<p>My top two priorities above all else in choosing a college are as follows:
1. An engineering program with a good reputation/professors (preferably aerospace or mechanical engineering)
2. Abundant, beautiful trails nearby. If the college has a cycling club (road or mountain), that would be great! I'm an extreme trail runner, and love both mountain biking and road biking. I am really unwilling to compromise on scenery - I want mountains with lots and lots of trails!</p>
<p>Also, I'm not looking for crazy, wild, project-x parties. I'm not a drinker/smoker, so preferably no huge party schools, unless they have some SERIOUS trails/programs.</p>
<p>Virginia Tech, CU Boulder, and Clemson come to mind. I’m at UVa and do a ton of trail and road running, but our engineering is just so-so. There are quite a few mountain bikers around that I know of, too.</p>
<p>Stanford, Princeton
Duke, Dartmouth
Cornell
Wisconsin
Colorado School of Mines
Cal Poly SLO, Colorado - Boulder, UC Santa Barbara, University of Hawaii, Virginia Tech</p>
<p>For a balance of decent engineering, beautiful campus, outstanding natural surroundings, and dry sunny weather? Where mere mortals have a realistic shot at admission? University of Colorado at Boulder.</p>
<p>Colorado School of Mines is in the PERFECT location (I mean, it’s COLORADO!), but from what I’ve read the students hate it and don’t even have time to enjoy the surroundings. I know coming from young college students this may be the case (their opinion) for any college, but it is somewhat worrisome. Also, Hawaii would be a dream, but I question the quality of their schools…any advice? Also, CU Boulder is another big contender, but I’ve also heard it’s a massive party school.</p>
<p>Berkeley also, for access to hiking / mountain biking trails and roads that lots of road bicyclists go on. Has mechanical engineering (and a super selective full ride Drake scholarship to apply for), but no separate aerospace engineering major.</p>
<p>Several UCs fit your criteria. UC Davis has adequate engineering, is close to the Sierra, and is a bikers paradise. UC Santa Cruz is in the mountains and gorgeous. Don’t know the quality of the engineering school.</p>
<p>Rose-Hulman is in Terre Haute Ind, which is very close to some great mountain biking areas in Southern Indiana. Southern Indiana, Northern Kentucky while not mountainous are very hilly.</p>
<p>Don’t let the perfect be the enemy of the good.
Nobody will force you to go to parties. Somewhere on a 25,000-student campus, there must be a few other engineering students who’d rather go for a hike than play beer pong.</p>
<p>Apply to a range of schools that all meet your most important criteria (even if not perfectly). See how admissions and aid shake out. Decide based on academics and cost, then request a substance-free dorm.</p>
<p>Thanks! You guys have all helped me tons more in one night than I could have hoped to accomplish on my own in who knows how long! Now time to get serious and narrow it down…</p>
<p>You won’t top Colorado School of Mines. I hike and bike, and there is no better place than the Front Range in Colorado. If you prefer a large university, Penn State and Virginia Tech both have great cycling (mountain and road) and hiking at their doorstep and excellent engineering schools. Another great small engineering school is Rose-Hulman (Ind.), although I’m less certain about the outdoor options. A great mid-size option is Lehigh University (Pa.), which has the added benefit of being close to the Delaware River with all that entails.</p>
<p>USMA at West Point. Their orienteering team members were in seriously great shape.</p>
<p>I’m surprised at some of the recommendations where you would have to run in snowshoes 4 months/year, though I do know a competetive guy who went to CO State. Back when I was cycling competetively, the guys from the southern schools had way more miles in the saddle than we had in upstate NY. FL>VA>NY, especially in April.</p>
<p>If you will have a car and don’t mind trail muck, University of Washington and the surrounding area have some of the best access to outdoor activities and a big outdoors club. If you have huge stats, Harvey Mudd would be an option; Oregon Tech is in a great spot if you have a 3.0.</p>
<p>If you want a huge outdoor experience and an unconventional, free education at a highly selective two-year school where over half the grads continue on to get their doctorate: Deep Springs.</p>
<p>Deep Springs doesn’t offer engineering. Additionally, both Georgia Tech and UC Berkeley are in horrible locations for people who love the outdoors but lack a car. If the OP is a California resident, he should check out UCSC, UCSB, and Cal Poly SLO all of which have excellent engineering and outdoors activities. UC Davis is the most bike friendly city in America, but it’s extremely flat and surrounded by miles and miles of farmland. Not the best for someone who wants to walk five minutes and be surrounded by nature. </p>
<p>Montana State has good engineering, and excellent outdoors opportunities. It’s a good choice for someone with less than perfect grades, particularly because if the OP lives in a WUE state, he might qualify for it. </p>
<p>Another Western school, Oregon State is right next to the forest and offers a TON of outdoor recreational clubs and activities. It’s Oregon’s engineering school.</p>
<p>In the South, Clemson and University of Alabama might also be possibilities, particularly if the OP doesn’t want to deal with the extreme weather of Vermont or Montana.</p>
<p>Have to go with Boulder. Real skiing, mountain trails, and relatively flat areas for long bike rides/races. Very active outdoors clubs. Great weather most of time. And all within easy drive or less.</p>
<p>Alright so a little more background on me might help: I live in georgia but would love to go out of state - hopefully west somewhere in the rockies. My family is middle-class (both my parents are on a teacher’s salary and are divorced). I’m in my junior year of high school and have straight A’s and a 4.0 GPA. I’m involved with cross-country, swimming, track, and I bike and do triathlon on my own. I’m also part of school clubs/extra-curriculars. Given my families income/savings, and that I want to go out-of-state, I am hoping for scholarships - as many as I can get. Are any of the colleges suggested known for out-of-state students or generous scholarships? Hope this helps narrow down the suggestions!</p>
<p>whenhen, from my understanding, Deep Springs was started by someone who needed to train engineers to be tough and live in the backcountry. The founder himself was an electrical engineer. It is true that they don’t offer an engineering major per se, but they offer many of the science and math courses that an engineer would take. They are only a two year school, and they expect their graduates to transfer to a four-year college. And their graduates do regularly go on to schools such as Harvard, U of Chicago, Yale, and Brown. Among their prominent alums are David Hitz, a computer engineer and Herbert Reich, an electrical engineer. </p>
<p>The OP may not be interested, but he is looking for scholarships and Deep Springs offers a top-notch education completely subsidized by scholarships. He also sounds outdoorsy, so may be a good fit.</p>