesn’t matter. You can’t go wrong an any of these. Your reason is your reason and it only has to please you. Not a bunch of strangers on the internet. </p>
<p>Good luck. This is a nice problem to have. :)</p>
<p>DougBetsy’s nailed it. And I love Hunt’s advice - no matter where you go, being in good shape physically fees good, looks good, is healthy, costs less, and will reduce your stress level. College is a great time to reinvent yourself and this is one area where you have some meaningful control.</p>
