Any advice in my college selection?

College Search & Selection
1

<p>Hey, I'm a student who just doesn't know where he wants to go to college. Unfortunately, some of my scholarship deadlines are coming up (In 3 days...) and I still am not sure where I want to go. I am deciding between 3 colleges, 2 of which I have full rides to, and one of which my scholarship is pending. Too avoid any bias, I will omit college names and only list my thoughts on the three colleges. If anyone who has been through a similar choice, or who has some perspective on this, reads this and is willing to offer some advice, I would REALLY appreciate it!</p>

<p>College 1 - This is my hometown college. I have a full ride here, and I would have an opportunity to live at honors college dorms. For this college, some of the pros are the same as the cons (if that makes any sense): I know people here (which is good because I have friends, but bad because I kind of want the opportunity to start over with a clean slate), my family is here (which is good because we are close, but I really want to get far away at the same time), and it is in my hometown (good because I know my way around and I have connections, but bad because I'm sick of my home town). The college would offer a decent, but not great, education in my major. This college really wants me, and I have had numerous correspondences with the "big-wigs" of the university. ALSO: the honors dorms here are really nice, but the campus aesthetics are lackluster.</p>

<p>College 2 - This college is about 7 hours from my home, so it isn't really far at all. I would know some people here, but it would mostly be a fresh start. The scholarship money I get from the college is pending; they HEAVILY implied that I would be getting a full ride, but then pulled the plug from that out of nowhere. The college would be the best education in my major, but it's a weed-out school, and I would be a little nervous about maintaining my limited scholarship. I don't know if I would have as much fun at this college (I'm not looking for a party school, and I know majoring as an engineer will be hard, but I want to have a vibrant social life outside of class). From what I've heard, the professors here are pretty inaccessible (but, again, coming from this university I would be most prepared for my major). The college admitted me to honors, and has expressed desire to have me, but they have not pushed as hard as the other two. ALSO: The campus aesthetics are a little better than college 1, but the honors dorms are CONSIDERABLY worse (about half the size. very cramped).</p>

<p>College 3 - This college is the furthest away from my home town (about 22 hours), so I wouldn't even be thinking of coming back except over long breaks. I wouldn't know anybody here, so this college would be a COMPLETELY fresh start (which is risky, because if things don't work out and I don't set myself up socially rather quickly, then I'll just be stuck). I have a full ride here, and I should be able to easily maintain the scholarship. I think I would have a lot of fun at this college, and the people here seem really nice and fun. I love the weather here, and the honors dean (who I met with) was my favorite of the 3 by far. The professors here are very accessible. Unfortunately, as with school 1, I may not get as good an education here as I would at college 2. This college wants me more than college 2, but not as much as hometown college 1. If I managed to make friends quickly, and set myself up well, I would likely have a great college experience here. ALSO: The honors dorms are great, about as good as college 1. The aesthetics at this university are by far the best; the weather is nice, I have a beautiful river, and an amazing park, right in my back yard. Buildings are also beautiful.</p>

<p>And, well, there it is. I know that my post may have sounded like I give the most weight to college 3, but that's just because it has more factors that I like, but are weighted less than factors I liked from other universities. I'm not sure what my priorities really are yet, which is why I'm writing this (to get some perspective). If you read this, THANK YOU VERY MUCH. And advice / help I could get for the decision would be much appreciated!</p>

2

<p>Don’t go to the hometown college for obvious reasons- it’s time to get out of your comfort zone. Without knowing the difference in resources at the other 2 it’s impossible to say. Wll college 2 mean big loans or can your family afford what the scholarship won’t cover?</p>

3

<p>Since you mentioned engineering, do all of the colleges have [url=&lt;a href=“http://www.abet.org%5DABET%5B/url”&gt;http://www.abet.org]ABET[/url</a>] accreditation in your major?</p>

<p>How big a concern is the cost at #2? Will you have to take more loans than the subsidized Stafford loan limit ($23,000 for all four years)?</p>

