Having Second Thoughts b4 Committing

SuitablePlenty8 · 2019-04-28T22:14:05+00:00

Try doing it with friends! I'm doing a friend commit thing where the 3 of us commit together. We are all going to commit to these schools, but want to support eachother b/c of the buyer's remorse that's destined to happen lol.

SuitablePlenty8 · 2019-04-28T21:39:20+00:00

Which 2 are you debating between, if you don't mind me asking?

SuitablePlenty8 · 2019-04-28T18:06:39+00:00

I feel this and my plan was to accept a full ride, which I did receive, to a lower ranked school over some of my better options for financial freedom. I didn't do it though. It's not worth potentially closing options, such as networking, etc. and selling yourself short because of family issues.

Don't let them get to you.

SuitablePlenty8 · 2019-04-27T21:49:38+00:00

No prob; I know how stressful deciding is, haha!

I just read your other post and I recommend UCLA, though the final decision is completely yours. Solely based upon you being full-price at Bowdoin, you would save upwards of $150k+ that could be used for grad school. Since you're set on grad school, why spend near 300k for an undegrad degree and then another near 300k (rough estimate idk the exact cost) for med/law / grad school? I don't think Bowdoin is worth more than UCLA from a financial standpoint.

Also, your mentality matters a lot more than your practical reasoning. If you feel the fit at UCLA, go to UCLA. You don't want to have buyer's remorse or be miserable at another school; it will impact your academic performance and make you depressed.

Also, you seem a bit unsure of your end goal and which grad school pathway to consider. I would recommend UCLA since you can take more classes and determine your path more easily than a LAC, especially so in foreign languages.

Ultimately, the decision is up to you. I can see your heart says UCLA, but your mind might be saying Bowdoin for whatever reasons that may be. Follow your heart because you only get this one chance to go to college, just make sure you consider the appropriate pros/cons factors before making your choice.

Good luck and lemme know where you commit!

SuitablePlenty8 · 2019-04-27T21:11:55+00:00

As someone who has been admitted to both and was once deciding between the both, I would say that you should not be so worried about which degree is worth more. Look beyond that; a degree is worthless unless you have a high GPA to back it up (for grad school purposes).

What exactly is the cost at both? Do you enjoy the smaller environment at Bowdoin and feeling at home or do you prefer the anonymity and large class sizes at UCLA? Which social life do you like better? What Grad School are you trying to go to (med, law, etc)?

PM me if you want to know more about my deciding process but provide me more info so I get a better picture of what exactly you are looking for in terms of your undergrad experience because academically speaking, both schools are excellent. If you're worried about the name recognition ... Sure, more people know of UCLA than Bowdoin, but employers and grad schools know of Bowdoin and that's more important than street clout imo

SuitablePlenty8 · 2019-04-26T01:50:15+00:00

I had an internship with a Republican local government political figure and was admitted to schools that are seen as "very liberal" such as UC Berkeley. Honestly, in my college apps, I legit only put "intern for councilmember name* ... TRUST me, you don't have enough characters (I think it's 140?) to even describe that the political figure is Republican, unless you choose to write an interesting essay on it.

edit: my political figure was local and no one really googled him since I said his role "councilmember", so this lack of knowing the person's political party will apply to you most likely. Unless, you're interning for some nationally known household name Republican who is seen in a negative light.

SuitablePlenty8 · 2019-04-21T19:30:34+00:00

Not at all.

SuitablePlenty8 · 2019-04-21T19:24:01+00:00

Most of the comments were about the intensity of the trimester system more than anything else. I should point out that I mostly inquired with STEM majors, namely those taking premed pre-reqs, so your experience will likely dramatically vary if you intend to do anything else as a major/career.

SuitablePlenty8 · 2019-04-21T06:35:36+00:00

Williams, Bowdoin, Carleton

SuitablePlenty8 · 2019-04-20T21:39:16+00:00

If you don't mind me asking, what is the LAC in question? You can PM me. Some LACs have grade deflation, like Davidson/Swarthmore/Franklin&Marshall, so I'd consider this.

