<p>Hi guys. I am an international student who has been accepted to University of Colorado at Boulder, Ohio State University, Worcester Polytechnic Institute and Lehigh University for engineering for fall 2011. Also I'm waitlisted at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, and Iowa State University.</p>
<p>I am having a tough time deciding where to go, and I have to make a decision quickly. Music scene is a priority in my decision. I am really into rock and metal music, forming bands and stuff. Apart from music, I also wish to have extensive research opportunities at college, although I know they are limited for an undergraduate student. As for social life, I do party, but it's not a major decisive factor when.</p>
<p>I really like the small class sizes and the personal feel at WPI. But the lack of academic variety seems a little boring to me. Plus WPI has offered me the Presidential Scholarship.
Lehigh isn't offering any financial aid, so the high fees is gonna be a problem, though I think I can manage it.
CU Boulder and Ohio State are different from the above two as in they're public, much bigger and diverse. But I think that affects the class sizes, the teacher-student interaction, research opportunities and the entire feel of the universities, in general.</p>
<p>Being an international student I only have limited knowledge about these universities, so any inputs at all about any of these universities (including Rensselaer and Iowa) are greatly appreciated.</p>
<p>i’m an international and i’ll be going to Lehigh.</p>
<p>I’ll definitely suggest you coming to Lehigh coz Lehigh offers everysingle thing that you are looking for: Music scene, parties & fun, small class size, the teacher-student interaction, research opportunities and the entire feel of the universities…</p>
<p>I can only offer an opinion about WPI and Lehigh as I am not familiar with the others. My son has many friends who attend WPI as we are from Massachusetts, they come home almost every weekend. It produces great engineers, but seems to be less balanced than Lehigh as far as the college experience. They tell me it does not offer much socially and pretty much everyone who can vacates on weekends.</p>
<p>Lehigh also produces great engineers and offers a more well rounded college experience in my opinion. I hear that WPI give a lot more money though, so that is always a factor in where you go.</p>
<p>I can give some insight to some of the schools. Having lived in Ohio and my son having a lot of his friends at Ohio State it is a pretty good school. However, due to the size of the school most students will not achieve their undergrad in four years. They will finish in five. Classes fill up quickly and you can’t always get the class you need especially in engineering. I had an uncle graduate from RPI. It is a good school but not ranked as high as Lehigh.</p>
<p>Thanks a lot trinitian, mumof2boyz and PABound. Please keep posting, guys. You’re helping me make a very important decision of my life.
trinitian- If you don’t mind, which country are you from?</p>
<p>I live about 15 min from CU Boulder and I am going to Lehigh! Both are definitely great schools! I don’t know a ton about Bethlehem but I know for sure that Boulder is way prettier than Bethlehem. It is right at the base of the flatirons and the campus is really nice.<br>
In terms of music in Boulder, there is the hill, fox theatre plus tons of places in Denver. Also, pearl st always has some street performers that are really fun to listen to. </p>
<p>I chose Lehigh because of the smaller size (5.000 vs. 32000) and all of the benefits that come with it!
If you have any other questions about Boulder I can try and answer them :)</p>
<p>Thanks trinitian. I’m from India. Thank you for your post corj93. Since you mention benefits of a smaller size university, can you please outline the potential advantages of attending a smaller university? Thanks.</p>
<p>I can tell you that my son is extremely happy he is at a samller school now - main reason is the professors, and major players in the University - dept heads, Deans etc, know who you are. You can get in to see them anytime and talk about anything. There is also a ton of personalized help available to students if you need it.</p>
<p>The environment is intimate - in fact, my son’s Chem I professor has taken a great deal of time out of her day to write him several, very personal, letters of reference for internships. I really believe that is one of the major reasons that he has gotten a paid medical research internship as a freshman.</p>
<p>I completely agree with mumof2boyz! With Lehigh’s size, you have small class sizes and availability of professors but you also still have great research opportunities and talented professors. Plus D1 athletics (can’t really compare to Big 10…).
And that is exactly what i am looking for- i wanted to be able to do research as an undergrad and still work with the highest level of technology. I go to a small high school (130 in graduating class) so I am used to knowing my teachers and developing relationships with them.</p>
<p>I graduated from Lehigh last year. Lehigh does not have a great music scene, though if you explore the Northside of Bethlehem, you can probably find what you want. Bethlehem is a great city. After 5 years of living here, I’m downright angry at people who talk crap about it…mostly, I just don’t understand what more could they want. Sure every building isn’t pristine, but get over it. The city is diverse, beautiful, and has character, there are events going on every weekend. </p>
<p>I did not study engineering at Lehigh, but I know the placement for jobs in engineering is excellent. I’ve heard mixed things about students’ relationships with their professors. I bet you can get in on some research if you are persistent. The happiest engineering students I’ve met are those in mixed programs: I.D.E.A.S–Integrated Degree in Engineering, Arts & Sciences; South Mountain College (brilliant alternative learning style–technically not for engineers, but you can apply anyway and get in); Integrated Business and Engineering, and the Global Citizenship Program. </p>
<p>A few words about the Global Citizenship Program. It’s a fantastic way to meet non-engineers interested in international relations and it’s open to all three undergraduate colleges. You get to study abroad twice (one trip is almost entirely paid for by Lehigh–the next on is to Malaysia). The requirements are flexible and usually don’t get in the way of your major. Anyway, I encourage you to look into it. The program changed the way I look a the world. Oh and the deadline’s coming up fast, June 1. As long as you get all your application stuff in, the letters of rec can come in after the deadline. lehigh.edu/~ingc </p>