14:07 Dying to know which school this is!

I made a very similar decision (between a SLAC ranked in the 20s and a flagship public university) and chose t be the bigger fish. At the outset, the ONLY reason I made this choice was because the two cost exactly the same. In this day and age, you do have to consider loans first, and if there's a big disparity in aid, go with the cheaper school.

That said, here are the plusses and minuses:

PLUS:
- Small classes, individualized instruction
- Easy to navigate administrative stuff, access amenities like the gym, etc. Very little stress in managing life.
- Get to know professors and admins
- Graduated top of class and got a lot of help getting a post-grad Fulbright
- More than sufficient range of majors and classes
- Not intimidating
- Could choose a culture that suited me - in my case, it was a "hippy" school with no greek/athletics influence, that promoted study abroad and internationalism.
- the relatively lower prestige ranking/name recognition has never hurt me at all. Still went to a top Ivy for law school, good jobs, etc.

MINUSES:
- honestly, the students, on average, were much less motivated and academically focused than I was. Some very smart people, but many slackers. However, I did notice that they started to get more on top of things towards our junior and senior year. But I definitely felt at the top of the class and bored, whereas I know I would have been more challenged at more selective schools.
- culture was a little one-dimensional because of the size of school
- no graduate depts meant less access to truly cutting edge stuff.
- no superstar research professors
- if you don't actually make good on your "big fish" status, then you break even on the prestige vs opportunity calculation.

I was a big fish at a small school, which was perfect for me as my HS was also small. I am driven but also need positive reinforcement. I had many professor/mentors who encouraged me as I was one of the best students in my class. I got a near full scholarship, was able to graduate in three years, which saved me lots of money, and the professors supported my application for a national merit scholarship for grad school (again, saving me tons). Ended up a Georgetown for my M.A. Best decision I made.

^^the good news is that a student who is a candidate for UVA or W&M is going to be a candidate for good merit aid at a school like Rhodes, so the cost of going there may not be much more than staying in state.

Have you visited Rhodes? I'd love to hear your impression. I'm thinking of taking DC1 there in the fall because DC has a preference for a more urban environment. (DC actually isn't so enamored with W&M or UVA, so we are seeking some affordable alternatives.)

I think it totally depends on your DC.

My DC1 is considering similar schools. My DC tends to do best when there is a close relationship with the instructor. DC is not the least bit competitive and doesn't much care what other students are doing. Having peers outperform my DC, as a PP suggested, has no impact whatsoever; my DC doesn't care how Susie or Johnny did. My DC prefers a collaborative environment rather than a competitive one. Loves doing in-depth research. All in all, I have come to think my DC would be more likely to thrive as a big fish, where professors would be interested in working with him, people would know him, etc.

OTOH, my DC2 is motivated by competition and I would be more likely to encourage the more selective school.

Anonymous wrote:could you just tell us the schools? it would make things a whole lot easier

We are in VA so, without being too specific, DC is comparing W&M and UVA against less selective liberal arts southern colleges such as Sewanee and Rhodes. DC is probably more comfortable in the smaller environment, but so far not interested in the more selective small schools in the Northeast or Midwest. Thanks. With UVA DC wouldn't have to do ED but would with W&M..

Will your kid thrive or wilt under the competiton? Neither is right or wrong--it is all dependent on personality. What will make DS happier in the long run?

You never can tell. My DS was a total wallflower in high school but really blossomed socially in college even though he went to a big state school. Sometimes bigger school = more opportunities to find your niche.

My niece chose the smaller school for Biology (pre med) if it matters. My sister, who attended MIT and encourage niece to find a smaller school, felt that when it came to academics, the small school made things ridiculously harder than necessary -- maybe in an effort to somehow improve their reputation? Who knows.

Faced same issue. Chose to be a small fish. Much more challenging academically to be around so many people smarter than you.

It totally depends on the student. DD chose to be a big fish in a small pond because she gets overwhelmed in a big pond. I suggest your DC not apply to ED because it doesn't sound like he's absolutely certain about what he wants.

Anonymous wrote:could you just tell us the schools? it would make things a whole lot easier

Type in a few key words and google. You are sure to find some discussion.

could you just tell us the schools? it would make things a whole lot easier

Having peers who out perform you is a great motivator. It's hard to keep a fast pace when you are running ahead of the pack unless you are very driven and have a great coach. I would look at what grad schools they send kids to. In academia it is all about who knows who to get you through PhD and post docs.

DS's top choices are a well-known, more selective school that is a "match" and a less well-known, less selective school about half the size where he would be a "bigger fish." I know it is hard to discuss in the abstract, but does anyone have thoughts about whether it would be better to be one of many at the first school or a potential standout at the second? We are trying to decide whether DC should apply ED to the first, which is less expensive, to be safe, or RD both to see if DC gets merit money at the second. DC is interested in grad school, so the concern is the second school's relative lack of recognition vs. the first school's reputation for "grade deflation."