<p>Ok so I need some help guys :) I've recently gotten off my a** and decided to go to college so I do some test and send of a bunch of applications (albeit a bit late as the decission came in spring). Anyway I am now starting to get back some answers from the respective universities. So far I've been accepted to Central Washington University , Kansas State and the American University of Paris. I am from europe so location dosent matter for me. The thing is I've never heard anything about CWU although its ranked as a goiod master's-university (now what that means is beyond me). The only thing I now about the AUP is that they have a transfer program with NYU, The prince of monaco went there, and that it made a cameo appareance in the da vinci code :P. Kansas state I know litte to nothing of. So my dear friends will you help me by sharing with me the knowledge which you all possess?</p>
<p>You need to visit National</a> and Local Weather Forecast, Radar, Map and Report and learn everything possible about the weather at Kansas State U and at Central Washington U. Weather in the continental US is not to be taken lightly. It comes as a shock to most Europeans that I have met. How cold does it have to be before you consider it cold? How hot is hot? And where you live now, do you have humidity or tornadoes? Will you have the budget for the snow gear you might need?</p>
<p>What else is there to do near the university? On the chance that you might have some free time, where could you spend it? How expensive would it be for you to spend your time that way?</p>
<p>Would you need a car at the university? Could you afford to keep one? What would the car, gas, and insurance cost?</p>
<p>Both CWU and KSU probably have MySpace groups. Ask the international student offices about this. They should be able to put you in touch with current students who could help answer a lot of your questions.</p>
<p>Ok I will deffinetly look into the climate thing. As far as money is concerend its not the biggiest problem in the world, but obviously I want value for my money. Has anyone heard anything about these schools? In the sense that do they provide a good education?</p>
<p>Sammm, there is a world of difference in the type of students these schools will attract. At Kansas & Central Washington, most of the students will be local kids, many of them will work part time or even full time, while they're in school. Many of them will be in these schools because they did not have the grades/scores to get into their major state universities. AUP, on the other hand, is a school for mostly affluent, more worldly students. You need to decide what kind of a person you are, what you want out of your education, and where you want to live, eventually, europe or us. Your question about 'value' is also difficult to answer. Will you be paying full out-of-state tuition, as an international student? If so, the Kansas/Washington schools may be surprisingly expensive. On the other hand, AUP isn't cheap either.
I personally believe that you can get an excellent education anywhere if you know how to maximize each school's opportunities -- and that includes central Washington and Kansas. But are you the sort of student who really tries to get the most from your classes/experience? Who seeks out intellectually interesting peers and forms relationships with teachers/instructors? That's what it may take at schools like CW and KS.</p>
<p>Sammm, CWU is a decent school (altho NOT the top state school here in Washington), mostly local kids, located in a very small town. Ellenburg is pleasant, but not much there, frankly, if that matters to you. Hot in summer and cold and snowy in winter.</p>
<p>Thanks for some very helpful responses, I still have some time to decide and sitll waiting on some schools to reply to me (new College of florida , Purdue ) If anyone got any more advice it would be appreciated.</p>