<p>Hello everyone, I'd like some input in deciding the right college for me to attend. My parents would like me to accept a college well before the RD decisions come out (I live in Egypt, so they don't want any visa issues). The only school I am keen on in the RD round is Berkeley. I won't be able to personally visit each school, so I do not know how I should choose among the following schools:</p>
<p>Georgia Tech
UI - Urbana Champaign
U of M - Ann Arbor
UC Berkeley (If I were to get into it)</p>
<p>I'd like some help in deciding on these criterion</p>
<p>Academic Prestige (Intended Major: Chemical Engineering). I would like to pursue a masters at Cornell, or at a school at Cornell's level after I graduate.</p>
<p>Weather (Does it really matter?):</p>
<p>Cost: My parents are willing to spend; if two colleges are basically at the same level, then I'd choose the cheaper one.</p>
<p>Co-Op Opportunities:</p>
<p>Professors: Are they approachable? Do they teach as well as in other schools?</p>
<p>City Life:</p>
<p>Atmosphere at each school/Campus Life:</p>
<p>Thanks for your time :)
Your inputs will be very much appreciated.</p>
<p>Can’t say much about Ann Arbor or UIUC as I’ve never been there, but Berkeley is extremely well thought of, and IMO its national reputation easily exceeds GTech. In high school one of the guys I hung out with said his family in South Africa was extremely impressed that he got into Berkeley. The same is true of people whose families live in places as varied as China and England, so I assume Berkeley has a great international reputation. </p>
<p>I much prefer Berkeley’s weather to that of Atlanta although that may not matter much unless you’re quite outdoorsy. It’s much more mild, with fewer temperature fluctuations. If you like colder weather, neither is a good choice. </p>
<p>Georgia Tech offers a more integrated co-op system although I don’t know how relevant that is for an international. Both Berkeley and Georgia Tech have unbelievable research opportunities which are open to non US students. </p>
<p>Georgia Tech isn’t as well integrated into the city of Atlanta as UC Berkeley is to Berkeley. The public transit system around Berkeley is much better than the one in Atlanta. IMO the Bay Area is more interesting than Atlanta although both are major metropolitan areas which have more than enough “exploration” opportunities for a college student with some spending money.</p>
<p>Georgia Tech and Berkeley are very different institutions even though both are outstanding engineering schools. At Tech, most of the student body majors in either a STEM subject or business field whereas Berkeley is less overtly preprofessional. That makes a big difference in the atmospheres of the schools. My impressions of GT were that the liberal arts were seen as almost an extraneous subject, something to get through, rather than celebrated as is the case at Berkeley. I don’t know how important that is to a probable engineering major.</p>
<p>For Chemical engineering, you may want to consider University of Minnesota. Few years ago when we took a tour, we were impressed by the department & its offerings. The students seemed very friendly. Also, their out of state tuition seemed more reasonable. Is there a concentration that you may be interested? If you are considering downstream career in petrochemicals, Texas-Austin would also be a good bet. </p>
<p>Please note: getting direct entry (admission) into engineering is more difficult than other majors; it requires fairly high marks/GPA in high school (with more rigorous science/math curriculum), good test (ACT/SAT) scores etc. </p>