<p>I'm a high school senior in GA & I'm interested in Chemical & Biomedical engineering. So far, I've applied EA to UGA, GAtech, CWRU & Rose-Hulman. I'm planning on also applying RD to CMU and UCSD in Nov. With those last 2 schools, that brings my total applications to 6- but I'd like to apply to 7 or 8 to be safe. Does anyone have any suggestions for my last 2 schools?</p>
<p>I'm concerned about finding a good fit. I'm not religious- but I'm respectful of others' beliefs. I'm white with decent SAT scores & decent grades, hetro, athletic- like to run, enjoy cooler weather, creative, don't drink or smoke, like diverse environments, and enjoy eating different vegetarian/vegan foods. Not that its really relevant, but I also hate country music, lol.</p>
<p>I don't think I'd be happy in TX or AL for 4 years of my life so I'm not applying to any schools there. I'm also not applying to Vandy, Duke or Emory- its awk but my parents don't like those schools.</p>
<p>I thought about applying to RPI, but was put off by their computer requirement- I know it sounds weird, but I really like my new mac and imagine being really ticked off (for 4+ years of my life) if I had to buy their required computer... </p>
<p>I considered University of Washington in Seattle. I'm not sure if this is a good fit for me? </p>
<p>Also considered University of Wisconsin, Illinois, Purdue, Virginatech, Notre Dame along with numerous others... </p>
<p>Anyway, I'm having trouble picking the last 2 schools. Any help with suggestions for my last 2 schools would be MUCH appreciated!</p>
<p>Well Rose is a VERY good school, but I doubt you’ll find much diversity there (at least not to the degree of other schools in more urban areas). Also they do include a laptop that comes preloaded with all software needed as part of your tuition and at least 2 years ago it was not a MAC. (And you might be able to avoid country music on campus, but not if you wander too far away in rural Indiana :))</p>
<p>Purdue is VERY different from Rose. Are you looking for a smaller school or are you interested in a larger one?</p>
<p>I saw the computer requirement at RH after I applied. I’m thinking that IF I get accepted there, I’ll email their admissions people to see if I could substitute my mac for their laptop. I really don’t understand how any engineering program could discriminate against a mac- it just makes no sense to me. But I’ll stop before I start ranting… I don’t mean to whine, but seriously, I’m 5’2 and I don’t want to lug around their clunky laptops for 4 years.</p>
<p>As far as school size goes, I don’t really have a preference.</p>
<p>Are you looking for schools that have both Chem E and Biomed E, then will decide later? You can’t really study both at once. </p>
<p>We looked originally for ChemE for my son, now studying EE, but he has a lot of the same sensibilities. Yes for UW Seattle and Madison. No for UofI and Purdue (probably more corn state than you want). Maybe for VT and ND. Definite no for RPI.</p>
<p>I had previously looked at WPI and was a little put off because of their ranking. But after looking at it more closely today, I’ve decided to apply EA there- I just need to ask for another teacher recommendation from my science teacher. It looks like a school I’d be happy at- except for their campus dining choices. I’m actually vegan and looking at their menus today I realized that I would have only been able to eat 1 meal there today- but that’s okay because I found A LOT of places nearby that I could eat.</p>
<p>Regarding RH’s rep of leaning politically right- I’m from GA so I’m used to being around conservatives. I’m pretty tolerant and that part wouldn’t bother me. However, the lack of diversity would be a major problem for me. My friends are Asian, Indian, mixed, black, white- just diverse. And if there isn’t any good curry nearby- well, that would be catastrophic.</p>
<p>D1 and a suite mate are here from RH on fall break at moment so I asked them about your post. Their thoughts:
Vegan - a challenge at dining hall. Vegetarian is doable as they have friends that manage.
Indian food - at least one decent place in Terre Haute that many students frequent
Diversity - poor. Comes mainly from international attendees.
Politics - Board is very conservative. Average student is less so.
Tolerance - good. Different political, religious, etc. views can lead to spirited but respectful debates, which most students actually enjoy.
