Given your results I’m somewhat shocked that WVU didn’t offer more scholarship money, honors program, etc. They’ve been trying to retain top, in-state students.
Did Pitt offer you anything? Scholarships, Honors program, etc? Morgantown is about an hour from Pittsburgh. It could be a compromise of staying close to home but spreading your wings. Great place for pre-med types.
Go visit Duke and see what you think. At the end of the day you have to be comfortable with your decision.
The nice thing is that you could go to Duke and return to WVU for med school…or vice versa. Good luck.
I’ve been accepted into the honors colleges at both WVU and Pitt. At WVU, I have received $11,000 in scholarships ($5,500 from a state scholarship and $5,500 in merit aid based on my SAT score). However, I haven’t been awarded any additional financial aid or merit scholarships outside of that. If I decide to attend WVU, I’m considering appealing and reaching out to my specific college to see if there was anything else they could through in.
Pitt was one of my top choices earlier in the process, and I still see it as a strong option. But now I’m starting to feel like it might be the worst of both worlds, It’s far enough from home that I’d have to give up the convenience and familiarity of staying closer, yet I’m not sure it’s a big enough step up from WVU to justify the move. In that sense, I worry I’d be taking on the drawbacks of both options without a clear benefit.
Then again, maybe Pitt is a good compromise and I’m just overthinking it.
Duke will open you doors you didn’t even know existed, and provide support for things to further your goals when needed (for instance, if you find the perfect internship but it’s in a high-rent city, they cover the cost of rent ..)
Have you seen In the Heights? Probably some elements are quite different from your own experience, but the elite-college kid everyone is proud of, who feels the weight of everyone’s expectations+a cultural disconnect to the point she doesn’t want to return… She realizes that her education will not take her away from her community but will help her help others to the most of her abilities, by using her new network and skills. Kinda “lift as you climb”.
It’s a musical so might not be up your alley, but some scenes are spectacular and the beats all different (unlike, say, Phantom of the Opera or Les Miserables- it’s by the author of Hamilton.)