Narrowing down... ( help me! :)

College Search & Selection
1

<p>Which one, which one?</p>

<p>Well, its suddenly time to be applying to colleges, and, as many, I'm more than slightly distraught over college selection. I have a few (ten) I'm considering at the moment, and if you can spare a few seconds, I'd love to have your opinion or opinions on some of the colleges I'll list below (or if you have a new suggestion!). First, a little bit about me... information, expectations, and dreams to take over the world.</p>

<p>Academic/Career</p>

<p>PSAT 220 (highly expect finalist)
SAT 2220 (750 cr, 790 ma, 690 wr)</p>

<p>I am heavily set on Electrical Engineering for undergrad. Plan is to use this as a basis for masters engineering, business, or perhaps med school. Business world is attractive to me, and I'd like a career that moves from engineering into management or the like.</p>

<p>Financially
Household income (~90k) is too high for most need based scholarships, but family contribution will be tiny, almost irrelevant. Basically, I will need a full ride or lots of money at the school I attended. At this point, however, I'm simply trying to narrow down schools to apply to, money will be considered later.</p>

<p>Person/Personality
I'm white, but I tan quite nicely. I'm conservative, but tolerating. I'm social, but a little selective. Big schools don't scare me, but Im also attracted to a more "cozy" campus feel. I prefer to stay in the south, but I'd learn to cope in Ohio/Indiana/Illinois area. I also would rather stay east of Dallas. I am homeschooled and top of my class.</p>

<p>Alright. My school searching has led me to the ten universities below (add if youve got a good one!). If you have thoughts (positive or negative), advice, warnings, or an answer from heaven to my college choice dilemma, please post!</p>

<p>Texas A&M
Good engineering reputation. Perhaps so big it's impersonal? I think Texas is a good spot for business, so potentially also a good spot to start my life. Many complain school is not diverse, or coservative, but hey... that's me.</p>

<p>Clemson
Campus is sweet! This is the only school I have visited so far, and I did feel comfortable in the area. Worries are that the engineering program is not quite as strong as others, SC has some of the worst SAT scores in the nation, and money might he hard to get.</p>

<p>Auburn
National merit package is great, engineering is pretty good, but my concern is Alabama. I know I don't have to live my entire life where I went to school, but I think it's easier to start out in the same state, and I don't went to be in Alabama.</p>

<p>University of Alabama
Similar to above. Im thinking Auburn over UA though. Yeah?</p>

<p>Purdue
Scares me a little that the majority of students are from instate, and that state is northern. Anyhow, excellent engineering, nati</p>

2

<p>Accidentally hit post… Ignore the top. Mod, could you remove that first post?</p>

<p>Which one, which one?</p>

<p>Well, its suddenly time to be applying to colleges, and, as many, I’m more than slightly distraught over college selection. I have a few (ten) I’m considering at the moment, and if you can spare a few seconds, I’d love to have your opinion or opinions on some of the colleges I’ll list below (or if you have a new suggestion!). First, a little bit about me… information, expectations, and dreams to take over the world.</p>

<p>Academic/Career</p>

<p>PSAT 220 (highly expect finalist)
SAT 2220 (750 cr, 790 ma, 690 wr)</p>

<p>I am heavily set on Electrical Engineering for undergrad. Plan is to use this as a basis for masters engineering, business, or perhaps med school. Business world is attractive to me, and I’d like a career that moves from engineering into management or the like.</p>

<p>Financially
Household income (~90k) is too high for most need based scholarships, but family contribution will be tiny, almost irrelevant. Basically, I will need a full ride or lots of money at the school I attended. At this point, however, I’m simply trying to narrow down schools to apply to, money will be considered later.</p>

<p>Person/Personality
I’m white, but I tan quite nicely. I’m conservative, but tolerating. I’m social, but a little selective. Big schools don’t scare me, but Im also attracted to a more “cozy” campus feel. I dont drink, and I dont plan on participating in Greek life, but I still like social involvement and having fun. I don’t live for college sports, but school games sound fun. I prefer to stay in the south, but I’d learn to cope in Ohio/Indiana/Illinois area. I also would rather stay east of Dallas. I am homeschooled and top of my class.</p>

