Hey, I am a junior in high school and was looking for some help with me college search process!
Just some background: My GPA fluctuates between 3.3 and 3.7 and I scored a 2300 on the old SAT, a 32 on the ACT and a 1460 on the new PSAT (out of 1520). I’d consider myself a strong applicant.
Im pretty set on study engineering: I’ve always been easily engaged by physics and math classes (and am planning on taking AP physics and BC Calculus next year) and have loved to build things since I was a child: I have the creative and technical interests for engineering. I’d prefer a program with a hands-on, or experiential focus.
But my biggest non-academic passion is Skiing, and, growing up in the Northeast, I’ve always dreamed of skiing mountains “out-west.” College could be a great tool for me to fulfill this dream, and I’d love to go to a school near a big west-coast ski mountain. But I’ve struggled to find a school that offers both great skiing and a great engineering program, and was wondering if anyone could give some suggestions.
alltogether I am looking for a school that:
offers strong engineering programs (preferably with a hands-on focus)
is located within an hour of a major ski area (preferably midwest or northwest; colorado, utah, oregon, wyoming)
I would rather small or medium sized schools, but this isn’t a priority
UC Boulder ranks higher than Mines for Engineering (at least for grad schools).
Mesa University has a partnership with CU Boulder for Mech Engineering.
and for a truly die hard ski bum school with a not so strong but accredited engineering program check out Ft. Lewis College (the campus is pretty deserted on a powder day because almost everybody heads up to the mountain) .
Colorado Mines, CU-Boulder, and Fort Lewis are all about an hour from good skiing. I know that Mines and Boulder have clubs that you can join that will provide transportation and discounts; not sure about Fort Lewis, but they are in a gorgeous area near Purgatory Mountain, which I think is the prettiest CO ski area and with fantastic snow. (Fort Lewis is also not terribly far from Silverton and Telluride, which are two of the more interesting CO ski areas).
First things first; your present GPA would make admission to highly competitive (admissions) out-of-state public STEM university uncertain. For example, getting admitted to the highly regarded engineering departments at the U of Washington or U of Colorado and getting decent financial aid won’t be easy. I suspect a similar situation at Colorado School of Mines, an excellent STEM school.
I hear that the U of Idaho mechanical engineering department is pretty good. Micron Corp. recruits Electrical Engineers and Computer Engineers from U of Idaho. The campus in Moscow is less than a 3-hour drive from many ski areas in northern Idaho. Sun Valley in the south is 7 hours from Moscow.
In addition to the U of Utah, think about South Dakota School of Mines & Technology. Deer Mountain and Terry Peak in the Black Hills are an easy drive from the campus in Rapid City. Nearest Rocky Mountain resort to Rapid City is Casper, WY; about a bit less than 4 hours away.
The University of Denver isn’t renown for its engineering program, but it does have some solid options and its location makes it easy for students to not only ski but also enjoy a great city. I’m unsure of how applied the engineering program is, but you can certainly contact the school and/or tour the facilities to find out.
Oregon State is another possibility. Its program is very hands on, it will admit you, and is rather close to good skiing. During the off seasons, Oregon is an incredible state for outdoors activities.
Whistler is 5 hours from Seattle. UBC in Vancouver would be the best engineering school in the area. Snoqualmie (snow-crummy) is about an hour from Seattle, and where the ski instructors from UW teach. It’s about two hours to either Crystal Mountain or Stevens Pass, three to Mount Baker.
Engineering will be too difficult to take off a bunch of days off to go skiing, so much of it is done during breaks. Definitely look at University of Utah. The city bus goes up to Alta and Snowbird. It’s also a state that generously allows OOS kids to move to the state and start paying in-state tuition sophomore year (may have to jump through a few hoops).
I second the suggestion of Oregon State University, a school with excellent engineering departments. Keep in mind, however, that class size at OSU can be huge. Also, Corvallis isn’t the most exciting town in America.
University of Vermont would be a big one for skiing. It has an engineering program, it’s just not super prestigious. I visited last winter for engineering and I remember students can get deals on lift tickets/ season passes to nearby ski areas.
Maybe Clarkson University too- your GPA is in line with its stats and it’s located about 1.5 hours from Whiteface.