Laptops - easiest thing is to lug their clunky one for course work and use your Mac for music, movies, FaceTime,…</p>
<p>If you are interested in Biomedical Engineering, think about applying to Boston University, its highly ranked. Overall it has a good engineering program, spends more on research per professor and has more NAE professors than WPI. It is very diverse, close to MIT and Harvard, which are also very diverse. So should be as good as WPI in my opinion.</p>
<p>If you’re applying to UCSD, why not apply to either UCD or UCSB, which both have excellent chemical engineering programs and all you have to do is check another box on the UC application.</p>
<p>What’s your financial situation? Can your parents afford any option? If not, you should stick to Georgia Tech. Also, Louisiana Tech offers BME and you might be eligible for the tuition discount by means of the compact of Southern universities. For an additional private school, investigate BME at George Washington University. Being a female applicant at GWU in engineering could be a plus. GWU is pouring cash into its engineering school lately.</p>
<p>I second the suggestion of George Washington U. My daughter is there now and and is loving it. They are trying to build up their engineering department (SEAS) and are hiring new professors and building a new engineering building. You’ll have to look at their Web site to see if they offer chemical engineering (I’m not sure they do). SEAS is very female-friendly and very supportive of their students. They want their students to succeed so they offer free tutoring and before school starts they send their freshmen engineering students on a retreat so they can bond. My daughter loved it because just a few days into her classes she already felt like she knew a lot of people because she met them at the retreat. </p>
<p>My daughter loves her engineering professors (she doesn’t like the calc prof who is in the math department or the chem prof though but she does like her writing prof).</p>
<p>My daughter didn’t get a good feeling from her visits to the University of Washington. They seemed like they could care less if a student attended their school and they don’t automatically admit students directly into some of their engineering programs (not sure about the ones you are interested in). My daughter didn’t want to risk going there only to find out a year or two into college that she would have to change her major. </p>
<p>GW was also very generous with a 4-year scholarship from the engineering department and great financial aid.</p>
<p>Have you run the net price calculator on each school, or have your parents assured you that they will pay the list price of each school (and they know the list price of each school)?</p>
<p>Out of state public schools tend not to be generous with financial aid (University of Virginia is an exception).</p>
<p>It seems to me that you’ve already found the engineering colleges that you are most interested in attending. Why do you need more than 6 to be “safe”? Decent SAT scores, decent grades, and female means you should be an attractive candidate to several of the colleges that you are already applying. If you apply to CMU but wouldn’t attend if accepted due to cost then that’s not really a good choice. Applying to #7 on your list doesn’t really make sense if you wouldn’t ever go there if accepted to any of the 1-6 choices.</p>
<p>Many of the big state U’s are just going to be different flavors of what you already have available with Georgia and Georgia Tech. Rose Hulman will be a completely different environment.</p>
<p>If you are dead set on leaving Georgia and your parents will agree on paying the likely higher OOS cost then I’d suggest you look closely at Virginia Tech. Their chem E program is highly ranked; they have a great program for female engineers (Hypatia); and their on-campus food is usually ranked 1-3 in the nation. There’s no prohibition against Apple products but all laptops need to meet some minimum specifications. Most likely you would need to add a tablet or buy a new laptop.</p>
<p>Are there automatic admissions to Georgia Tech and are you qualified?</p>
<p>People don’t consider the prestige deserved by in state colleges because they make it easy for good students to be admitted in state. </p>
<p>At least two of my friends’ kids are attending Georgia Tech from Texas and are paying the OOS tab for whatever minor numerical ranking superiority provided by Georgia Tech in engineering. One thing they did claim was smaller school size providing some advantage over UT or A&M.</p>
<p>Another plug for WPI!
About the food - The online info from the company that runs the cafeteria is not useful! The menus will just show the entrees and specials for that day. The cafeteria always has available: a grill station, a pasta bar, pizza, soups, salad bar, sandwich station, cereals etc. - beyond the daily specials and entrees. So there are tons of choices including vegan. Also some very good restaurants just off campus with lots of vegan options. The people at the cafeteria are very accommodating so you can let them know of any concerns you have. You can also contact them with questions.</p>