Some help needed

[Torie]

Wow that is quite a range, from absolutely top tier (Princeton), to third rate (DePaul). Your choice depends on what you are looking for, but if it were me, balancing quality, the intelligence of the students, location, climate and amenities, and if money were no object, this would be my rank order:

[Torie]

Thank you guys, it's really nice to have an advice of what unis really are beyond their own website.

Maybe I should add that I'll study at the undergraduate level (it's the first cycle, right ?).

Wow that is quite a range, from absolutely top tier (Princeton), to third rate (DePaul). Your choice depends on what you are looking for, but if it were me, balancing quality, the intelligence of the students, location, climate and amenities, and if money were no object, this would be my rank order:

Thank you Torie, that's a nice insight. Basically, I chose not to rely on the traditional rankings because I didn't want to be prejudiced toward the Greatest Universities Of The World (Ivy League and all). The few things that scare me about them is maybe the level of competitivity (I like intellectual stimulation but hate when I have to constantly strive to avoid failing) and the size of campuses (being in a huge campus makes it far harder to develop relationships and to get help). I've always had the ideas that aside from all those "big names" I could find some "small jewels" which people usually ignore. Of course, that also involves including some bad universities in my research...

If you want a smaller school, that is reasonably high quality, but not hyper competitive, you might consider Colorado College then. Middlebury is another option if you can afford it (it is a simply marvelous school), but it is quite selective, and that may put you off a bit.

[Torie]

I agree with Torie's list (except for #14, there's no reason to go to the state of Arizona).

Also I assume George Washington's political science program is good, and you'd be in DC, so that would be good choice. I'd definitely try for Princeton, Columbia or NYU if I were in your shoes though.

Torie didn't notice Northwestern. That would be up there with my alma mater, the University of Chicago, but I suspect Antonio would be happier with Northwestern. The U of C is for eggheads. Antonio however seems to want a more intimate place than a large university, although the college at the University of Chicago is quite intimate, about 3,000 students or something.

[Torie]

Make sure not to go to Southern California; that's the worst school in the world.

This fact cannot be stressed enough. If that's the only college I get into my senior year, I'll have to do a complete 180 on my hatred of the Trojans -- something I do not wish to do. Plus, I doubt that Antonio would like it very much...

If I was in your shoes, Antonio, I would personally try for Columbia, Chicago, Penn, or Princeton; though we might have different interests. If you really want the quintessential "American" college experience, do as Xahar said, and go to Michigan.

It's a shame Stanford isn't on your list; it's one of our top universities, has laid back Californian-weather, and has a great football program to boot. I would have chosen there.

I agree with Torie's list (except for #14, there's no reason to go to the state of Arizona).

Also I assume George Washington's political science program is good, and you'd be in DC, so that would be good choice. I'd definitely try for Princeton, Columbia or NYU if I were in your shoes though.

Torie didn't notice Northwestern. That would be up there with my alma mater, the University of Chicago, but I suspect Antonio would be happier with Northwestern. The U of C is for eggheads. Antonio however seems to want a more intimate place than a large university, although the college at the University of Chicago is quite intimate, about 3,000 students or something.

As you know, I'm interested in UChicago... is it really that small, though? I always assumed it was around five thousand students. Still, a lot smaller than Northwestern.

The U of C was 2,000 students when I was there. I see that it now does have 5,000 students. Wow! Chicago with its wind chill and humidity factor in the winter is colder than hell by the way. If you don't like cold, go room with sbane at Vanderbilt or something. Boulder's cold is dry by the way, and much more tolerable than in Chicago. If politics is your thing, George Washington would indeed be a good choice.