<p>I’m having so much trouble choosing where to go to college next year. Finances are a major factor, and of course I’m looking for fit. My current academic interests are neuroscience/cognitive science and I want to go to law school. I’m a girl from New Jersey and here are my acceptances & scholarship awards:</p>
<p>Rutgers- full ride
Northeastern- $18000 first year, $9000/yr next three years
Fordham- full tuition
USC Dornsife- half tuition + $1000/yr (National Merit Scholarship)
UMich LSA honors- $15000/yr
UMiami- currently $20000/yr and just interviewed for full tuition, will find out in a week</p>
<p>I’ve pretty much ruled out the first three as they were my safeties. The generous awards at Rutgers and Fordham are of course hard to turn down, but I’m coming from a very rigorous full IB schedule and I really want to be challenged in college. I’m also looking for intellectualism and love of learning among the student body, and I worry that at the first three I won’t really find that. So I’ve narrowed my options down to USC, UMich, and UMiami, all far from home and all very different.</p>
<p>My feelings about each of them:</p>
<p>I spent six weeks at UMich this summer for TASP and I loved it. I haven’t yet visited campus as an admitted student and I plan to do so this month. I think that I would be most comfortable there, but it is the most expensive option as well.</p>
<p>I haven’t yet visited USC; I’m planning on going next week. It’s an amazing school but I have some concerns about the students being superficial and focused on appearances since it’s in LA and all…and I’ve also heard it referred to as “The University of Spoiled Children.” Since finances are a concern for me, I wouldn’t want to feel out of place in this environment.</p>
<p>I was just at UMiami this weekend. I was very impressed with the facilities and their efforts to improve the university over the past decade. However, I only attended a mock class as it was a weekend, and it’s hard to gauge how rigorous the academics really are. If I get the full tuition scholarship, it will be a serious contender for sure, but I have concerns about its reputation beyond Florida and whether the academic are as strong as at USC and UMich.</p>
<p>Compare costs in terms of net cost after financial aid and scholarships, not by the amount of financial aid and scholarships.</p>
<p>Given that law school is expensive, going to Rutgers (which is a very respectable university) for free and saving the money for law school is a good choice.</p>
<p>Law school admissions is heavily LSAT and GPA based. A school with high [grade</a> inflation](<a href=“http://www.gradeinflation.com/]grade”>http://www.gradeinflation.com/) relative to the competitiveness of its students may be beneficial to your chances of getting into a top 14 law school.</p>
<p>If I was 100% sure I will be going to law school, perhaps a full ride at Rutgers would be the best option for me. However, I’m still not sure about law school, and my undergraduate concentration is also not set in stone. I don’t want my college experience to be a means to an end. I want to be in an intellectual environment with a good balance of academics and social life, where I will be able to find an abundance of like-minded peers. I’ve been to Rutgers and the intellectualism I’m looking for just doesn’t seem to be present. I’ve been accepted to the honors program, but according to students from my school who have gone there, the courses are “a joke” and the freshman leadership class in particular is nearly identical to the leadership class we take as freshman in our high school.</p>
<p>Big state flagship universities like Rutgers have some intellectual students to associate with, even if many of the students are not that way. As far as courses go, they have courses ranging from the jokes to very challenging ones. Just choose the more challenging courses if that is what you want. Major choice may also have an effect on how intellectually oriented your fellow students are (pure math and philosophy majors may be among the more intellectually oriented students).</p>
<p>Michigan is also a big state flagship university, so it is hard to see it being much different from Rutgers in this respect. USC is a large private university whose students likely have a similar mix of intellectualism as a big state flagship. Miami is smaller, but not that small; it seems hard to believe that it would have a mix of students much different from the others in intellectualism.</p>
<p>You may want to ask on the school specific forums about the relative levels of intellectualism at each one.</p>
<p>USC has a large percentage of Pell Grant recipients, the poorest students in the US. Don’t fall for old myths. They’re all ood schools, follow the money.</p>
<p>ucbalumnus- I know that Rutgers would have some intellectual students, but I’m looking for a majority. UMich is a better school by any measure, and I’ve been to Rutgers and I really don’t like it. I’ve definitely ruled it out. Miami is also less intellectual than the other two, but they might offer me enough money to make it worth going. Maybe I just need to see what happens over the next week…I just hate not knowing where I’m going, especially when everyone around me is figuring it out!
Waverly- That’s interesting. I’m curious about what my visit next week will be like, I guess I do have some preconceived notions that hopefully will be proved wrong.</p>
<p>I can speak from experience about USC being only for rich kids. It is a QuestBridge school, meaning that it receives many applications and accepts many students who are of lower income. I myself was recently accepted and received a lot of money from both the pell grant and the school itself. Multiple people from my area plan to attend and none of us are from wealthier families. There will be rich kids at every school, you just have to find a good balance. As others have said, most of these appear to be huge schools so there will a mix wherever you go. I personally think having that mix makes it so you are under less pressure than if you attended a school where everyone was at least as smart as you if not more so.<br>
Good luck with your choices!</p>
<p>ucbalumnus- well, these are the options I have to work with. I’m sure there’s a difference between Rutgers and Michigan when it comes to intellectualism, even if there isn’t as high a percentage of intellectual students at Michigan as at an ivy league school. </p>
<p>hornetdad- yes, it’s definitely very tempting to choose USC or Miami when I think of the weather at Michigan, lol. But I’m trying to focus on the academics because I can tolerate cold weather better than a bad fit.</p>
<p>happysmiley- I’m glad there will be a mix whichever option I choose. I currently go to a public magnet school that is characterized by pressure, stress, and competitiveness. Right now, the prospect of going to a school where that isn’t the case is refreshing. However, I don’t want to swing in the opposite direction and choose a college that will be one huge party, which is what I’ve been hearing about Miami in particular.</p>