<p>I havent really decided what I'd like to study in college, though it will most likely be Computer science/ECE, BME, or chem E, and possibly on a pre-med track. Anyway, with apps coming up soon for rising seniors, I'd like some recommendations on my current list of colleges I plan to apply to. My thought is that I'd find schools with strengths in all of the aforementioned majors, so I can decide what I want later without transferring.
In addition to having those majors, I would really like a school that has a, for lack of a better word, fun social aspect to it.
Anyway, heres the list (no particular order)I've compiled-any recommendations to what I should add or take off would be extremely appreciated</p>
<p>Duke
WUSTL
Rice
Vandy
carnegie mellon - CIT
MIT
Stanford
Caltech
Hopkins (Could anyone comment on their CS program?)
Gatech</p>
<p>Duke doesn’t have a ChemE program…EECS rep is meh, but BME and pre-med track is stellar. Engineering also isn’t Vandy’s strong suit. </p>
<p>JHU is known for BME…CS program is strong.</p>
<p>You could add some of the Big Ten schools (Michigan, Wisconsin, Illinois) and UT-Austin. I’ll also put in a shameless plug for my alma mater, Berkeley…top EECS and ChemE programs. The only problem with Berkeley (and other OOS publics) is that they won’t provide great financial aid. </p>
<p>If I were you, I’d apply to:
Rice
Duke
WUSTL OR Vanderbilt
Carnegie Mellon
Stanford
Johns Hopkins
Texas OR Berkeley OR Michigan
Georgia Tech</p>
<p>DROP:
Caltech…doesn’t provide the social aspect.</p>
<p>^ Yes. I’ve heard WUSTL’s engineering department is going through some trouble…Vandy doesn’t have strong engineering programs. If I was the OP, I would apply to Vandy and avoid the WUSTL waitlist circle jerk.</p>
<p>I was thinking Gatech would be a safety, but maybe Ill add another</p>
<p>I love your suggestion about Texas/Berkely/Michigan, UCHChem, and also about CalTech, i had been thinking similarly. However, I don’t entirely understand the WUSTL v. Vandy thing. You said Vandy’s engineering is weak, but placed it over WUSTL…? And I don’t really know what “WUSTL waitlist circle jerk” is, could you explain some?</p>
<p>rick,
In academic terms, I think that a lot (maybe all) of these colleges can get where you want to go. But for your interest in the social life of the college, they truly run the spectrum on the fun meter. Can you expand your comments on what you are looking for in your college life outside of the classroom?</p>
<p>^ Sorry…
Vanderbilt just doesn’t have the engineering reputation that some of the other colleges do…if you want to work as an engineer, I’d advise you to save money and go to Georgia Tech and be done with it…GT will be more widely recruited for engineering than Vandy (I have a hunching suspicion…you can check with each school’s career center to see what companies actively recruit on campus). IMO, Vandy would be a fantastic choice for anything else…</p>
<p>With regard to WUSTL, I read a few threads talking about problems within WUSTL’s engineering department…
<p>Problems with the engineering dept are likely resolved…WUSTL does give fantastic merit-based financial aid. However, it has a reputation of waitlisting everybody because they assume students will choose a different school… I would say WUSTL’s engineering reputation is better than Vandy.</p>
<p>The only thing you can do is apply to colleges that you think would be a good match for your interests and personality…Write strong essays detailing why you think they are a good school for your interests, etc. You’ve included a good mix of “reaches”, “matches” and “safeties” on your list…although I might be inclined to apply to one more safety (perhaps another in-state public like U Georgia that will act as a financial safety as well). When you get acceptances and financial aid awards, the choice will likely become clearer.</p>
<p>well, the only college social life i’ve had the opprotunity to experience is Rice, which I loved. nearly daily pick-up games of beach volleyball, ping-pong and billiards breaks during studying, parties nearly every weekend, and everyone knows everyone else within their own dorm…kinda hard to explain, but the atmosphere just felt fun to be in
I hope that helps</p>
<p>Northwestern has a good pre-med program. I think their engineering program is pretty good too.</p>
<p>GA Tech I hear is not a fun place at all–it’s a sink or swim environment and your GPA is not gonna be that great. That said, it does offer one of the best engineering programs in the nation at a pretty reasonable pricetag.</p>
<p>You need some safeties.</p>
<p>PS- RICE IS AMAZING! Def a work hard play hard environment, it’s pretty flippin’ fantastic.</p>
<p>I know what you mean about Rice-it’s a special place, inside and outside of the classroom, that a lot of folks outside of the South/Southwest don’t know much about (which I think is too bad for them). Rice’s students are known for a good balance of work and play and, while they have a demanding academic environment, the students are not that stressed out about it. And the Rice Owls are also heading to Omaha this weekend for the College Baseball World Series which is pretty darn impressive for a college of only 3000 students.</p>
<p>In terms of schools with a similar environment, I think you’d probably find Stanford, Duke, and Vanderbilt as excellent choices, although I would describe each as having a larger social scene and a larger overall athletic scene (especially football and basketball). U Texas, UC Berkeley, and U Michigan all offer this as well, but the campus size is MUCH greater than any of these and you’ll have to decide if this is something that you like and can live with. I also like Wash U and it may even offer the most similar environment to Rice. Hopefully, you can make a visit and see their beautiful campus. </p>
<p>I would probably steer you away from Johns Hopkins and Carnegie Mellon as the social fit is probably not going to be a great one. As for Georgia Tech, it offers some social life and terrific engineering programs, but its heavily weighted to men (69%) and this may be a negative as you consider the social side of the equation.</p>
<p>I only live about 20 minutes away from Gatech, and having worked on campus for a summer, I know the school fairly well, and I can say that it is a school I have almost no desire to attend. The academics are too stressful, the relative lack of a social scene, and the campus (smack down in atlanta with highways pretty much running through the campus) are the main factors I’d like to avoid at any other school.</p>
<p>The only reason it’s on my list is because its really cheap, academics are good, and its a safety</p>
<p>I don’t know much about northwestern; what are their strengths/wekanesses in regards to the majors I listed originally?</p>
<p>The only problem with Rice is that I have a sibling there; I’ll apply, but I havent decided yet if I would want to go there for that very reason</p>
Def a work hard play hard environment, it’s pretty flippin’ fantastic.</p>