<p>Alright. My school searching has led me to the ten universities below (add if youve got a good one!). If you have thoughts (positive or negative), advice, warnings, or an answer from heaven to my college choice dilemma, please post!</p>

<p>Texas A&M
Good engineering reputation. Perhaps so big it’s impersonal? I think Texas is a good spot for business, so potentially also a good spot to start my life. Many complain school is not diverse, or coservative, but hey… that’s me.</p>

<p>Clemson
Campus is sweet! This is the only school I have visited so far, and I did feel comfortable in the area. Worries are that the engineering program is not quite as strong as others, SC has some of the worst SAT scores in the nation, and money might he hard to get.</p>

<p>Auburn
National merit package is great, engineering is pretty good, but my concern is Alabama. I know I don’t have to live my entire life where I went to school, but I think it’s easier to start out in the same state, and I don’t went to be in Alabama.</p>

<p>University of Alabama
Similar to above. Im thinking Auburn over UA though. Yeah?</p>

<p>Purdue
Scares me a little that the majority of students are from instate, and that state is northern. Anyhow, excellent engineering, nationally recognized name, fairly close to home (4hrs).</p>

<p>University of Illinois - Urbana Champaign
I dont really know much about this school yet, its one of my more recent “finds”. High ranking engineering program, not so far away (5hrs), cool guy I know went there.</p>

<p>University of Texas - Austin
Similar to A&M, diversity aside apparently.</p>

<p>North Carolina State Univeristy
I like the location of North Carolina, ocean but mild climate. This is another school I haven’t done much research on yet… :(</p>

<p>Vanderbilt
Good name, good engineering, I have family in TN, only 2 hours from home (could be bad), have good friends who are applying. Concerns are money and money.</p>

<p>University of Kentucky
I don’t want to go to UK, but I have a full ride through a KY program. Only on this list as a fall back of sorts…</p>

<p>There! Academic quality is the primary concern, followed closely by after-degree opportunities and social/campus life (it is fours years of my life)…</p>

<p>Any help is welcome! Also, feel free to ask questions about me if it will affect the advice you give.</p>

3

<p>I don’t think 90K is too high for need-based scholarships at all. </p>

<p>This may or may not be relevant, but US News ranks the top <em>graduate</em> EE programs in Texas and eastward as MIT, Illinois, Georgia Tech, Carnegie Mellon, Michigan, Cornell, and the University of Texas.</p>

4

<p>What is your state of residency? The in-state public universities are likely to be inexpensive, but the out of state public universities are unlikely to give significant financial aid.</p>

<p>Georgia Tech and Virginia Tech are worth looking into. Virginia Tech’s list price for out of state students is somewhat lower than most. More out of your region with relatively low list price would be University of Minnesota Twin Cities and Cal Poly San Luis Obispo.</p>

<p>University of Alabama has the generous Presidential Scholarship for high stats students (though if you are homeschooled, you’ll have to ask how you can get a 3.5 GPA for it). For engineering students, additional merit money is added to the Presidential and other scholarships.</p>

<p>If you want to go to Texas, also consider University of Texas, Austin.</p>

5

<p>Luke, Illinois is #6 undergrad, and purdue is #8.</p>

<p>ucbalumnus, I’m in KY, but I don’t really want to be.</p>

6

<p>Don’t be afraid to go to an Illinois or Indiana state school, nobody will care if you are from Kentucky. Purdue is a good engineering program, but it is a big school and many people feel “lost” there.</p>

7

<p>I’m a junior at Clemson majoring in civil engineering and the engineering program is fantastic! They just released a list of companies coming to recruit at the engineering/science job fair in a few weeks and there are 104 companies including recognized companies in each engineering field. Our engineering program is probably the most popular and best major on campus. SmartMoney ranked Clemson #8 on their list for the best return on your investment (average salary after college compared to tuition paid). The Wall Street Journal also ranked us #17 among a survey of engineering job recruiters of schools that they like to recruit at.</p>

