I now have some more perspective on what type of college to look for in the coming months. As of now it seems that I would be leaning toward some of the state colleges you all have recommended. While I do like the smaller classes of schools like Harvey Mudd or Olin, I do very much value research opportunities as well.
I will definitely do more research into these colleges and majors. After reading all of your replies, it seems that ED isn’t necessarily right for me.
@MaineLonghorn tbh I haven’t really considered Texas before this thread. Now I’m considering visiting this summer to get a feel of the college “vibe.” So far it seems like a school that matches my academic interests well.
Thanks again everyone! If anybody has anything to add please do!
Research is great but actually getting on the campuses will make the biggest difference.
Plan ahead to pack your late August/Early September with visits - you need to go when there are students there
It sounds like you have a few routes to explore
The small LACs/Universities with engineering degrees - Rice, Lehigh, Bucknell, Rochester - etc
purely tech universities of different sizes from Georgia/Cal tech to RPI/Worcester Polytech
honors programs at state schools
and maybe reaches like Stanford/Cornell
visit one from each category and then see which direction makes the most sense for you
get your butt out there to meet real life people there, wander the campus, get the “vibe”
In vetting schools with my son, we found honors colleges ran the gamut from meaningless to very valuable. At his school, Cal Poly, it’s largely useless for engineering. It adds coursework not germane to his curriculum and class sizes are already small. At Oregon State however, the honors college is extremely beneficial for engineers. Classes that are typically large lectures are limited to 20 students or less and taught by full time faculty who have to compete for the spots. Honors classes don’t stop at the introductory classes, but continue through thermodynamics. That said, Oregon State was in the minority. It was the only school he applied to that he felt the HC was truly valuable. As in searching for a school, the devil is in the details when looking at honors colleges. Don’t limit your search to HCs, but don’t write them off either.
Our son’s approach (very similar stats as yours) was to make a list of schools that you feel match, refine the list by researching and visiting as many as possible, then pick your top choice for EA/ED. Things that influenced his list included: strength of overall engineering classes, ability to mix in compelling non-engineering classes, school requirements on declaring (or not) your major when you apply, and quality of dorm life. His list (top 6) in order: Stanford, CMU, UIUC, MIT, UT (Turing), GT.
