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[quote=Anonymous]I'd say the biggest difference between the schools OP mentioned, for OP's child, would probably relate to differences in the sheer amount (cohort size) of like-minded, high-stats liberal arts peers.

I'm a Pitt grad who was ranked top in the class in the Liberal Arts college back in the day.  The high SATs people interested in liberal arts at Pitt tend to be more unique/quirky/focused on their area of study/potential honors degree area and less often "All American", "Student Council", "Scholar Athlete" types.  Pitt would love to get more Rhodes Scholar wins but their candidates seem to continue to be too pointy (not future governor/U.S. presidential candidate level of resumes).  So if you want to party with future Supreme Court Justices, you still should go Ivy.  Pitt is intellectual but not focused at all on elites and/or elitism.  Just individual self-development.

During the admissions process two years ago, there was an Honors College dinner/reception for admitted students.  There's also the interview process for the full-ride Chancellor's Scholarship.  Those might help with vibes.  If attending, I'd definitely recommend the Honors dorm at Pitt for easier finding of like-minded peers.

I'd also consider things related to plans after college such as importance of name brand in a future profession, intended region to live in after college, whether alumni networking will be needed to break in to an industry, etc.  Top of the class at Pitt can get into good grad schools for sure.  But I wouldn't go to Pitt to get to Wall Street.

OP, have your kid look at the faculty bios for the different departments at all the schools. There may be some additional clues there.  Faculty count and faculty areas of study (interesting to DC or not interesting) are important criteria.  I'd be scanning the bios of the current profs to see how strong they are and what their research topics are.  Profs in your major are likely grad school recommenders, potential employers for undergrad research jobs, etc.  So DC should have a gut reaction to what DC reads on their pages.

CMU is best for quants.  Econ programs can have that emphasis, so partial fit there.  I think overall, though, I'd never recommend going to CMU as an undecided liberal arts major.

I agree with Cornell as a possible fit.  I almost went to grad school there but picked Michigan. The "Any Person. Any Study" mantra is also intellectual without being elitist. Cornell will have a larger population of high stats kids if DC is someone who needs heavy social interaction with peers to feel challenged.

Related to UVA vs. the other schools, regional culture is  real.  At some schools, social bubbles form that keep kids with friends from back home.  But there are still vibes.  Up to your DC if that matters.  As an example, Cornell definitely has New York energy vs.  Michigan being more chill and Midwest Nice. [/quote]

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