Hello all,

As you can tell from my signature, I've recently been accepted to Guelph University, for their psychology program. If you're not familiar with Canadian universities, Guelph is actually the best of the 3 universities I applied to.

I was originally planning on attending Laurentian University for 3 reasons:

-It's closest to family (about an hour away)
-They offer more scholarships/bursaries
-My best friend is going there

But I've been really looking into Guelph, and it looks like a GREAT school, basically better than Laurentian in all aspects. If family and money weren't an issue, I'd go there, no problem. Guelph ranks #1 in Canada for student satisfaction, and they're #1 for food quality.

But I so want to be as close to my family and my best friend as possible...and I absolutely fear change. In my heart, I know that it would be a positive thing for me to go to Guelph because it's a better school and because I'd be learning to be more independent. I'm a very dependent person, so this would be perfect! But I'm so scared.

Has anybody else had to make a decision like this? What do you think?

[jennaorgana]

i had to choose between a top 10 university right by my home, and a top 30 university far far away in a great state.

i chose fun over locality, so i went to a different state. in hindsight, i regret it, but hey, its personal.

have you visited the schools??? that makes a HUGE different. energy and location and appearances make a HUGE difference

I could probably visit Laurentian, since it's relatively close to home.

I'd love to go visit Guelph, but it would be hard due to financial circumstances...it's about 4 hours away by driving. :/

May I ask why you regretted the choice you made?

Do you have a difficult time making friends?

TheByzantine - I've always had a relatively easy time making friends. I've changed schools 5 times in my life and have always managed to find a good group of friends. The only problem is when I get really anxious/depressed...I distance myself from them and refrain from socializing.

[whoswho]

I'm a high school senior as well and find myself in a similar situation. There are several schools I would like to visit, but I'm also limited by travel expenses. However, try making a pros and cons list and try to determine what you're looking for at a college: education, or an experience?

Try reading this and this to see if that gives you any ideas. I found them helpful myself.

Good luck.

[sunrise]

ohseedee, congratulations on being accepted to Guelph. Have you been accepted to Laurentian? (Maybe this question will be a non-issue if you don't get accepted there.)

I have applied to two schools (for Masters degree), been accepted to one, and I think there is a good chance I will be accepted into the other. I really want to go to the second one. It is a smaller school, with more personal contact with professors, and has a really nice community feel to it. I have visited there, and think it is a better fit for me. However, the first one has a higher reputation, but it is quite a bit more expensive. My heart really wants to go to the second, smaller one, and I don't think the better reputation and ranking of the first one can sway me. Right now, money is pretty important to me, so if I can get a reasonable education and save money by going to a less expensive school, that is what I want to do.

I have a daughter who is a sophmore at university, so she was going through this choice a couple of years ago. Everything we read on this topic said to visit the school and find the school that is the best fit for you. That can mean a lot of things, from what sort of community the university is in (urban, suburban, rural), to whether they offer the academic programs that interest you, how big the school is, if they have sports you like, etc. My daughter found a really good fit for her. She visited some of her top choices several times each to be sure.

Have you visited either Guelph or Laurentian? Maybe that would help you in your decision.

Good luck.

sunrise - Thank you! No, I haven't been accepted to Laurentian, but it is an easy school to get into. The fact that Guelph accepted me before Laurentian is quite odd, to be honest. :P

You make some good points. A smaller school, with professors who will actually know your name. xD That's always a bonus. Money is also an issue, but I personally wouldn't mind shelling out a few extra thousand if I end up choosing Guelph.
I'd just have to borrow more money from ODSP, I suppose.

I will definitely organize a visit to Laurentian, as it's only an hour's drive away. As for Guelph, I'm really not sure. I might have to rely on a virtual tour for that school!

[Grithnir]

I would say go for it, though I don't know what city it is located in unless I research it. I got waitlisted at UC-Berkeley and got into UC-Davis and Santa Clara University. My destination was of course California, and I don't regret it. I met fantastic people and UC-Davis was a top 50 university. I do regret coming down with schizophrenia though and not finishing but I am still figuring out how to cope with that. I wanted away from my family and into a warmer climate, and luckily they had great schools. All the professors had to have an ivy league degree and they were amazing people. You get better professors at better schools and it's fun to get out an explore a new area. That is my opinion. I ended up staying in California for a long time and not even returning home for summer or anything as I liked to stay employed.

Good luck with the decision.

[salukigirl]

You cannot judge a school by it's rank. I used to go to Miami (Ohio) which is considered a "public ivy" and has the #1 Zoology program in the country. It is consistently ranked as one of the top universities in the United States. Now I go to Southern Illinois University. A little crap college in a little crap town with leaky roofs and is barely in the top 100 lol. But I LOVE it. The people here are so down to earth. You get much more hands on experience and professors take a general interest in just about all their students.

At huge schools that rank really high you need to expect the prof to student ratio to be much larger, have less opportunities for hands on experience bc the competition is much higher etc... Going to a #1 school may sound nice but it depends on your personality. I am the type that likes nature, open spaces and close relationships with my professors. Some people like big cities, nightlife etc... You need to figure out which suits you more.

And p.s. you can always transfer. I know the Guelph is an amazing university bc I was looking at going there. My friend from London (Ontario, not England) went to Toronto and said she never saw the same people in any classes and it was really difficult to form really close relationships. For her that was fine, but for me, that was the opposite of what I wanted.

You need to do what's right for you. I chose the feel of the place over the rank of the program. Which is more important to you?

[FeelingHopeful]

Oh wow, thats a tough decision! I understand both your points, Im not great with advice these days, i think , just follow your gut instinct and your heart, you cant go wrong with those, whatever feels right for you, is prob where you should be, Good Luck!!