Confused about Engineering Colleges

College Search & Selection
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<p>Hello all, I'm a current junior in high school so I'm starting to look at colleges but it seems every college has a few things I want, but lacks others.</p>

<p>I'm interested in going into engineering, but not anything like aerospace, civil, or naval/ocean. I've always wanted to do something green and good for the environment, so I'm looking into things like Materials Science, but I'm not too sure what other majors/careers would be good. If anyone has any suggestions as to that, I would really appreciate it.</p>

<p>As for college, I'm really interested in Georgia Tech, but I've heard some conflicting things about it ie workload is insane, GPAs are low, it's better for grad school, but it's a great education and looks really impressive. Also, I'm a runner and I could probably run at Ga Tech, if that means anything. But it's OOS tuition...I was hoping I could get some honest opinions on it. I'm a current Virginia resident so I've looked at Virginia Tech but it's not as prestigious and I don't know how the opportunities for students are. On a sidenote, I buy into the idea that undergrad isn't as important as grad school, if that helps with suggestions (unless someone disagrees, which I would want to hear). I'm looking for advice on where to apply. </p>

<p>The things I'm looking for in a college: I really want to experience college life (but I'm willing to work, not just relax), I'd prefer not to go north (I detest the cold!) and probably the most important thing would be research opportunities - that's where Ga Tech gets iffy - it seems too competitive for me to get anything.</p>

<p>I'm really confused on this topic and I would love to hear suggestions for engineering majors, colleges, and the like.</p>

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<p>Don’t sweat it so much. </p>

<p>I recommend majoring in a general engineering field for undergrad…like mechanical or electrical. This provides you the most employment opportunities.</p>

<p>Don’t be concerned about grad school for now…to get a good job as an engineer you really only need a BS degree. I recommend working a few years to test interests before getting an advanced degree.</p>

<p>Engineering employers are very egalitarian. They won’t pay a premium for a better school as much. So best to choose the best program for the cheapest price.</p>

<p>The cheapest will depend on your grades and family income. Definitely apply to Virginia Tech and UVA. Then apply to OOS privates that offer merit money or cover based on need. OOS publics will be less generous with financial aid.</p>

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<p>Thanks for such a quick response!
Do you have any recommendations for OOS privates that actually give merit money? All the engineering private colleges I’ve looked at are really stingy with their money.</p>

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<p>What’s wrong with Virginia Tech? It is well regarded for engineering (probably more so than for other majors).</p>

<p>What is your price limit? North Carolina State has a relatively low list price, and you can try for the full ride Park Scholarship if you have high stats. Georgia Tech has the President’s Scholarship you can try for.</p>

<p><a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/financial-aid-scholarships/1348012-automatic-full-tuition-full-ride-scholarships-16.html#post15557250[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/financial-aid-scholarships/1348012-automatic-full-tuition-full-ride-scholarships-16.html#post15557250&lt;/a&gt; can give you some low cost safety ideas.</p>

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<p>Look at Olin. USC is another option.</p>

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<p>Oh yeah, Virginia Tech’s great. I was just wondering how the environment is, like research opportunities and how students are treated. Also they’re not really very liberal with scholarships…and I’m not too keen on busting my wallet for undergrad - my sister took a full ride and kind of set a precedent! Haha</p>

<p>Honestly, for price, I don’t really know. I live a priveliged life, upper middle class, so and my parents always tell me not to worry about college “we’ll make it work” and so on. My parents would be willing to pay a lot but I wouldn’t dream of putting that burden on them. Basically we’re barely rich enough to not get any financial aid…</p>

<p>I’ve looked at NC State but it looks like there’s nothing special for engineering - but UCBChemEGrad said employers are equal when it comes to education…so I’m not sure on that.
I read about Ga Tech’s Presidential Scholarship but I hear that’s insanely cut-throat. Like it’s for the people who are getting acceptances to Ivies left and right…I have some solid stats but I’m not sure if I can compete with that.</p>

<p>Thanks for the suggestions UCBChemEGrad!</p>

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<p>Is there a number that they can say will work for certain? A lot of students hear this from their parents, but then their parents deliver the bad news in April that they cannot afford any of the colleges that the students got admitted to. Better to know what the price limit is before making the application list.</p>

<p>Note that North Carolina State, Stony Brook, and Cal Poly SLO have relatively low out-of-state list prices.</p>

<p>If they are unwilling to give a number, include at least one automatic full ride school if your grades and test scores qualify.</p>