<p>Also, since you did not name the colleges and your specific engineering major, you may want to be aware that reputation in engineering may differ considerably from general reputation and prestige rankings. For example, engineering employers may recruit more heavily at many state universities than they would at Ivy League schools (though investment banking companies strongly favor the latter). A school local to employers of graduates of your major can also provide a recruiting advantage due to convenience to both the employers and students.</p>

4

<p>Hey, I’m going to clear up the money situation. My family hasn’t saved up any money for the college, and (they are cryptic with me when it comes to financial affairs) they have expressed confidence in getting sufficient loans for me to attend the university. As an engineer, I think I would be able to pay off the loans; however, the idea of having a full ride is very important to me!</p>

5

<p>Based on what you said in #4, that tilts the balance toward the full ride schools. You do not want to spend your college years stressing about whether you will have the money for next semester, or have to drop out because the money ran out. Nor do you want to be burdened by large amounts of debt at graduation.</p>

6

<p>From the way you talk, #3 sounds best. You don’t seem to enthusiastic about the other schools, especially #2.</p>

7

<p>Name the schools for the best advice.</p>

8

<p>I agree.</p>

<p>You have to name the schools to get a proper analysis.</p>

9

<p>Alright, I’ll go ahead and reveal. </p>

<p>School 1 = Texas tech University</p>

<p>School 2 = Texas A&M University</p>

<p>School 3 = University of Alabama</p>

<p>And I’m on a national merit scholarship.</p>

10

<p>The other relevant information that can help others help you would be:</p>

<ul>
<li>Specific engineering major.</li>
<li>Net cost after non-loan financial aid for each school (Texas Tech and Alabama should be approximately $0 if you get a full ride, but what would Texas A&M cost you?).</li>
</ul>

<p>Based on Texas A&M’s [cost</a> of attendance](<a href=“https://financialaid.tamu.edu/Cost/COA_Undergrad.aspx]cost”>https://financialaid.tamu.edu/Cost/COA_Undergrad.aspx), and (if you designated it as your first choice) [its</a> National Merit scholarships](<a href=“https://scholarships.tamu.edu/tamu_scholarships/freshman/national_merit.aspx]its”>https://scholarships.tamu.edu/tamu_scholarships/freshman/national_merit.aspx), the total four year cost will be about $49,000. Is that correct?</p>

11

<p>Yes, I believe the $49,000 is approximately a correct figure. And, I’m looking at going in as engineering undecided (but as of right now, I am heavily leaning towards chemical engineering).</p>

<p>Thank you all so much for helping! If there’s any other information to include, let me know and I’ll add it ASAP.</p>

12

<p>Have you checked how easily you can declare a specific engineering major at each school? In some schools, you have to apply to change major, and it may be competitive to be accepted into the major due to limited capacity.</p>

<p>$49,000 is still a lot of debt if you and your family cannot cover any of it.</p>

13

<p>I’m not sure about that. I think because I will be in honors I will get priority selection in my classes though, and I should be able to switch into them fairly easily. All of the schools are big universities, and I think there are always spots open in each engineering major.</p>

14

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<p>Don’t assume, ask. Public schools especially tend to enroll up to their capacity limits, which means that there may be little space available in popular majors to accommodate students changing their majors, which means that students may have to apply to change their majors.</p>

15

<p>College 2!!! Only one that seemed like youd get an academic challenge</p>

16

<p>Texas A & M is also the largest of the three if that matters. Its just gynormous! Fine school, like them, but big. I am confused about the cost to attend college because you are in-state Texas, so why isnt the cost sufficiently lower than at Alabama which is out of state for you. Plus you have transportation costs to/from Alabama. </p>

<p>Engineering is a TOUGH major no matter where you go. If you find balance in your life you will be fine. But the workload is heavy. Since cost seems to be an issue for your family, I am leaning towards Texas Tech.</p>