Pros and Cons?

[Live Aloha]

I'm not really sure what exactly I should be looking at in a college.
But basically, I've been accepted (more or less, just need final transcripts) into 2 pretty big universities. One in the midwestern United States and one in the south. For privacy's sake (though some of you already know), we'll just call them University A and University B. Here's a basic list of info between the two.

University A
- 4600 miles from home
- 4 year, public
- 20,000 students
- $30,000 (room and board + tuition)
- Off campus housing available to underclassmen
- Big 10 athletics
- Snow
- Large gen ed classes

University B
- 4000 miles from home
- 4 year, private, Baptist
- 12,000 students
- $40,000 (room and board + tuition)
- Freshmen required to live on campus
- Big 12 athletics
- No snow
- Moderate sized gen ed classes

They're both ranked in the top 100 for undergrad education, and they're both in kind of similar towns.

What else should I look at when weighing pros and cons?

Honestly, the fact that university B is a conservative Christian school is a major turnoff to me, but despite that, I still feel it's an option.

[TheCrowing]

You should be looking at what you expect out of the school. You should also look into any clubs and activities to see if anything offered specifically interests you. For example, I never wanted to go to a university with less than 600 people in my freshman class, and I only have 400, but everything else outweighed the issue I had with size.

I looked for:

Size
Campus (and the surrounding area)
Programs offered
Clubs/Activities
Overall attitude on campus
Opportunities that may not be offered at many universities
Dorms
Salary Potential

You could go on rate my professors and look up both schools. See how some students ranked the professors. My friend did this.. I personally don't like to look at those rankings much, but it might help.

Call admissions and ask to talk to some students. That will give you the best idea of what to expect, and it might help you make a better decision.

Rankings were considered close to last for me.

[OMFG!You'reActuallySmart!]

When I was deciding which universities to do my undergrad at because I got several offers, I considered several factors in no order: tuition, cost of living on residence (and other related costs), physical appearance of the campus, size of campus and buildings, available areas of study that suited my interests, unique features distinguishing it from other universities, opinions of current and graduate students, chatting with professors during an open house and whether I was offered a scholarship.

In order to get students' opinions, I used MacLean's Magazine, which is a very large magazine in Canada and they did a feature of comparing various Canadian universities across 30+ factors. It was extremely helpful and I'm sure there's an American version you could use, I don't know what the name is though.

One thing to consider for University B is the amount non-Christian religions are tolerated and whether there will be a deep Christian emphasis in your courses when you don't want it.

[TheCrowing]

Originally Posted by The Man And XX Master

It was extremely helpful and I'm sure there's an American version you could use, I don't know what the name is though.

Princeton Review puts out a similar version to this.

[Iris. ♥]

Like everyone else has said, look at your personal expectations for the universities. The important thing is that you find a place that will suit you best! Definitely look at The Princeton Review, as well as websites where students talk about their experience at the school. But, don't let the student opinions direct you! The people that have negative experiences are usually more vocal than the people with positive ones. Just let it serve you as a guide to hear more about the things that the college itself won't tell you. Good luck with your search!

[esfdhtfy]

The decision here, ultimately depends on what you want in a university. I got accepted into every school that I applied to. I was torn for months. I factored in things like:

- scholarship money
- university life (socially)
- extra-curricular positions available
- program
- prestigious professors
- residence buildings/campus buildings/campus in general

I probably factored in many others, but these were huge for me. I ended up going to a very reputable university with a full scholarship. While my situation may differ from yours, I am merely trying to exemplify how I made my decision based on factors that were important to ME. It's up to you to decide which factors are important to you. Once you decide on those main factors, examine your choices and select one that fits best.

At the end of the day, you will likely enjoy your university experience no matter where you go.