Click here to go to the NEW College Discussion Forum

It's probably not a good thing that I'm still up at 4 AM posting about this, but that's a story for another day.

I was accepted to Dartmouth, Georgetown, Tufts, UVA, William and Mary, Rutgers, and TCNJ. I've basically crossed Tufts and William and Mary off the list, as Georgetown and UVA are comparable but better schools (or at least fits) in my opinion. This leaves Dartmouth, Georgetown, UVA, and Rutgers.

I'm in a really good situation in terms of financial aid. My parents have saved enough (even with three younger siblings coming up through the ranks) that they can afford to pay for four years at Dartmouth or Georgetown.

However, if I choose to attend UVA or Rutgers, the leftover money (ballpark: $40k for UVA, $160k for Rutgers) will be mine to use for graduate/business/law school.

Basically, I have two decisions to make. First, I need to decide whether I want to save the money for graduate school. Assuming that I choose not to do so, which is what I'm leaning towards right now, I have to decide between Dartmouth and Georgetown (College, not SFS/McDonough/Nursing).

Right now, I'm inclined to attend Dartmouth. I'm fairly certain that I want to attend graduate/business/law school, but probably not right out of college. Furthermore, I'm almost certain that I want at least a couple years of work experience before I consider going back to school.

Academically, I feel that Georgetown pales somewhat in comparison to Dartmouth, and I wasn't especially thrilled with Georgetown's campus when I visited.

I guess I'm a little lost right now. I know the prospect of having $160k for graduate/business/law school and a free ride at Rutgers probably seems like the automatic decision to most of you parents, but I want to enjoy my college experience and grow personally, which is something that I believe Dartmouth will do for me more than any of the other colleges.

Anyway, some guidance would be nice. I'm a pretty adaptable guy, but I want to make sure that I make the right decision for the right reasons. I didn't put all those months into the college decision process only to screw up my decision process.

By Chronofx (Chronofx) on Sunday, April 04, 2004 - 03:56 pm: Edit

bump

By Isacc (Isacc) on Sunday, April 04, 2004 - 04:05 pm: Edit

the next four years are the best in your life .. ...you earned Dartmouth!!the reports are the students are happy ..the campus beautiful and the profs interact well with the students..

By Chronofx (Chronofx) on Monday, April 05, 2004 - 07:10 pm: Edit

bump