Where should I go to college?

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Hey, trying to make my final college decision and I thought I'd put up this little poll. I'm majoring in biology with an eye toward infectious disease research. I've narrowed my options down to three schools. Pros/cons of each:

Penn- Pros: It's an Ivy, so there's the prestige. They said I was in the top 15% of accepted students, and invited me to join some kind of honors program- I will either get a double major (biology and biochemistry) OR earn both a bachelor's and a master's degree in just 4 years, in addition to a guarantee of 2 summers of paid research, totaling over $10,000. They have a hall devoted to infectious disease in one of their housing areas, which is pretty cool.

Cons- It's in a bad part of town, I would have to dodge traffic on my way to class (busy Philadelphia streets run rights through the middle of campus), I don't know if their biology program is very good, and I don't know yet if financial aid will be very good there. Dining hall's not too great, and their dorm rooms aren't very appealing. Socially, I would not fit in very well.


RIT- Pros: I really like their biology professors, I've been offered a paid research job for this summer, during which they would also let me take classes for free, they do a great job of helping students apply for prestigious scholarships (last year, 3 out of their 4 nominees won a Goldwater Fellowship, which is a pretty big deal). They are well regarded, and their reputation is getting better all the time. I would get research experience, and since I would be near the top of my class I would have access to the best opportunities. I've got AP credits, so I wouldn't have to take any courses in the humanities, but I would be required to complete a minor. I've been told that there are lots of Aspies at RIT.

Cons: When I was there, I heard only two complaints form students, first, it gets frickin' COLD, second, there aren't enough girls. I'll add to that, RIT is still kind of a university on the rise, and I don't know if it will be impressive enough to grad schools and med schools that I apply to later on. Plus, financial aid there might not be so good (I've already maxed out on their scholarships) and I missed the priority deadline to apply for their Honors program, so I would apply and be considered on a space-available basis. Plus, I don't think I would be challenged enough; I sat in on a junior virology class and felt it was going too slow, while the professor apologized to her students for moving so fast.


Miami- Pros: Beautiful campus, warm all year round, full tuition scholarship (I still have to pay room and board), free textbooks (if I play in the marching band), great music department that I can participate in (I really like their band director, I've played under him before and he's one of the best conductors I've known), friendlier people, attached to a renowned medical school, possibility of doing research at said medical school as an undergrad, still (like RIT) near the top of the class, so access to better opportunities. Better male:female ratio than RIT, guys are actually outnumbered 57 to 43. I would get a TON of AP credit, potentially walking in with up to 70 credit hours, which would almost qualify me as a junior during my first year. Lot's of flexibility in what courses I take, especially as I've been exempted from gen ed requirements entirely. I would be able to take a second major or a couple minors, just study whatever I find interesting. I'm walking in almost as a junior, so I've got plenty of time to do whatever interests me.

Cons: It's got a bit of a reputation as a party school, which isn't what I want. A lot of people there are really into sports, and I'm not a sports guy, so that might make life difficult. It's respected, but it hasn't got the prestige of Penn. They haven't guaranteed me a research job right off the bat, so I would have to actively seek on out (still, this isn't difficult).

Oh, I forgot to add to Penn: I would be in the 256th graduating class. 256 is a very pretty number, largely because it is a power of 2- 2^8 to be specific.

After much hesitation, I voted University of Miami.

The way I looked at them was like this: You are a highly capable student, so paid research opportunities, honors programs, and other merit-based things of the like seem pretty likely regardless of where you go. Your qualms with Penn and RIT were pretty serious, you doubted the quality of both of their biology programs (which is important, since the overall ranking of a school means very little if it isn't specifically notable in the area you plan to go into), and you encountered financial aid issues with the two of them.

With Miami, you've got financial aid, a good biology program, AP Credit, and the medical school (and, especially given your ambitions, the medical school and it's potential research opportunities are, to me, the clincher).

But even so, all three sound like great schools and a I really don't think you can go wrong. Great job, man.

I was in the top 100 when I graduated in 06 but my hat is off to you, Orwell.

Miami sounds good in my opinion though I'm a Mason Patriot

I didn't vote. I think it's something you need to decide, because if you go on other people's input, you might regret it and be unhappy where you go. I will tell you this though: It's gets cold as hell in Rochester. Pretty much all of upstate NY gets really cold.

