Yes, they have specific programs for combined engineering and arts. I think they call them “X”programs…
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Gablesdad, I knew that had some joint programs between Industrial/Graphic Design and Engineering, sorta like MIT’s Media Lab, but I did not know they had joint programs between Engineering and the performing arts.
Cal Poly - spoke with some students who really find the fast pace of the quarter system a grind…maybe because it was coming down to the end of the quarter?
From what I gather from my D21 and others that I’ve spoken with on our visits, is that the majority of students prefer the quarter system. The key is not to fall behind.
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Take a look at the BXA Intercollege Programs at www.CMU.edu
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Emory+++
We toured Emory today. Although we live 15 min away and visit Atlanta campus at least a couple of times a year with out of town friends and their kiddos, this tour was very informative and exciting for us today - glad we went. D23 interested in Sociology and Music, so it is a solid choice for her. She loved the campus. It was a gorgeous sunny day and a middle of a busy Monday. Seems the school checks all of my daughter’s “must haves”: opportunity for undergraduate research, diverse campus, strong woodwind faculty and orchestral opportunities, balance of social & ECs and rigorous academics.
The only little hiccup - our tour guide and two of the tour guides “in training” could not answer a question about mental health support, what is offered to students - they were unsure if counseling is offered only virtually now or both in-person and virtually.
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Gablesdad, The BXA looks pretty cool. I’m not sure if I would double major in Eng and a juried performance major at CMU; the workload for either alone would be quite the bear.
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For my daughter, who is now at Princeton, these were the schools that moved up or down based on the campus visit:
Columbia - DOWN. She hated “the Core”. So many specific, required courses. She would have left during the tour if she could have done so gracefully.
Harvey Mudd - DOWN. This was one of the first schools she saw and initially liked it (nice tour guide with interests similar to my daughter), but the campus is really awful and the school is so small, even with the Claremont colleges right there.
Brown - DOWN. Our tour guide was really full of herself (although I think my negative impression was stronger than my daughter’s, and the tour guide’s personality really doesn’t matter) my daughter didn’t like how little thought was given to freshman housing and how most students ended up living off campus.
Vassar - UP. She loved the campus and the theater programs.
Wesleyan - UP. Don’t know exactly why, but she ended up really liking Wesleyan. I think it was the really nice tour guide, the housing system, the strong sciences and strong theater. I think my daughter would have been very happy there.
Yale - UP. She loved the residential college system. Our tour guide was the nicest, most down to earth girl from South Carolina. I left hoping my daughter would go to Yale and they’d become friends! (I know, totally stupid, but that is the feeling we left with).
For my son, who is going through the process now:
Lehigh - DOWN. The person who delivered our information session was friendly but unprofessional (not showered, dressed in an old gray t-shirt and jeans) and could not answer some simple questions. I know this is the kind of thing that shouldn’t matter, but such a different vibe than the other schools we saw that cared about making a good impression. Our entire tour group - literally- was sorority wanna be girls who were barely clothed (in October). Not the school’s fault, but made us concerned about who his classmates might be if he were there. According to two students we talked to (not the tour guide) there is so much drinking and constant partying. The buildings we were allowed in were beautiful and historical on the outside, and rather run down on the inside. Did not like Bethlehem. Our tour guide was anxious and immature. On paper Lehigh looked like a fantastic option for him so we were disappointed. He’ll still apply, as I know most of these rather superficial impressions don’t matter, but Lehigh, which was initially close to the top of his list, was not any longer after the visit.
BU - DOWN. Visited twice. First during COVID and he loved it. Was given a tour by a close friend. Then he visited for a full day in October and was overwhelmed and exhausted by the number of students, the noise, the traffic, even though he thinks Boston is a great city.
Lafayette - UP. This school wasn’t even initially on his list. Have visited twice. Nice, down-to-earth tour guides and a really beautiful, manageable campus. Faculty seem really invested in teaching and student success. The best part was that when he asked for permission to see the engineering labs, because he couldn’t attend the engineering tour, the head of the school of engineering spent 45 minutes with him and my son was blown away, both by the personal attention and by the facilities and opportunities. The only reason he didn’t ED here was because it is a little small, but he will apply and it is close to the top of his list.
University of Rochester - UP. Even in the rain he liked the campus. He liked how it felt a bit like an oasis in a city (not unlike UCLA, he said). Our tour guide was great. My son also talked at length to a student from his high school who is now there. It seems like kids at Rochester are really smart and hard working, but also very collaborative and down to earth. Not a huge party culture, which is a good fit for my son. Loved the flexibility of the curriculum. My son also loved that there were many engineering majors to choose from, more than is often found at a private school.
