r/collegecompare

im so grateful i have two amazing options, but i need to decide on one. i am a california resident. i was committed to UCLA for cs and honestly was looking forward to attending. yesterday, i got off the uiuc waitlist for cs. i love UCLA's location, but i know that UIUC has the better cs program. how do i pick the best school for me?

cost is not a factor. what draws me to LA is that the travel time is less, better weather, and access to the same internships / career outcomes.

I’m choosing between UCLA and Vanderbilt as an undecided STEM major, and I’ve already weighed the usual factors: cost, weather, location, size, environment, etc.

At this point, I’m mainly curious about prestige and general outlook from the average person/redditor. Not necessarily specific major rankings, or detailed fit factors. Just overall reputation. I like both equally.

Which school has the stronger name brand / prestige in your opinion?

Would your answer change depending on region, industry, or grad school goals? And if you heard someone chose one over the other, which choice would be more impressive to you at first glance?

Guys I got vit cse cat 2, mostly under 1 k rank in met ( 167, band 10), bitsat score of 255 which is like circuital in bits hyd and EAMCET rank of 1205. So should I choose cse in these colleges or circuital or msc eco in bits hyd?

Is it worth it to take out 150k loans to go to stanford, I'm currently committed to full ride at Virginia tech.

what is ur guys' opinion as someone who would major in public policy/poli sci maybe econ too

Hi,

I am currently in between the College of The Holy Cross and Georgetown University for govt and classics. (I had an extended deadline due to personal family reasons)

It has mainly come down to weighing cost and opportunities of the two.

On the one hand, I really love Georgetown and the environment and know it has an elite network and opportunities for internships and connections.

The big asterisk comes from the fact that going there would involve significant student debt in the range of 50k after working over the school year/summer and graduating a semester early.

With Holy Cross because of the scholarship received and parental contribution, I would be left with a 5k/yr manageable deficit that I could easily work off.

Also in terms of credits I would have about a semester done at gtown but abt 2.5 from holy cross.

My biggest fear is honestly is if my trajectory would be significantly altered by choosing one school over the other and how that would affect my future career path.

Fit wise there both Jesuit and I think I’d be fine in that aspect regardless of which of the institutions.

Right now I’m pretty certain abt polisci but don’t know what career id wanna pursue be it law, academia, public policy, or govt work. I do want to pursue a graduate degree tho.

I think also a kinda part of it is that I had turned down Cornell for Georgetown or Holy Cross already (bc cost wise it was the same ti gtown but less fit for me personally) so I have been wrestling with asking why I am turning down an Ivy for a smaller LAC.

I just wanted to hear peoples opinions and advice they’d have for me.

Thank you for your time!

Looking for honest input from people in the industry or who have been in a similar position.

My background: I'm 24 and a current community college transfer student finishing my Associate's degree. I'm currently a Property Administrator at a private equity real estate firm in the Bay Area managing a $220M+ institutional commercial portfolio. Before that I managed 400+ single-family homes as a residential Property Manager. I also co-founded my own real estate investment company and completed my first multifamily (duplex) acquisition out of state. I hold a California real estate license.

My goals: I want to move into real estate development, real estate private equity, institutional acquisitions, or real estate IB. I'm done with operations and property management, I want to be on the finance and deal-making side.

The choice:

• NYU — College of Arts and Science, Economics major. Located in NYC. Total out of pocket cost approximately $200K for two years. I haven't received my aid package yet, so this is the worst case scenario.
• UCSD — Real Estate and Development program, Rady School of Management, Finance minor. Located in San Diego. Total out of pocket cost approximately $62K for two years as a California resident.

For people in real estate PE, development, acquisitions, or IB, which do you choose and why?

I got 93.54 (CRL 1003XX ) percentile in jee mains what college options should I consider as an Unreserved male from Uttar Pradesh

HIi, so recently I just got off the waitlist for ucsc, Ive been planing to go to smc (santa monica community college). I was planning to transfer to a uc after two years there, but now im thinking I could just go to ucsc. I got about $20,000 in financial aid, and almost $30,000 in loans. I have some money saved up and think I would be able to afford it. I have 8 more days to accept the offer from ucsc and am really stuck on deciding and would like some other peoples input. I love both the campus’s and surrounding areas. My family will only be 2 hours away if I go to ucsc but at smc it would be 8 hours.

Thank you if u respond to this.

Major: Undecided

So 17 M turning 18 this year , PCM student.

So i got a choice bw dtu mechanical , IIIT Delhi electrical, IIM indore , IIM rohtak.

Geniuely confused on one hand iim indore has crazy placements but on the other I kinda don't wanna leave my social life here and preferably stay in delhi NCR

Suggestions?

Hi! I’ve never posted before but I am facing a big decision and need some input. I am currently committed to Oxford College at Emory University but I just got off the waitlist for WashU today and I don’t know what I should do, and am looking for any advice.

A little about me:

I want to study biology on the pre med track. I’m very interested in doing research and gaining clinical experience. The college’s disability resources and accommodations are also important to me as I live with a severe chronic health condition that functionally limits me in certain aspects of my life.

I really loved Emory when I visited, but the more I think about spending the first two years at Oxford, the more conflicted I feel. At WashU I would have the same college experience all four years rather than transferring campuses after two years. I really like both schools and I believe they are relatively very similar in terms of ranking and prestige.

The cost of both schools is roughly the same, so that isn’t really a factor in this decision.

I’m wondering what the social environment is like at both schools and which school would be best for the end goal of matriculating to med school/grad school. Any opinions about where I should go, or other advice, is welcome and greatly appreciated. Thank you!

