imaad1703

For those of you going or planning on going to Virginia Tech, Blacksburg is pretty small and for the very fit amongst you, walkable in its entirety! Most of the student housing is a 10-20 min walk from campus, but keep in mind that the campus is itself quite large. The bus service is actually quite good with very cheap monthly passes ($8 I think) and is very VT-centric. Most, if not all the routes start from the heart of the campus and make multiple stops throughout the campus and go over the major residential areas of Blacksburg. There is even a bus service to the nearest Walmart! Depsite all of the conveniences offered within Blacksburg, do keep in mind that Blacksburg itself is in a relatively remote part of eastern USA and travelling outside Blacksburg can be a challenge without a car. Even the nearest airport is only a regional one and while there is a bus service to Blacksburg from there, it doesn't operate on nights and maybe even Sundays. An Uber can cost a good $60-$75.

Out of all the admits I have, I've narrowed it down to these two but am finding it hard to make a decision. Points in favour of UZH: MUCH cheaper, as they have no tuition fees, better and bigger city (I'm a city person :P), Less specialised program could leave me with more options after graduation. Points in favour of Uppsala: Potentially better program (I'm getting a Theoretical Chemistry specialisation there), Seemingly more lively community and culture (Uppsala being a student town plus I've received countless follow-up mails after getting the admit, makes me feel like they want me more and more welcoming?) I'm really inclined towards Uppsala, but it would turn out to be twice as expensive as UZH :(