USC - DOWN. We didn’t have a tour (California state restrictions because of COVID), but walked around the entire campus, which my son really didn’t like. It is totally flat, in an unpleasant part of the city, and overly manicured and sterile (buildings look alike), in my son’s opinion. I thought the campus was pretty attractive, but it was very engineered (no really open, natural spaces) and I think would be brutal in the So Cal heat. My son hates the heat.
UCLA - UP. He loved the campus and the “college feel” of the place. Engineering program is world class. He’s not applying to any UC’s, though, because of the serious problems all of the campuses have with too many students and too few resources (faculty, housing, classes) which are only going to get worse over the next 10 years.
Santa Clara - DOWN. Only walked the campus because of California state restrictions due to COVID. Again, he didn’t like the totally flat (and small) campus. For some reason he did not like any campuses that did not have varied topography. And too close to home (40 minutes).
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Thank you for sharing all of your impressions. I enjoyed reading it. What was it about Princeton that won your daughter over?
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I’m glad my impressions weren’t too much! I’ve had fun reading these, so I thought I’d try to make a meaningful contribution.
I think the things that attracted her to Princeton were the gorgeous campus, strong sciences (especially physics), residential college system, not many “general ed” requirements and lots of flexibility in terms of choosing classes and your major, and in particular, the varied opportunities for theater, including the opportunities to work with professionals from the theater world. She sat in on a stagecraft craft taught by a Broadway prop master and was riveted. She also liked that there is much more of a focus on undergrads than there is at some similar schools with MBA, JD, medical school programs. And she was glad it was far away from home! (We live in CA). It is also a pretty sporty school (maybe all of the Ivies are), and she was a multi-sport athlete in high school and is now on 2 club teams at Princeton.
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I am curious to hear more about your impressions of USC. As a Northeastern, we are not too familiar with Southern California. Son would be eligible for half-price tuition because of NMSF status but I don’t think he would fit into the USC culture and as a runner he hates the heat. TBH, the only reason we are considering having him apply is because it seems like great value.
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D16 graduated from Northwestern in 2020. Great academics, but it was not as lively/spirited as it looks during summer and fall tours, especially in the dead (-20°) of winter. Pretty serious stress culture in some majors. Surrounding area is upscale and doesn’t have a lot of student hang outs - only place open after 11pm was Burger King, so while there was a town, parties were frat based. She had a good experience there, but again, it’s not far off from the Hopkins vibe in our experience!
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You are spot on - Princeton is very undergrad focussed compared to peer ivies, as there is no business school, med school, law school, vet school, dental school. I’m a Penn undergrad , Princeton PhD and often think I should have reversed that order!
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Even at 1/2 tuition, USC is expensive when considering housing. Apartments are often shared rooms with a roommate and very expensive.
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For NU, do you know which majors have the heaviest stress culture? Does the quarter system play into it, rigor of the program, or competitiveness of the kids?
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As a runner, he’d be outside all year long in LA. It does get warm but he’d be fine in the mornings or evenings, especially if he went to the beach to run. Certainly more palatable than summer in the northeast.
I love USC. Beautiful campus, LA is a great city. Really robust programs (my daughter is interested in journalism and politics so those I know are strong). Tons of school spirit. Probably too much partying/Greek life but big enough for all. But don’t apply if it’s not your jam.
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I want to clarify for everyone that I was trying to share my son’s (and my) impressions after a visit, not to provide any assessment of the school. I have 3 friends whose kids went to USC on half-price NMSF status (two from Virginia and one from San Francisco) and they loved it. I believe the kids in that program are part of a living/learning community, like an honors college. One of them picked USC over Stanford (he is now a film maker). USC of course does have a party school/southern Calfornia/pretty girl (not in a good way) vibe, but there are also a lot of very smart, accomplished kids there, despite the headlines about the fake recruits and cheaters, etc. There are almost 20,000 undergrads and I think everyone can find a place there. There is no place to run, however, except around a track, as far as I can tell. It is true that the if he can run in the Northeast in the summer, LA will not be a problem. As much as climate change is making California a much more difficult place to live, after, in August, moving my daughter into her NJ dorm with no air conditioning and barely any ventilation, I was happy to get back to CA.
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This is why I love this thread. It’s just a description of a kid/family’s impression based on a one-day visit. And things that one kid loves, another kid hates. I appreciate everyone for sharing!
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I guess people have different understandings of what constitutes too hot, but USC isn’t quite Death Valley. The average high temperatures at USC in the July, Aug, and Sept are in the low to mid 80’s and the average highs for the rest of the year are in the 60s and 70s. All with little humidity.
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Quarter system definitely was a factor, in my opinion. Think about it: Where you would have had 2 final exams for a year long course like German, you had 3! Seemed kids were always studying for midterms or finals. On the other hand, the quarter system allowed for sampling more electives than one might in a semester based curriculum.
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