Which college should I accept? (international)

TTG
Sun, 22 Apr 2018 12:39:23 +0000

Congratulations! All are terrific schools. It’s a case where you will not make a regrettable choice based on academics. They are different schools but similarly excellent. I suggest choosing based on fit, which you are doing.

Michigan is in a large town/small city. The campus and surrounding area do have an urban feel, and there are a couple of streets just off campus where there are lots of restaurants, shops, etc. It’s a nice community. Obviously a large school. Most students live off campus after freshman year, often in houses and apartments in surrounding neighborhoods. It is a large research university. It did strike me as a nice place to live for four years.

Williams is a very small LAC in a small town not really close to much else. It’s a wonderful small community with amazing students. The surrounding mountains are beautiful, and there are lots of outdoor things to do. The school has a very low professor:student ratio, and students get a tremendous amount of attention from professors and the school in general. Professors will be much more about teaching than research (more so than the faculty at Michigan and UCLA). You’ll have more access to professors than at Michigan where teaching assistants will play a large role in teaching introductory classes. There will be fewer full labs etc. but students are very well prepared to go on to grad school. It’s a place where you’ll have a short walk over across a beautiful campus to a nice building to play piano. (And it will probably be good that it’s a short walk because it will often be very cold.)

I agree with MYOS that the first two sound like the best choice for you. UCLA is certainly a similarly excellent school. The campus is stunning and so is the Southern California weather. There are many introverts there, and I’m sure the vast majority love the school, but I think of it as a very social place, with lots of students living up a hill at one end of campus. I would also think it might be the place that’s hardest to get into classes you want to take (because of state budget issues). Now, if UCLA is the top choice in your mind, ignore my advice. The weather is way nicer at UCLA, and the school is great. You will be best off if you go where YOU will love most. I’m just basing my comments on the brief bit of info about yourself; you know way more. Good luck!