Hi everyone!
My initial selection post garnered a bit of attention (if you didn’t see it and want to know what I’m talking about, here it is!), so now that I have made a selection I thought I might as well give an update. After several weeks of visits, emails, appeals, and conversations, I am super happy to announce that I will be attending Johns Hopkins University this fall!
To give a little summary of what had happened between my earliest post and now, the first school I ended up crossing off was Emory - I was flown out to the Oxford campus and although the staff were incredibly friendly and the dining hall was surprisingly delicious, it became really hard to picture myself in such a small environment. To give a bit of perspective, the campus perimeter probably is a 10 minute walk altogether, and the town of Covington which it’s located in is a two mile walk away and consists of little more than a small square with a few shops. In terms of resources, opportunities, and possibilities, I really couldn’t see this place being my home for the next four years.
After Emory, the next school I decided was no longer a possibility was Yale. This one really surprised me since I had grown up visiting Yale a lot since it was so close by. I had an image in my head of what I expected Yale to be like and that image really didn’t turn out to be reality - I enjoyed Bulldog Days but I didn’t feel it pull on my heartstrings in the slightest. The school was great, don’t get me wrong, but it didn’t feel like home and I still can’t exactly put my finger on why. I have theories for maybe what led me to leave with such a lukewarm feel but halfway through my visit I already felt comfortable crossing the school off my list which looking back was a bit of a blessing.
The school that made an unexpected appearance in the end as a consideration was Princeton, which going in to the decision process was not a school I expected to like at all. The school has a magical feel to it and the people are really truly amazing - I loved the campus, the coziness of the town, the beautiful buildings and captivating students. This was a school that up until decision day stood as a real possibility and had the prices been different, I might have seriously chosen it. On paper though, between grade deflation, a core curriculum, very rigorous academics, a lack of university medical school, and the suburban nature of Princeton, this wasn’t an option that ultimately made sense to pay a huge premium for, but I can now totally understand why this school is seen by so many the way it is.
So that left the final two - JHU and WashU. Ultimately what sealed the deal was the result of an appeal - I had sat down with my Hopkins financial aid counselor, explained to him all my options, and he recommended I write an appeal. Just a few days ago, I received the result of my appeal, and JHU dropped almost $15k in price to be 28k in billed expenses and about 4k more when outside prices were factored in. Given that WashU would cost just roughly 5k more a year (even less when transport was factored in), it became a no-brainer situation 
Looking back at my original post, I really want to thank all the people who took the time to craft out such detailed, thoughtful, and helpful responses. You definitely helped me in this month-long crunch period. Go Blue Jays!!