Does anyone go to any of the following schools?

Does anyone go to any of these schools?

Tulane
Duke
Rice
Southern Methodist (SMU)
Washington Univ. in St. Louis
Vanderbilt

If so, let me know.

I know people at some of those schools. You applying for colleges?

Yup...I've read what the brochures have to say; I want a student perspective.

Duke, huh?

You must have a good GPA.

I won't find out if it's good enough until April though.

No one? cry

Those are some big-name schools. Good luck with the application process!

I find out about Rice this week...I think that will be the hardest one...I can only hope...

I was going to pm this, but I figured I might as well just add it to the thread. It might help someone else.

I go to Wash U, after a transfer from U of Chicago. Number one thing - if financial aid is a concern, you may want to look elsewhere. They give me a lot of money, but I am constantly getting screwed around about it. There was one semester where they held my refund check (for living expenses) for 3 months past the END of the semester because there were some problems with other accounts. They acknowledged that they knew mine was owed to me legitimately, but they wouldn't give anyone their money until it was all sorted out. This semester I returned after a semester off (because my award didn't begin to cover tuition, and they don't have a policy of helping you meet full estimated need). When I left in the fall, I had an award letter for about $12k per semester. Right now they're telling me that I get $2k. My parents combined income is 60k, their house is worth about 60k, and I have two younger sisters in college. Who knows what will happen with that.

The advising sucks, too. I've taken 4 courses that I did not need simply because my advisor made a mistake. Now I'm sticking around an extra semester to fix it. You will have an advisor in your major, your school (one in each if you are in more than one), and every minor. A lot of people deal with 5-10 advisors. It's insane. Oh, and when you determine your classes for the year, you will only have a schedule for the first semester's time slots. That means that you could plan to take a "cluster" (don't get me started on those), and find out later that the second required course is in a conflicting time slot, and you wasted your time on the first one. Plus, many of the clustered courses are only offered once every 1.5+ years, which means that you may only get one or two shots at it.

Then you have the problem of overcrowding. If you're in business or economics, and most computer-y classes, you'll be okay. If you hope to take anything in English Comp or any kind of arts - good luck. Majors and minors get priority, and after that it goes by class. As a senior (non English major), I couldn't get into any of 4 E Comp classes I tried for this semester. I needed at least one of them for a cluster requirement. Where many schools would look at that demand and offer more sections - Wash U says "try again later". Screenwriting is one of the most popular English courses, and it has one 15 person section each semester, and none in the summer. $40k for that?

What else...let's see - St. Louis is a high crime city, and you really need a car to get anywhere. There's very little food selection on or around campus, and what's there is pretty overpriced. It doesn't have a cool urban feel like some schools, and it lacks the college town charm of a lot of others. Good apartments near campus are limited, and dorms are expensive (not to mention the fact that most people just don't want to live in them after the first year or two). Greek life is a pretty big deal on campus, despite the fact that normal school frats make Wash U frats look like chess club meetings...Parking on campus is tough, even with a pass. Some parts of campus have just barely enough, and other parts don't have any (other than professor parking). There's a lot of construction going on (although the biggest portion is recently finished), especially with the extension of the Metrolink coming in.

I've had friends at Tulane, Duke, and Vanderbilt. Tulane has a solid reputation and everyone I know there absolutely loves it. The weather is good, the social options are plentiful, and the students are a little more down to earth. I'm told that Duke is also incredible, what with the weather and the sports and social scene. That stuff really isn't my thing, but Wash U is pretty sad. My uncle went to Vanderbilt, and my little sister almost went there - and they both described it as Wash U + 10 degrees and a southern accent. I've never been to that one, so that's all I can really say about it.

I really cannot warn you enough about Wash U. While all of the schools know that there are tons of people who would fill any open slot, Wash U actually treats you like they are indifferent to doing so. If you go to campus, make sure to be very thorough to make sure it's what you want. If I weren't stuck in St. Louis because of a long-term relationship, I would have gone back to my previous school.

I don't go to any of those, I did apply to many, and strongly consider some.

Tulane would be my un-recommendation...assuming you are just like me. It is a big big party school, and New Orleans complements that. The campus is nice, but go one block away and you're in a REALLY bad area. Also, it's prestige is much lower than the other schools you are looking at. If you think you have a decent shot at the other schools, Tulane should be easy to get into. They do give out lots of scholarships...I only turned in half of one of the forms for a full-ride and they gave me a half-tuition scholarship.

I've visited Vanderbilt, and I have friends that go there. It is a great campus, and a great school. The town around it is nice, and the frat scene isn't too dominant. After visiting this place, I actually wish I had gone there. Nashville will keep you busy on the weekends, the school is great, and the social scene seems varied so most groups have a spot.

I have never visited Duke, but I have only heard great things.

I go to Notre Dame, and would recommend it as it is in the same level of education as most of your listed schools. It is a very compact campus, and most students live on campus. 8,000 students, and no frats. Dorms are treated differently here, as they are more like frats...we have dorm teams in sports.

The best thing to do is take a road trip and visit all of the campuses, and get interviews with counselors. You can take a tour and get all your questions answered. You can stay with students(at least here you can) and really get a feel for the atmosphere. It's a pretty important time, so do some research and make the right choice.

Wow...thanks for the responses...Prior to this I had heard only good things about WashU. I think the best overall atmosphere would be Duke...unfortunately, with their high academic standards, I doubt I will get much aid in that area, so that will likely be the most expensive school, and therefore, out of the question. I guess I have a tough decision ahead of me. If anyone has anything else to add, I would surely appreciate it.

i might transfer to yale....skull&bones here i come! twisted

Normally I'd say go to Rice, but if you want a free iPod, go to Duke lol

http//www.duke.edu/ipod/[]http//www.duke.edu/ipod/