USC v Bates College

Snyleen
Mon, 28 Mar 2011 21:21:49 +0000

I know these two schools are like POLAR opposites, but I’ve been accepted to both and I have to narrow down my choices.

Location: Definitely USC > Bates. I prefer warmer weather. I hate HOT and COLD weather. I just like it warm, but if I had to choose, I would probably go for HOT>COLD. And so California > Maine. Not sure about this though.

Academics/Reputation: I DON’T KNOW. Which has a better reputation? I want to go to law school, and so I basically need to maintain a great avg, but I would also like it if the schools I apply to know about the school I’m in. I know USC is quite known, but I don’t know how good it’s academics is. I also don’t know how good Bates’ academics is either.

Size: I don’t think I mind much whether it’s a really small school, like Bates. But I’m scared that USC might be really big. I hear it’s not a problem once you find your niche, but the fact that it has 17k undergrad students scares me a bit.

Party/Social Scene: I feel like USC would have a better party/social scene with the greek life and just the enormous student body. How lax is the administration with alcohol and parties at both schools?

I’m not too sure what else there is. But FINANCIAL AID: Bates gave me full ride. I have 1.7k in work study, but the rest is in “Bates Scholarship” which I’m guessing is all in grants. I don’t know USC’s financial aid yet, but I’m scared it might be bad or not as good…

OPINIONS? THANKS!