Need some help in making a decision about college

Parents Forum
1

<p>Hello all :)
My S has just heard from his universities and I would like some advice with regards to institution choice and course of action.
To clear up, he had applied to all his institutes with MechEngineering as his major of choice, and he is sure happy with his choice and loves the field, though he would also like to get a minor/double major should it be permitted and do-able. He is a competent student and can take on extra coursework without much hassle.</p>

<p>The various decisions he got are as follows :</p>

<p>Acceptances: Purdue, UCLA
Waitlists : UMich(deferred EA) , UCBerkeley, Princeton (All on the same day too!)
Rejects: MIT, UTAustin(was surprised at this)</p>

<p>We are internationals with no financial aid (not much need either, but S will try to find ways to supplement the income by means such as external scholarships and probably a job which we agree would be a good experience).</p>

<p>So, we are primarily wondering about which university would be the better choice to enroll with, as we want him to pursue a postgrad degree as soon as he graduates. The main problem we have here is that he was wait-listed at UCBerkeley and Princeton, which are his dream colleges(along with MIT, but sadly a reject from there). So he wants to try for them still, but would accept whatever decision is made in terms of college. With that kept in mind, what would be recommmended? Should he send his SIR to one of the colleges and if an acceptance comes from the waitlist of these 2 institutes, cancel the SIR and send his new SIR within the one-week deadline for submission? Or should we just get ready to attend one of the two colleges where he got accepted and disregard an acceptance from one of the institutes where he was wait-listed? We want him to have a chance at attending his dream, but also have to keep in mind that there are many other things to do such as visa applications, medical tests, etc. which international students need to do.</p>

<p>In terms of engineering rankings, different sources seem to say different things. For example, USNEWS doesn't place UCLA in the top 10 whereas Purdue makes the cut, though Times Higher Education ranks UCLA as 10th best in the world for Engineering and Technology with Purdue coming in at 50th or something around that. And so on, there are very different opinions about the placement of these colleges. As internationals, we can't make campus visits and can't make a better decision than that based on what we hear and what the rankings say. So, what do you guys have to say about the environment for study, the campus life and all other relevant factors at these institutes?</p>

<p>Also, we are from a tropical place with lot of sun, and I guess LA has better weather for us, but this would be our last factor for consideration, as he has some experience with really cold weather and will just need to re-adjust to it. </p>

<p>Thank you for going through the post, if you did read this far, and I would love any of your feedback with regards to this :)</p>

2

<p>Bumping for some advice </p>

3

<p>Yes, you can deposit at one place by May 1, and then cancel if he gets off waitlist 1 and deposit there, then cancel again if he gets off waitlist 2, etc. up until school starts. The only issues would be that he will lose the deposit money, and he will have to have the I-20 for his student visa transfered from one institution to another. Don’t worry too much about that though. The International Students Office at the place where he finally decides to study can help him sort it out.</p>

<p>As to rankings, you can ignore them. The most important thing for him to know as an international student, is whether or not employers in his own country care about where he studies in the US. It is almost certain that after any OPT visa extension time (I think it is 18 months for engineering), he will either have to be in grad school, have pinned down an employer who will get him an H1B (work) visa, or he will have to go home. He can get into a good grad program from any of the places on his list. Don’t worry about that either.</p>

<p>It is perfectly OK for him to email the career office and the department at the places on his short list, and ask where international students in his major have been placed for summer internships, and where they have found employment after graduation. It also is OK to email the International Students Office and ask to be put in touch with any students from his country (or nearby countries) who are currently enrolled so he can find out more about what life has been like for them at that university.</p>

4

<p>Perdue is a bit off the beaten path. He will enjoy all the seasons including a cold windy winter.
There will be no smog and the traffic will be fine. The air is fresh. It might take him awhile to get home. Probably an extra plane ticket.</p>

<p>He will be fine at either school. I would have him look at what each school allows for credits per semester. Some let you take extra credits at no cost. Others will charge you extra. It will be important to keep a 3.0 or better in engineering. For grad school a 3.5 is preferred. Make sure he takes it easy until he gets comfortable with the classes and rigor.</p>

<p>Good luck.</p>

5

<p>UCLA is in a lovely, upscale part of Los Angeles (with higher rents). There are kids living in dorms as well as a lot of kids commuting. Los Angeles is very cosmopolitan and has a LOT of asians, including at UCLA. Los Angeles is a fascinating city and has many internship and job opportunities. The air quality varies but neither of my kids had problems with their mild asthma while attending the cross-town rival, USC in the more blue-collar section of the city.</p>

<p>UCLA is convenient to LAX airport and the weather is mostly warm and sunny most of the year. Our S didn’t start wearing long pants until winter of sophomore year, during a cold spell (definitely no snow or ice to contend with). Generally a warm sweatshirt is enough to stay warm most of the time when the temps are lower than t-shirt weather. Traffic can be a challenge but GPS makes driving in LA much more manageable. There is limited light rail and bus in parts of LA as well. </p>

<p>I’m sure your child will be fine at UCLA or Purdue for his undergrad engineering degree. If the grades are high enough and he does enough good research, he should be a competitive candidate for grad school.</p>

6

<p>Thanks for the input.</p>

<p>If I understand it correct, submitting his SIR to both UCLA and Purdue is not allowed, right?
Also, about the provisional admissions at UCLA : Does scoring less than the reported projected grades but still getting higher than the minimum required B grade equivalent jeopardize his admission? His projected grades are very high, but due to uncertainties in the correction of his final exam papers in our educational system(papers getting mixed up, cranky examiners etc.), he might end up scoring less than was projected (by about 5%, a fair estimate of any drops he might incur - his projected grades are at around 95% and a safe estimate of his actual score might be 90%-85%). Or am I just getting worked up for no issue and that it is a very small matter?</p>

