This afternoon, I received the application package of the last school I had yet to hear from. The University of Wisconsin-Madison has also extended their welcome to me, and I should technically be celebrating. This new development, however, has thrown a monkey wrench into my already smoothly running plans.
It's like my own Sophie's Choice. And when faced with such a difficult decision, I did what any rational, clear-headed and focused guy would do - down two glasses of wine.
Madison was my birthplace, and returning there would have a certain nostalgic value. UW-Madison is ranked 61 worldwide, admittedly a lot higher than Purdue's ranking of 87. It's also higher than NTU's 73, and my insatiable greed and gigantic ego would just love for me to go to a school better ranked than the ones my classmates (with their better ALevel scores) are going to. I suppose with it's better ranking, it would produce students of a better caliber? I have attended talks where the speaker insisted that rankings aren't the most important thing, but I have this nagging suspicion he was just trying to make people feel better.
Purdue, on the other hand, has offered me an honors program, and I really am in love with the quaint nature-y look of the place. It seems like such a waste to give up what could have been my honors degree. I had been prepping myself for West Lafayette, and I feel utterly stuck right now. However, Purdue is famed and known mainly for engineering, so I don't know if they'll focus their resources mainly on that, and give less to liberal arts.
Perhaps the most annoying thing about this whole situation is that I had been moving forward and making progress. I thought I had put the whole fiasco of rushing deadlines and confirming this and that behind me, and now it seems like I have to revisit that nightmare again. Friends have been advising me to find the positives and negatives about both schools, but then again, very biased conclusions can be made of a school if you already don't feel like attending it.
Also, it doesn't feel very nice when you know (cause of how late the application package came in) that UW-Madison only offered a place to you because someone else didn't want to take it. Purdue offered me a place within days of receiving my application. Wouldn't you want to go to a school where you're so valued too?
My decision has to be made by the end of the week, in order to meet the acceptance deadline. I guess it's time to get crackin' again.
It's like my own Sophie's Choice. And when faced with such a difficult decision, I did what any rational, clear-headed and focused guy would do - down two glasses of wine.
Madison was my birthplace, and returning there would have a certain nostalgic value. UW-Madison is ranked 61 worldwide, admittedly a lot higher than Purdue's ranking of 87. It's also higher than NTU's 73, and my insatiable greed and gigantic ego would just love for me to go to a school better ranked than the ones my classmates (with their better ALevel scores) are going to. I suppose with it's better ranking, it would produce students of a better caliber? I have attended talks where the speaker insisted that rankings aren't the most important thing, but I have this nagging suspicion he was just trying to make people feel better.
Purdue, on the other hand, has offered me an honors program, and I really am in love with the quaint nature-y look of the place. It seems like such a waste to give up what could have been my honors degree. I had been prepping myself for West Lafayette, and I feel utterly stuck right now. However, Purdue is famed and known mainly for engineering, so I don't know if they'll focus their resources mainly on that, and give less to liberal arts.
Perhaps the most annoying thing about this whole situation is that I had been moving forward and making progress. I thought I had put the whole fiasco of rushing deadlines and confirming this and that behind me, and now it seems like I have to revisit that nightmare again. Friends have been advising me to find the positives and negatives about both schools, but then again, very biased conclusions can be made of a school if you already don't feel like attending it.
Also, it doesn't feel very nice when you know (cause of how late the application package came in) that UW-Madison only offered a place to you because someone else didn't want to take it. Purdue offered me a place within days of receiving my application. Wouldn't you want to go to a school where you're so valued too?
My decision has to be made by the end of the week, in order to meet the acceptance deadline. I guess it's time to get crackin' again.
My new home?
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