Thank you all for responding! this is very helpful.
More details: According to the initial Entrance Credit Reports I have received from Amherst and Columbia, both seem to be taking my Science and Language gen eds from my community college. I guess I just don’t know if a place like Columbia will still make me take more science, so I have to ask them that.
To delve more specifically into why I’m so torn, and why I don’t know for sure which school is “the best fit” for me: there is a professor in the gender studies program at Columbia who I really admire, and would love to study with. He’s well known, though, so I don’t know if he’s accessible to undergraduates.
The English dept at Amherst, on the other hand, seems to be well respected and more malleable than Columbia. Amherst also appears to offer quite a few scholarships and research grants, which might be harder to come by at a crowded place like Columbia.
So both have their perks. Both are similarly priced for me. Wesleyan actually gave me the most aid, then Columbia, and Amherst gave me the least aid (surprising given their $3 billion endowment and their record for being generous). But that’s the way it worked. Still, all are fairly comparable on that front. Mostly I’m just torn between going to Amherst / Wesleyan where it seems I’ll get more attention and resources–or get them more easily-- and going to Columbia because I feel unable to turn down an Ivy (regrettably smitten by a name)…
Idk if this extra info helps. You all have been helpful already, thanks!