Just got off the waitlist at WashU. I did initially really want to go there. i finally kind of made peace with committing to berkeley and then got an offer from WashU :\\. Idk if I should go though because it's so ridiculously expensive (no aid). I'm in state for berkeley. but I am a premed who hopes to go to a good med school! Please help!!

Hey i got 1.5L rank in viteee and i gave comdek also but i didn’t got enough time so it didn’t go that well what should i do i am getting vit bhopal cse im from bhopal only my parents are so sure they want to send me to vit bhopal but i have seen so many negative reviews tell me what to do
Bro i got so many regrets it’s not like im dumb or anything i just panicked in every exam so much i have exam fear a lot now I’m stressed about college please anyone help me

Hey, I just got off the waitlist for Princeton for chemical/bioengineering! I am currently committed to Duke for Biomedical Engineering and I don’t know which to choose. I feel so lost (I mean I’m posting this at 10:00 pm a Monday lol). I also saw someone else post about Duke vs Princeton, so I’m sorry if this feels repetitive.

I am full pay at both. I am planning to go into a biotech hub (Boston, SF, RTP, or SD) or get my PhD. I am pretty set on this plan and don’t see myself changing.

Here are my thoughts

• I haven’t heard the best things about Princeton’s chemical/bioengineering department from the few alumni I’ve talked to. I have heard there is a new building coming and some new investments. I have heard great things about Duke’s BME and how it is one of the best in the country. It looks like I would be taught by leaders in the field at Duke with more specialized classes. They also have a lot of groundbreaking research that I could be part of in comparison to Princeto. It is also in a biotech hub (RTP), which I’ve heard can help with internships.
• At Princeton you cannot double major, which is very different from Duke’s interdisciplinary culture. Although I understand both approaches, the interdisciplinary one seems better for my interests.
• Princeton is more prestigious, especially outside the country. Duke isn’t too far behind in the US. From what I’ve been told, biotech is less about prestige, and employers will be equally impressed by either school. I don’t know how much this difference will actually help me, if at all. I’ve looked at LinkedIn and talked to a couple alumni, and it seems like both schools lead to similar placements for jobs and PhD programs. It does look like more Princeton CBE students go into finance or business, while more Duke students stay in the field or go to med school. Both also seem equal in terms of alumni helpfulness, based on what my parents have said.
• Princeton has a greater endowment per student, which might mean more opportunities to do cool projects. Because it has fewer grad programs, it is also more undergraduate focused. Both of these probably contribute to the perception that Princeton is a strong PhD feeder.
• Living in the northeast, I’ve seen how much weather affects my mental health. I know neither place is perfect, but NC is sunnier and has less snow. I know this shouldn’t be a deciding factor, but it still matters to me.
• If academics or prestige weren’t factors (which they obviously are), I think I would pick Duke. It seems like a very balanced environment where school spirit, Greek life, and career success are part of the culture. I have visited Princeton quite a few times, and it felt more grindy, with the eating clubs acting like a quirky version of Greek life. That said, I’m sure I would be happy at either school.

It’s funny because my mom went to Princeton and my dad went to Duke. My parents believe I can’t make a wrong choice, but they did say they saw me light up when I visited Duke, which I definitely did. I just feel like this is a life changing decision and I don’t want to make the wrong one. I saw another post on this topic that got pretty heated, and so I really don’t want this to turn into anything like that or cause any tension. Thank you so much.

edit: thanks for your perspective! I picked Duke!

hello every scholar i am in this pickle because i just got off the waitlist from uw seattle for pre-social sciences. i am currently committed to uf for journalism, and plan on changing to maybe marketing or accounting in the future, but nothing is certain! i would;ve picked uw seattle cus it has better proximity to major companies but i've heard it's hard to get a lotta majors there and its 20k more yearly... but my main concerns are the job prospects at uf(gainesville) compared to uw seattle and the difficulties of getting a major i want at uw seattle.

any help would be greatly appreciated ^v^

My qualifications are 12 passed from pcb

I am an international transfer student majoring in mathematics, about to start my junior year. This summer, I received transfer admissions from both Columbia GS and UMich. After consulting with advisors, I would need to study for another two or two and a half years at either school. In the future, I want to pursue a career in quantitative finance or tech, but I currently have no internship experience in either field. I'm now hesitating between the two schools and would like to hear your opinions.

Columbia GS:

• Pros: Ivy League name, more resources in New York.
• Cons: Not sure about the recognition of the GS school—whether I might face discrimination in job hunting or graduate school applications. Also unsure whether I would enjoy such a highly competitive environment.

UMich:

• Pros: I know more people at UMich, and the campus life has a stronger sense of community.
• Cons: Doesn't have as high a reputation as Columbia.

I am having a seriously hard time choosing a college. I committed to Cornell regular decision for environment and sustainability in the college of arts and sciences. However, a couple days ago I was admitted off the waitlist at Brown and have less than a week to decide. I haven’t visited Brown and am not sure if I should visit or not, given that I like the location and distance of Cornell and they have a fantastic program for my interests and specific extracurriculars. I’m worried about being happy at Cornell, but I’m not sure how I feel about Brown’s location. They are both great schools and I am not sure what to choose, I would appreciate some guidance! As of now, kind of leaning towards Cornell, unless anyone knows anything about ecology/environmental biology at Brown!

Committed to Princeton, but just go off the waitlist for Duke! I’m going for neuroscience, and both cost the same. Duke was my dream school and I ED’d. I pretty much positive I’m going to accept Duke! Love the traditional college culture with school spirit and Greek life, with the IVY adjacent prestige! Just wanted to know what others might think.