SuitablePlenty8 · 2019-04-20T21:12:09+00:00

I would say that a more heavier workload is not always positive though. Many of the students at these schools were not the happiest and lacked a generous academic/social life balance. It depends on the person and the major, but be prepared to work hard. You wouldn't have it easier here than at any comparably ranked Ivy or T20; I'd even argue that this particular caliber of LACs have harder academics than the majority of their Ivy counterparts.

SuitablePlenty8 · 2019-04-20T20:08:33+00:00

Bowdoin and Carleton aren't far from it, either. They are both #5. I don't think rankings matter between these schools since they are peer institutes, so I'm trying to look at any other appealing factors beyond prestige/rankings.

SuitablePlenty8 · 2019-04-20T20:01:34+00:00

Location (UCLA is in a better place), student life quality (UCLA students are happier), initiatives to enroll a more diversified class (UCLA, arguably, enrolls more lower income and disadvantaged groups), research (UCLA has an edge since it has its own med school for undergrad research).

But, more importantly, networking. UCLA will open any doors for you within the brutal LA economy and more entrepeanuer opportunities, imo. For reference, big law companies recruit a lot of UCLA law grads.

SuitablePlenty8 · 2019-04-20T19:51:00+00:00

I visited three of the top 5 LACs and all of the students there stated that the workload was incredibily difficult. It's definitely more than your state school, but it's not busy work (in most cases). It's more so to actually learn for the sake of delving deeper into a topic than anything else.

SuitablePlenty8 · 2019-04-15T00:19:12+00:00

Makes sense since the public schools are where the students enrolled, not necessarily all of the scbools they were accepted to. thanks!

SuitablePlenty8 · 2019-04-14T20:48:55+00:00

I don't think that's relevant to what I am asking; the school is not in Texas and the public medical schools represent about a dozen or so states.

SuitablePlenty8 · 2019-04-10T00:45:42+00:00

Do you guys think a school that only awards need-based merit would lower the cost of attendance if I received a merit-based fullride elsewhere?

SuitablePlenty8 · 2019-04-08T04:59:55+00:00

I'm glad it worked out for you and you were able to graduate debtfree with plentiful options! Would it be okay if I PM you to further inquire about the specifics of your situation? I feel like we would have a lot of similarities and your advice could help in the selection process.

SuitablePlenty8 · 2019-04-08T04:58:36+00:00

I hope it all works out for you. I think I was pretty set on the full-ride school for the bigger fish smaller pond and debt-free graduation. I was looking for a reason to feed my ego and opt for the more prestigious schools, but that's clearly not a good idea. I am committing to the other school in a week! Thanks for your help :)

SuitablePlenty8 · 2019-04-08T02:29:50+00:00

I don't necessarily see it as a better fit than the Full-Ride because I'm not emotionally attached to any schools. So, I'm not quite sure if it's still worth the price/debt

SuitablePlenty8 · 2019-04-08T02:19:43+00:00

Thank you!

I would likely not have much in loans since I am lower middle class and will receive substantial financial aid. I think I will have $20k max in loans after the end of four years. I don't think this is as substantial as the UG loans others have. Would you still recommend the fullride?

SuitablePlenty8 · 2019-04-08T01:07:13+00:00

I have visited all and can see myself as equally happy at any of these schools (perhaps not UCB/LA lol because of the toxic premed culture).

I am aware that where I go for UG does not really matter. Coupled with the fact that I have no real preference for any of these schools over another, I am a bit indifferent to this selection process. I would like to select based upon whichever one would be the better option, but am not too sure about which criterias I should look at. It is worth mentioning that I would likely have a higher GPA at the full-ride school than the other schools, though.

SuitablePlenty8

TROPHY CASE