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<p>My dad said around 30-35 should work. But he suggested I focus on making a list of colleges I want to go to, regardless of price, then we can narrow it down later if necessary.
Do you have any idea on what it might take to get the Presidential Scholarship to Ga Tech?
Also, going off of what my dad said, do you have any recommendations for engineering schools in general as far as student life and opportunities go? Thanks!</p>

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<p>Well, your instate options for engineering (UVa and Virginia Tech), will both come in well under 30-35 thousand. I have had one kid at each. Both schools have very good recruiting and you should have no problem getting a job coming from either. Unless you find good merit elsewhere or money is no object, those seem to be your best options.</p>

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<p>Could you please let me know a little bit about how their experiences were? As in the environment, classes, research opportunities, etc. I’d really appreciate it.</p>

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<p>They both got good internships and jobs through their school. Both schools have very good Career Fairs. Virginia Tech’s is called Engineering Expo. Neither kid had a really strong interest in doing research as undergrads but I think the opportunities are there if you seek them out. Younger kid did talk about doing research last summer but took an internship instead(which led to a job offer when he graduates in May). He was an undergrad TA so those opportunities could be there. The social enironments are different as you know, but both have big time sports and loyal alumni. We are very lucky to have such good options in Virginia.</p>

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<p>Thanks so much! And you’re right, Virginia is a great college state.</p>

<p>I’m still wondering if anyone can shed some light on the situation in Ga Tech?</p>

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<p>Also if anyone has any ideas as to where I should apply/look into.</p>

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<p>Georgia tech is in the top 5 for undergraduate engineering. They are ranked highly in most if not all engineering disciplines. The OOS tuition is lower compared to other highly ranked engineering schools. The presidential scholarship is very competitive and if I’m not mistaken they only award 50-100 of these each year. It does has a reputation of being very difficult but if you ask any engineering student they will tell you it’s difficult. GT is all tech so you have everyone facing a tough curriculum versus other schools that have many other majors (not to say these aren’t hard also but I think you get my point :)). Plan on it taking more than 4 years to graduate they tell you that up front. But the job prospects are excellent and you would no doubt get an outstanding education there. I don’t know how much more detail you’d like but my D has an acceptance there, we’ve visited twice and I have researched the school in depth. I don’t have first hand experience though so maybe others can chime in. Despite what others might say, I’m convinced that name recognition gives you an edge in today’s tough job market. A degree from GT will open many doors.</p>

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<p>It is a waste of time and application fee money to apply to schools that you cannot go to because they are too expensive. To be worth applying to, a school must fulfill one of the following:</p>

<ul>
<li>List price is under your price limit.</li>
<li>Net price after need-based financial aid grants is under your price limit (see the net price calculator for each school).</li>
<li>There are large enough in-reach merit scholarships to bring the net price under your price limit (mere admission is not enough; you need to aim for the merit scholarships).</li>
</ul>

<p>However, $35,000 per year does give you considerable latitude, since there are some good engineering schools that should be doable at list price (your in-state choices, plus North Carolina State, Stony Brook, Cal Poly SLO, Minnesota).</p>

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<p>Great posts everyone. I am in California and grew up in Virginia. I completely agree with UCBChemEGrad and ucbalumnus that Virginia Tech and UVA are good choices. UVA will be more competitive to get into. Both are great top flight schools.</p>

<p>When it comes to engineering schools, there are basically two major categories and then within those categories there is another split. The two major categories are (1) research orientated institutions; and (2) hands on practical learning institutions. Then within those two major categories there are (a) public and (b) private institutions.</p>

<p>A public research institution would be like UCLA or UC San Diego. A private research institution would be like Cal Tech or MIT. Public hands on practical learning institutions would be like Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo, Cal Poly Pomona or any of the US Military Academies. Private hands on practical learning institutions would be like Rose-Hulman, Harvey Mudd (general engineering only with a strong liberal arts and academic orientation) or Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute.</p>

<p>I completely agree that if you are not sure, then mechanical or electrical is the best route.</p>

<p>In general, the research institutions tend to be more focused on university research and publishing and not on your personal needs or the quality of your education. You will have fewer professors teaching your classes and more TA’s. The hands on practical learning institutions are teaching colleges and the primary focus is on you and the quality of your education. Research is there but takes a secondary position to your needs as a student. Most if not all your classes will be taught by professors not TA’s.</p>