<p>Source: [Colleges</a> That Help Grads Get Top Salaries - SmartMoney.com](<a href=“Spending & Saving - MarketWatch”>Spending & Saving - MarketWatch)
[School</a> Rankings by College Major – Job Recruiter Top Picks - WSJ.com](<a href=“School Rankings by College Major – Job Recruiter Top Picks - WSJ”>School Rankings by College Major – Job Recruiter Top Picks - WSJ)</p>

<p>We’re #3 nationally among public universities for the % of alumni who give back to the university. In the National Survey Of Student Engagement, 91% of students would pick Clemson again. The Huffington Post & Princeton Review had Clemson on their list of happiest students (also were on the PR list for best town-college relations). We were ranked as the 23rd best public university in the country, an up-and-coming university and #12 for our dedication to undergraduate teaching (rare at a public institution) by US News.</p>

<p>Yes, South Carolina K-12 education is terrible but having come from one of the best public schools in the Boston area, the students here are no idiots. I think something like 51% of students here graduated in the top 10% of their high school, 76% graduated in the top 20% and 98% graduated in the top half. I know many people who were valedictorians at their SC high school. As for SAT scores, the middle 50% of scores is 1160-1310 and for the ACT 26-30. These scores are comparable if not better than most of the other schools you posted along with Clemson. </p>

<p>If you are in the top 10% of your high school, you can qualify to receive in-state tuition (what they call an out-of-state tuition waiver). You already meet/exceed their SAT requirement (1370 for critical writing/math).</p>

<p>Definitely let me know if you have any questions about Clemson!</p>

8

<p>Let me address some of your other concerns as well as it relates to Clemson:</p>

<ol>
<li><p>Business school at Clemson is a great program as well in case you decide engineering isn’t your thing and you want to study management. Our business school was ranked 29th among public universities by BusinessWeek magazine.</p></li>
<li><p>Personality - You’re white? No problem, you fit in well here, Want to be in the south? Check! Conservative? You’ve found the right place as well. I’m asian myself and while most people are conservative and white (I’m in the mddile), everyone is very friendly and most (with the exception of some very ignorant people who are by far in the minority) people are very tolerant. The best thing about Clemson is that it’s a large school but it’s not large enough that it’s uncomfortable. We have 17,000 students here which is a very nice balance between a 1,000 person school and a 40,000 person school. I’m not a participant in Greek Life and have managed to have a very active social life. There are 300+ student organizations on campus so get involved in one of them and it’s a great way to show leadership, have some fun and meet people and some new friends! (met all my friends through FCA and Central Spirit - a school spirit club). Greek Life may seem big at first but in reality only 16% of people participate in it. That means there are 84% of people not in greek life. College football is a big thing here. Don’t expect to be doing any schoolwork on Saturdays in the fall. Tons of people have tailgates all day! (even seen some people up at 7 AM) Not gonna lie but diversity kinda sucks at Clemson but it is what it is in the south. 85% of the student population is white. Personally as an asian on campus it hasn’t bothered me at all.</p></li>
<li><p>Texas A&M concerns - The best thing about Clemson is that it’s big so there are a bunch of resources but also not big that it’s impersonal. I’ve never had a class larger than 100-120 people (no horrific 400 people classes) and professors are very willing to help you out if need be! There’s also a program called Creative Inquiry at Clemson where you can do undergraduate research with a faculty member. There’s a list of projects online so just find one you’re interested, contact the professor and go from there! (This isn’t something that is just limited to honors students, everybody can do it!) </p></li>
<li><p>Auburn/Alabama concerns - You definitely don’t have to live in South Carolina after you graduate. We get recruiters all over the southeast - Maryland/Virginia/Florida/Texas/North Carolina, you name it! If your GPA is good, you should have no problem going anywhere for a job.</p></li>
<li><p>Purdue concerns - (I actually applied here!) I think only 65% of students are from south Carolina so we have a very sizable out of state student body. I know so many students from Ohio, New Jersey, Florida, Massachusetts, California and I even have a friend from Washington and one from Alaska!</p></li>
</ol>