Decisions, Decisions

May 22, 2009 is the final day that I can pay my confirmation fee to University of Maryland - College Park.  As of now, I have a choice between Washington State University and Maryland while declining Seattle University.  I have yet to hear back from Case Western, University of Michigan, University of Texas - Austin, University of Washington, and Georgia Tech.  However, I am tired of waiting because there are still a lot of things to take care of after deciding on a school to go to.  I would rather just pick between WSU and UMD now and be prepared for next Fall and have a set Summer schedule instead of having no clear Summer schedule and being rushed to take care of the little details.  The hard part now is to pick between WSU and UMD.

Both schools are decent enough schools that they are fairly well known.  UMD has the upper hand in being the better school academically while also being in a better location at College Park, MD while WSU is in Pullman, WA.  College Park is fairly close to Washington DC and from the looks of it, seems to have a fairly convenient subway/metro line.  Because of these locations, the weather is also much more desireable at UMD.  The only thing going in WSU's favor is the cost of tuition.  There is roughly a $16,000 difference between the two schools per year, which is quite a lot.  Financial aid for me doesn't seem likely either.

Another issue that may or may not be a big deal would be the transportation to and from the two different universities and 'home' (either Seattle or Vancouver, WA).  Due to the obscurely harsh Winter weathers at Pullman, it makes for a very dangerous drive across the pass while coming back from College Park would be a much safer flight in to town.  However, it is much more convenient to transport a lot more things by driving to Pullman than it is to fly to Maryland.  Plane tickets will also be more expensive than driving--though I would save myself the hassle of asking for rides to and from Pullman.

So those are pretty much the main 'physical' attributes that are affecting my decisions.  I guess I mean 'physical' to represent the outside factors differentiating the two schools from each other.  I will explore my internal factors and how I feel about my current situation probably tomorrow.