7

<p>Is he admitted to the major at UCLA? If not, then getting into the major can be very difficult:
<a href=“http://www.seasoasa.ucla.edu/undergraduates/change-of-majord”>http://www.seasoasa.ucla.edu/undergraduates/change-of-majord&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

<p>For Purdue, all frosh intending engineering do the First Year Engineering program. Those to get a 3.2 GPA and technical GPA are admitted to the engineering major of their choice, except for biomedical engineering. For others, admission is on a competitive basis.
<a href=“School of Engineering Education - Purdue University”>School of Engineering Education - Purdue University;

<p>He should not submit an SIR to two schools (i.e. UCLA and Purdue) simultaneously. If he gets off a wait list, he can cancel an SIR (losing the deposit) and submit an SIR to the new school.</p>

8

<p>I don’t know much about engineering so I’ll defer on academic comparisons.</p>

<p>We also live in a hot sunny climate, but my son and many of his friends have survived and thrived in cold and snow. Kids get used to it. Some even grow to like it.</p>

<p>Another point to consider is how necessary it is to have a car. (This is assuming that your son drives. A lot of international kids don’t.) I don’t know about Purdue, but at UCLA it can be difficult to get around without wheels.</p>

<p>Right now your son needs to take a somewhat schizophrenic approach: look forward to attending of his two acceptances and simultaneously pursue the wait list(s) at his other choices. He has a few weeks before he needs to send a deposit and wait lists are constantly opening up. Whether he stays on the wait list after the acceptance deadline, is more psychological than financial. Some kids like to have it over and done with; some wait it out for months.</p>

9

<p>Well, my son got admitted into MechEngineering at UCLA, which is his major of choice, so we aren’t worried on that count.
So I guess we can’t go wrong with either choice, right?
How about the environment’s for study on both campuses? Does one have a clear advantage over the other?</p>

10

<p>Being an international student interested in Engineering, UCLA is your son’s best choice- both for the future as well as his 4 years as an UG. He will find a large group of peers at UCLA and in LA [USC’s incoming class is 17% international] - and the west coast is THE place to be for future engineers. </p>

11

<p>Hmm . Thanks for the advice :slight_smile:
However, if he does get into berkeley/princeton from the waitlist, they would be the obvious choice to send him to, wouldnt they?</p>

12

<p>

</p>

<p>Purdue would be a higher risk, because there is another admissions process to get into the mechanical engineering major (i.e. a greater possibility of not being able to do his preferred major), while, at UCLA, he would just have to stay in good academic standing if he has been admitted to the mechanical engineering major from the start.</p>

13

<p>Before you worry too much about the waitlist, see how many are typically taken from it. Often there are hundreds if not a thousand on them and they will take less than 50, if any. So concentrate on UCLA and Purdue (both are excellent choices) and if one of the waitlists happens to come through , take it.
I know you said you don’t want to consider weather that much, but when your child is in freezing weather, far from home, in a new country, with perhaps a second language, then weather is something to consider.</p>

14

<p>colorful,
Last year, Princeton put 1,395 students on the wait list. 33 were eventually admitted. Not great odds. However, at Berkeley, two years ago (latest data I could find) every student who accepted a place on the wait list (107) WAS admitted. Seems like a much greater chance at Berkeley. So, I wouldn’t get my hopes up at Princeton, but Berkeley might just work out if that is his preference. Have him make a deposit at UCLA(or Purdue) and make sure he does whatever Princeton and Berkeley have asked students to do who wish to remain on the wait list.</p>

15

<p>Thank you all :slight_smile:
Also, are there any downsides to submitting the SIR close to the deadline?</p>

16

<p>I think he will be fine at either, but UCLA will be the more interesting experience and likely is stronger academically. It is a beautiful self contained campus but in a bustling area. It has good bus service to the very close beaches and Santa Monica for outings. Getting around greater LA is harder but doable. There isn’t really any smog so close to ocean breezes and LA smog isn’t what it used to be. Students are going to be pretty serious about studying but there is lot of fun to be had. At any big college like the two, there are going to be multiple places for studying, he will find his little corner of a library or hopefully his dorm room. My CA kid did go to colder climates for college and grad school and got along just fine though she was able to experience North and South CA. I wouldn’t recommend that someone pass it up, but I’m biased. He should drop everything for Princeton should the unlikely happen. Going to a private school offers a lot of luxuries academically.</p>

17

<p>Some schools assign dorms based on when you send in the SIR, but many don’t. It’s not the end of the world not to get your first choice dorm.</p>

18

<p>Right … well, thanks for the help guys :)</p>

19

<p>Well, sorry to revive a dead thread.
My son just got an invitation to join Purdue’s Honors College, and I guess that throws a twist in all our decisions(he was leaning towards UCLA, but this kind of evens the scales in his mind, I guess).
Is there any significant benefit in joining the Honors college of Purdue that trumps anything UCLA can offer? Otherwise, everything seemed pretty even and the choice seemed to come down to other non-academic factors.</p>

<p>Also, how are the class sizes at both? I guess that both will have large classes, but I am not able to find too much on that.</p>

20

<p><a href=“Faculty and Courses - Undergraduate Admissions - Purdue University”>http://www.admissions.purdue.edu/academics/facultyandcourses.php&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

<p><a href=“http://webs.purduecal.edu/honors/application-for-admission/benefits-of-joining/”>http://webs.purduecal.edu/honors/application-for-admission/benefits-of-joining/&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;