Thanks for the encouragement Phagocyte and Jerry. To clarify on RIT, I don't doubt the quality of their bio program, just I wonder if it will push me as hard as I need to be pushed. Still, I know I can study a lot of good material there, and RIT is most known for it's science. Bio is pretty dominant on campus. I met two of their professors, both of whom I really liked, and I know of several students there who have been very successful in biology. Next year they're bringing in a new immunology professor, which could be neat. I would definitely get personal attention from the two professors I met, and would likely work in one of their labs for several years.

At Miami, my degree will actually be in Microbiology/Immunology, and that specialization early on might be better than a major in biotechnology as I would have at RIT.

I don't know yet that I have financial aid issues with Penn and RIT; I haven't gotten Penn's aid letter yet, and it shouldn't be too much worse than what I'm paying at Miami. RIT not only gives paid research, but also includes co-ops in the degree program, so I would be able to make it through OK.

I know, and it's not like I'm going to decide where I go solely on the result of this poll. I would probably be happy at any of these schools; I already took out the schools I wouldn't be happy at (University of Texas at Dallas and Carnegie Mellon).

And yeah, Rochester is cold. And there's a quarter mile walk between the dorms and the academic side of campus.

I think you would like the University of Miami the best. I think you'll be happy there, and you could always take a year of Penn. if you want to show that you have the skills in order to be in a grad school.

It should be your decision and your decision only.

Obviously, but he asked for input and I provided input. Nobody is trying to make the decision for him, just offering their perspective with the information given.

Holy S**T!! O.O Pray tell what are your qualifications (SAT's, GPA, AP exams taken and scores, after school stuff, etc)? O.O

I guess you're the one who voted Penn. Who went for RIT?
Anyways, GPA 4.48, but it was 4.36 when I applied. SAT was 2390, APs included Bio, US History, Micro and Macro Econ, all 5s except for Macro which was a 4. I'm taking 9 more AP tests this year. After school I'm in various music groups, chess team, academic team, science olympiad (so basically a ton of super nerdy stuff) along with some volunteer work (not a ton, though). Penn is the second LEAST selective Ivy (after Cornell), so getting in wasn't too big a deal. I collected a nice pile of rejection letters as well (MIT, Harvard, Yale, Princeton) and got waitlisted at Brown. I actually was somewhat surprised about getting into Penn. On their app, you had to write an essay about "Why I want to go to Penn," and mine pretty much sucked.

To be honest, with credentials like that I don't see why you were even rejected from the four schools you listed.

O.O XD Jesus! XD Beats the crap out of mine:
SAT: 2020
GPA: 3.95
AP's: 6 (four 5's and one 3)...Judging by comparsion, sucks for you means better than I'm capable of, for me. >_< bah...
I feel dumb now. T_T

Because it's basically a crap shoot. At Harvard, 80% of this years applicants were deemed qualified to attend; about 7% were accepted. I evidently made it into the 80 but not into the 7. At a certain point, standardized test scores no longer matter. My essays may have been rather poor, though I'm not really sure what they were looking for.

Curiouslittleboy: your qualifications are still really good. I don't see much significant difference in our SAT scores, since that can vary wildly depending on how one feels that day (the whole test is meaningless anyways), and our GPA difference could be largely in the way our respective schools calculate GPA and how easy grades come in the classes we've taken (most classes at my school are free A's). And for AP's, again, that's probably based more on what's offered at our schools than anything else. 6 is still more than most people take.

@Orwell: That may be so, but even if all that is true, well, time to share something personal with you and the board in general: I go crazy around people that are better than me...I just can't take the feelings of inadequancy and fear. >< Both my previous boyfriend just being around a FEW of those kinds of students made me lose it at my school...I'd kill myself (or worse) should I even attend one of those kinds of schools (assuming the monetary issues alone don't do it).
And it doesn't matter what my school offered, AP wise, (they offered a bunch) because I wouldn't have been able to handle, more than f*****g 3 per f*****g year. T_T

Last edited by curiouslittleboy on 02 Apr 2008, 9:31 pm, edited 1 time in total.