<p>So I was accepted to UIUC(Comp. Engineering), UC Berkeley(Letters and Science Comp Sci), UCLA(Comp Engineering), Gtech(Comp Sci) and UMICH (LSA Honors Comp Sci)</p>
<p>I was priority waitlisted at CMU for CIT ECE and SCS</p>
<p>My parents don't want me to go to Berkeley/LA because its too far away from home (NJ), and I have personally narrowed it down to GT and U of M. I plan to switch into the College of Engineering at UMich after I attend.</p>
<p>In terms of hiring prospects, prestige, quality of education, campus environment and difficulty of curriculum where would you suggest I go?</p>
<p>I am yet to visit GTech (will do very soon) but have visited UMich. I liked the campus atmosphere but it was quite cold when I visited. Although I can handle the cold, I am not overly eager for below zero mornings.</p>
<p>I realize that the weather at GTech is quite good, but heard that it is hard to succeed and get a high GPA due to excessive amounts of "weeder classes". Additionally, I heard that the campus has more of a "nerdy" feel to it, which I don't really like too much.</p>
<p>However, several of my friends have told me that a Comp Sci/Comp Engineering degree from GTech looks better than one from UMich.</p>
<p>Please help a confused high schooler out :)</p>
<p>go to UC Berkeley(Letters and Science Comp Sci). It’s ranked 3rd in engineering for decades.
It’s only 1-2 hours from Silicon Valley, that means so much more opportunities.</p>
<p>I have no idea why Berkeley and LA is too far from home NJ. You’ll still have to fly to Gtech and uMich (not drive there), and the most time consuming of flying is the ride to airport, checking in, going thru security, not the flight time.</p>
<p>If your SAT/ACT scores are at 75th%ile you should study hard and not worry about making the grades.</p>
<p>I just returned from Tech for an admitted students visit with my DD. They addressed a few of your questions:</p>
<ol>
<li><p>Tech has a freshmen retention rate in the 90’s which is excellent. If Tech had excessive amounts of weeder classes then this rate would be much lower since students would be flunking out. </p></li>
<li><p>Yes Tech is hard but that is because it is an engineering school. Engineering is a tough but doable major. If you put work into it you should be fine. You need to have good time management skills. Lots of students volunteered their gpas and there were from 3.3 to 3.8. All seemed very happy. </p></li>
<li><p>I wouldn’t say Tech has a “nerdy” feel to it. My DD who will be a freshmen in the fall plays 3 sports. She loved Tech the most because it is most like a typical college (her brother goes to Ohio State). Lots to do; D1 sports; greek system; plenty of traditions. She had spent one summer studying at Caltech and that definitely had a “nerdy” feel to it which is why she did not apply there. </p></li>
</ol>
<p>Good luck. You have some great choices. I suggest your trip down to Tech will answer all your questions. </p>
<p>Latuza: My parents still claim they don’t want me living across the country, so going to Berkeley/LA is completely out of question:( It still was my first choice school, however.</p>
<p>Itsv: That does sound good. I was really worried about being overwhelmed with work and my GPA suffering because of that, but GT sounds better now. I have a visit coming up soon, so that would ideally clear up any of the misconceptions I have. </p>
<p>Hey I think you should convince your parents for your future.
When u go to college, u would try to find the best internships, jobs. Many/most and maybe the best opportunities are all in Silicon Valley, Seattle: google, apple, microsoft, amazon, etc. They are all on the West Coast. Do u ever not want to intern/work at those places? I really don’t think u should limit your future just by extra 2 hours of flying time. How many times a year are your parents/you visiting each other? The essence of staying close is call/write to each other often, and 2000 or 4000 miles distance is not the issue.</p>
<p>I mean it’s your choice if u want to eventually settle down in East Coast/NJ, but u should think things thru before choosing colleges.</p>
<p>Also Berkeley/LA has a nice balance of good weather while not being very tech-focused like GT. But I would choose GT over UMich bc sunnier weather. Also UMich is super expensive vs GT</p>
<p>Sorry Latuza, my parents are pretty staunch on keeping me closer than that. But thank you for your opinion. And Mich is definitely more expensive by around 10k per year</p>
<p>Hey, you’re still making a good choice with those 2 schools and it’s nice to have family close enough to drive over.</p>
<p>Ga Tech has great industry partnerships like google glass, and Atlanta is a big city good for startups too.</p>
<p>Also at Ga Tech even out-of-state students pay in-state tuition for the time u study abroad, so that’s an option. </p>
<p>I feel u can know how well you’ll perform in college classes by how u have performed in high school. How rigorous is your high school and how do u usually rank in class? Do you get 5 on AP tests? Those are some good indicators.</p>
<p>But hardwork counts more than innate talent so be diligent and u can succeed.</p>
<p>I wouldn’t worry about the minor advantage in rankings for comp engineering favoring GT over Mich, both have great reps and are aggressively recruited. If you’re planning to head back to the northeast after graduation, you’d also see some boost from a stronger Mich alumni base there. While I think your concerns about GT are a bit overblown Mich will obviously be a less techy, more general U place. You’re heading down to Atlanta soon and will see yourself. Don’t sweat this decision until then. </p>
<p>11bawb: I have a feeling that my views on GT are a bit exaggerated, and you’re right in that my visit should clear up any misconceptions I have.</p>