I need some help

College Search & Selection
1

<p>Hello. I'm currently a high school senior and am most interested in studying nuclear, environmental, or chemical engineering. Since my parents are making me stay instate for at least my first year, I would have to eventually transfer to do nuclear engineering. My list of schools is short and consists of</p>

<p>University of Colorado - Boulder
Colorado State University
University of Colorado - Colorado Springs</p>

<p>At the moment I'm leaning towards UCCS because it is quite a bit smaller than the other two, but it only offers mechanical, computer, electrical, and computer science. The dorms are also really nice and my parents own a house about 2 blocks from campus. However, I do feel that it would be nice to go to school a little further than 30 minutes away from home.</p>

<p>I was really taken with the CU campus and the town of Boulder. It just seems like an awfully big school and I don't really like it's reputation for being a party school. I feel that I would be perfectly fine, but a smaller school would probably be a better fit.</p>

<p>CU and CSU have much better options as far as majors and are more widely known than UCCS. In reality I'm trying to decide between UCCS and CU; I'm going to apply to CSU just for the heck of it really. It didn't impress me all that much when I visited it.</p>

<p>Would I be able to apply to an environmental engineering, nuclear engineering, or chemical engineering graduate schools if I got a B.S. in mechanical engineering, or would I be better off to go the transfer route?</p>

<p>My parents are paying for my college and it is highly unlikely I'm eligible for need-based aid. Just for reference, my stats</p>

<p>3.7 unweighted gpa
31 ACT
a couple AP's
okish EC's</p>

2

<p>Hey pal, I am an international so I can't help you.
BTW, I am also a high school senior and looking into the possibilities of entering the colleges in north America.
Anyway, good luck :)</p>

3

<p>hey and thanks, you too.</p>

<p>does anyone have any advice?</p>

4

<p>It is true that Boulder has a reputation for being a party school but those reputations only mean that something is accessible, not that you are forced into it. There are lots of niches that do not party frequently in Boulder so if that were the only reason for crossing it off the list, I would say don't worry. It is also true that Boulder is a large public university and somebody from a small town like Pueblo (or wherever it is that you are from) might feel overwhelmed. That size comes with a lot of advantages that you probably aren't thinking about just yet - diversity of student organizations, departments with expert faculty in a wide array of subfields, great sporting events, networking possibilities etc. Also, you may be interested in NREL which has a lot of affiliations with the university. I would caution you against nonflagship schools within an university system, funding and resources are diverted to the largest and most prestigious school in a system. Also, college is about new experiences and it is unlikely that you'll get much of that two minutes from your parents home.</p>