<p>Hi, thank you for coming.</p>
<p>Which of the following schools do you think is the best match for me? I am going into electrical engineering and want to go to a top engineering grad school like MIT. I want to go to a place where the research is just ground breaking and where people are PASSIONATE about what they do- not just a bunch of party schools. Quirky schools are fun to, but the people need to be smart and enjoy problem-solving so as to add to the intellectual vitality. Which of these campuses has that? Thanks in advance.</p>
<p>Rose-Hulman
Rice
U Texas-Austin
U Michigan
U Wisoconsin
U Marlyand
Purude</p>
<p>I'm applying to other schools as well but out of the ones I listed, which do you think is the best fit for me?</p>
<p>All of those schools will have quirky students, great research opportunities, and students who enjoy going above and beyond in their classes. I would think that Rice would have the greatest concentration of them, but all of the schools on your list can offer exactly what you want.</p>
<p>What’s your home state? How much can you afford?</p>
<p>Ah, great! I live in California and anything cheap hahaha.</p>
<p>None of those particular OOS publics will be cheap. How much will your parents pay? </p>
<p>The amount that your parents will pay will largely determine where you should apply.</p>
<p>Yeah, I understand, but cost is really my last thing because after applying, I’m only going to apply to scholarships.</p>
<p>The odds of getting outside scholarships that will cover the school’s cost of attendance and what your family can afford are quite low. Likely the only school that would be affordable, if you can get in, is Rice. OOS universities are generally poor with financial aid, and Rose Hulman, although it’s an excellent school, graduates students with a great deal of debt. </p>
<p>Can I assume you’re applying to some of the UCs? Within the engineering world, many of them have excellent reputations and offer an enormous number of research opportunities. Some, like UCSC, have a paucity of grad students relative to the amount of research that goes on which makes advancing in a lab much easier. </p>
<p>What are your stats?</p>
<p>In looking at your criteria, you state that you want a university where the “research is just ground breaking”. In that case, you probably want a research university with Ph.D. programs in your field. Rose Hulman has some Masters programs but it is not as research oriented as the others on your list. You might also wish to look at other [Association</a> of Independent Technological Universities: AITU](<a href=“http://theaitu.org%5DAssociation”>http://theaitu.org) schools, a number of which are research intensive.</p>
<p>Yeah, I understand, but cost is really my last thing because after applying, I’m only going to apply to scholarships.</p>
<p>That’s a recipe for disaster. Applying for scholarships will not likely help you pay for four years of college. Most of the private scholarships out there are for small amounts and ONLY FOR freshman year. What will you do about paying for the other three years.</p>
<p>If your parents won’t pay all the costs for college, then you DO have to be concerned about cost and qualifying and getting financial aid or merit scholarships. Otherwise, you could end up with a handful of acceptances with a couple of small freshman year only scholarships. Then you couldn’t afford your choices.</p>
<p>Yeah, but like I said, I only listed a few.</p>