UMass vs. Simmons

I have come up with a slightly complicated system to decide which college is best for me. I came up with twelve different categories (a sort of pro/con list) and decided which schools were more appealing to me in each category. In addition, I assigned points to each category based on how important it is in my decision. I kept it simple: 1-3, 3 being the highest. Before I show you the grid and the final result, I'll list each category and quickly explain which college won and why, and also how many points I gave the category and why. Make sense? If so, read on.

• Boys: Yes, this is an important decision factor. I like boys, and it would be cool to have them at college. It's not that important though, so I only gave this category 1 point. UMass won this one, obviously, since Simmons doesn't have any boys at all.
• Location: Extremely important. 3 points. I highly prefer Simmons over UMass in this category. I love Boston, but Farmland? Not so much.
• Money: Another extremely important factor. 3 points. UMass easily prevailed in this category, since it would cost at least $10k less per year.
• Prestige: Important, but not extremely. 2 points. Simmons, being a private school, is more prestigious than UMass.
• Dorms: A factor, yes, but the state of the dorms wouldn't highly affect my choice. 1 point. The UMass dorms were decent, but Simmons, being a private school, has more money to spend and thus their dorms are better.
• Academic Opportunities: Very important, considering I will probably change my major many, many times. 3 points. Although Simmons is very good in this category, UMass wins by a long shot. They have everything you can possibly imagine there, so you can pretty much do whatever you want, academically. Not only that, but I can take classes at Smith, Mount Holyoke, Hampshire, or Amherst through the Five College Consortium if I wanted to.
• Campus Activities: Pretty important, seeing as how I don't want to be bored on campus. Similar to the above category, there is an endless amount of things you can do at UMass.
• Friends: Not too important, since the fact that I have friends there would just be an extra bonus. 1 point. UMass gets this category since I already know a few people there and Morgan might be going as well, while I don't know anyone at Simmons.
• Campus: Again, sort of important, but it's only a small factor. 1 point. Simmons wins because it's small. UMass is really, really big... almost overwhelming. I am getting used to the idea, though.
• Atmosphere: Pretty important, because I want to feel like I can fit in and be comfortable. 2 points. UMass takes this category, basically because I had such a great time last weekend and I can see myself just hanging out like that every day in college.
• Size: A small factor. 1 point. Simmons wins because it's small, and like I said before, UMass is almost too big, though I'm quickly getting used to the concept.
• Classes: Class size and such is important to me. 2 points. I love the fact that Simmons has small, intimate classes where the professors know your name. I don't feel so great about the massive classes at UMass and the fact that the professors usually will never know your name.

Now that I've explained all of the categories, I'll go ahead and show you the points table with the final count:

	Simmons	UMass
Boys		1
Location	3
Money		3
Prestige	2
Dorms	1
Academic Opportunities		3
Campus Activities		2
Friends		1
Campus	1
Atmosphere		2
Size	1
Classes	2
Total	10	12

Well, according to this method, UMass comes out on top by 2 points. I have used this method several times already and each time it either comes out with UMass as the winner or completely even. If I go by this, UMass is the better choice for me... and I think I will. Although I'm not completely sure yet, I'd be willing to bet that I'll end up at UMass this year (I've actually known this all along, way before I started applying to colleges and even when I still disliked it there). I just can't completely tear myself away from Simmons.

Anyway, in other news, my stubborn classmate finally gave in and decided to move to another chair. Finally I'm not stuck in the back corner of the room anymore - I'm in the middle of my friends and I don't feel isolated. I was even able to safely take a little nap today during a movie. Excellent!

Well, I'm exhausted right now because I only got four hours of sleep last night (don't ask me why, I don't even know myself). I really need to get to bed. Adios!