While it may seem like a good problem to have, choosing among top schools is still a difficult decision

By Meher Ahmad
<[email protected]>

As May 1, the decision date for many colleges approaches, students are forced to finalize their decisions in regards to where they’ll be spending the next four years.

For those who have been admitted into several upper-echelon universities and colleges, the process of narrowing down schools can be tricky. Senior James Sun was accepted into 7 of the 9 schools he applied to, including University of Chicago, Cornell University, Northwestern University, Duke University and Michigan State University.

Sun said he’s decided to attend Duke, but after considering all of the universities and what they offer.

“I thought about it a lot in between the time I was accepted (early decision) at U. Chicago,” Sun said, “Then I started watching March Madness basketball.”

Sun said he prioritized certain aspects of the schools to make his final decision. “The most important aspect is the atmosphere. At Duke, everyone was happy. The happiness thing was a turn on. Chicago didn’t have the atmosphere Duke had, even though it had a lot of programs,” Sun said.

Senior Dewey “David” Yang said he compared the programs offered between the two schools he was accepted to. “Harvard has a better pre-med. It’s more well-rounded and better in pure sciences, compared to M.I.T.,” Yang said.

Yang said he is still undecided about which school he will attend. He was accepted to three of the six schools he applied to. “I was accepted at Harvard, M.I.T. and Purdue,” Yang said, “I eliminated Purdue when I got into M.I.T.”

Sun similarly eliminated IU from his schools when he was accepted at U. Chicago. As he learned of his acceptances into other schools, he made a list to prioritize his choice.

“I made a list but it was really one-sided,” Sun said, “It only made it more obvious I should go to Duke.”

The current economic crisis has put more pressure on students in terms of deciding by financial need as well. “Aid is definitely a big part. It’s not the biggest, but it’s one of the biggest,” Yang said.

n his final decision, Sun said he went on his gut feeling. “Everyone talks about ‘the feeling’. I never once got that instinctual feeling at Chicago. At Duke, I had this feeling in my gut that I knew I had to go there,” Sun said, “Duke also has a really good public policy school and really good volunteer opportunities, but the gut feeling came before that.”

Sun recommends that upcoming juniors not stress out too much about the coming wave of college material.

“Don’t stress out. College isn’t the determinate factor of success,” Sun said. Yang agrees: “Don’t stress out too much, but don’t procrastinate on choosing which colleges you want to apply to.”