<p>My kid goes to Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo and he has never had a TA teach a class. Not even a lab had a TA – all 100% professors. Harvey Mudd made it very clear that they were completely focused on student learning and achievement. UCLA on the other hand made no bones about being a research institution and proudly introduced many of the TA’s that would be primarily responsible for our kids’ education. At that school, each department had a hierarchy with the professor acting like a VP and managing research and directing PhD and grad students. The lowest priority in the hierarchy were the undergrads. This is common and there is nothing wrong with it. The goal of many students is to prove themselves through academic performance and hope to get picked to assist with research. A noble goal.</p>

<p>We as a family are more vocational in orientation and wanted value for every dollar we spent on our kid’s education. So we went the hands on practical learning direction. I wanted my kid to be the main focus. Call me selfish, but I had no interest in funding someone else’s research. I wanted my kid and his education to be the main focus of his professors.</p>

<p>Granted, I am very biased. There are many kids who dream of being part of ground breaking institutional research and plan to be professors themselves. This is very important for our society. I am 100% industry oriented and want my kid to have a job at graduation and have his innovation and development happen in the private business sector where he can participate financially in the company’s successes.</p>

<p>When and if my kid decides to go to grad school then I would back him going to a research institution. Then, he would be right in the middle of the game as a master’s student or PhD candidate. I get it at that level. Not for undergrad.</p>

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<p>Neenie, thanks for the info. Really appreciate it. Do you know how the student life is, as in outside the academic realm?</p>

<p>UCBalmunus, I meant to say that we would narrow the list before I apply. Thanks for the suggestions and conditions for application. Helps me know what to look for.</p>

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<p>Neenie said, “A degree from GT will open many doors.” True. The same can be said of UVa and Virginia Tech, especially in Virginia and DC. Their programs may not be ranked as highly as GT but they are well regarded and kids seem to have no trouble getting internships and jobs. The OP should look at schools he is interested in with an eye to cost,social fit,distance,etc. Rankings are important but are not everything. VT is building a new Signature Engineering building that will be ready soon. When you start going on visits to places like GT,UVa and VT, you will get a better feel for what is available to you.</p>

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<p>Wow OsakaDad that’s a lot of insight! Thanks! So where do you think Virginia Tech and Georgia Tech would fall in those categories?</p>

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<p>I can tell you a little about it, based on the 2-day visit my d had a few weeks ago. The students do have a social life in fact the campus is informally divided into north and south and the south campus has a reputation of being the more lively. We arrived on campus on Saturday before the program began and I have to say we were kind of surprised how few students were walking around. We did, however, walk past the fraternities and there were many guys sitting outside the houses on their porches drinking “beverages” and throwing around footballs while loud music played. Mind you, this was in the middle of the afternoon. They looked like they were happy and having a great time. We saw many sorority sisters in formal attire walking very purposefully somewhere. It seemed lively. There is a pretty active Greek life there but I don’t think you have to go Greek to have a fun social life. I will say however that there are quite a few students that go home for the weekend (georgia residents). I believe 50% of the students are georgia residents. My daughter was staying with a very friendly sophomore. Her roommate excused herself from their conversation because her mom had arrived to bring her a sandwich. I kid you not. I think her family lived right outside of campus. But I digress. </p>

<p>The campus is very nice and they have several restaurants on campus but there is not much directly nearby. There is a newer area called “tech square” that has some nice restaurants and hotels but if you want to go out to socialize I think you need to go further out. This is my impression only but I could be wrong. One thing that struck me what that we had to walk 15 minutes around tech square to find a drug store. I thought it was odd that there isn’t a simple drugstore nearby. There is however a new outdoor mall called “Atlantic station” which is a 10 minute cab ride away. It is amazing (maybe more for a parent than a college student). This is where you find a target, Dillard’s, clothing stores, movie theater, and many many restaurants. But it doesn’t strike me as a college hangout. I remember some students talking about fun places to go nearby on the weekends (maybe areas like buckhead?) but I can’t really speak to that. </p>

<p>Campus security is a big deal. They have shuttles and buses to take you everywhere and blue emergency beacons situated every 100feet or so all around campus. They take that pretty seriously. </p>

<p>Sorry for the lengthy post. I literally have not been able to sleep for 5 days because I am so worked up about this college process, thus my obsession 24/7 with this website. My d is at the end the process now but still trying to make her decisions. It’s an exciting time. Enjoy it. Make a smart list of safeties, matches, and reaches. Don’t make the mistake of applying only to reach schools. No matter how stellar your stats and EC’s are there are thousands and thousands of kids out there just as good or better. Focus on your essays and find something different to write about. Something that will stand out and get their attention. The first sentence needs to make them put down 10 other apps to read yours.</p>