Hello-
My daughter has been accepted to Mines and was later offered a partial track scholarship. We are unable to visit the campus and meet the coaches, girls on the track team and other students due to COVID.
My daughter is hesitant because she is very social and outgoing…the engineering students/graduates (cousins, older friends) she knows tend not to be extroverts. She is fearful she will not make any friends.
Can anyone tell me if she will be OK? Will she find kids like her?
Thank you so much for your reply and the news article!
Mines also just announced a new major in bioscience/biomedical which will move it up on the list for her!
My Son is a current sophomore at Mines. He is not shy and was very social in High school with a large friend group. He was barely ever home after school and when he was… there were other kids in my house. He is very happy at Mines. Has made lots of friends and would choose Mines again in a second. There are many shy kids and many outgoing kids. My daughter chose a Big Ten for the Rah Rah of football and tailgating. So depends on what your daughter is looking for. Professors are amazing at Mines!
Is there a running group or club? My son ran xc for 4 years and is hoping to find other runners. A running club is not listed on the website but I know they have a great xc team.
I’d love to hear more about Mine and your son’s experience there. My son has narrowed it down to Mines and University of Wisconsin -Madison. Two very different schools. He’s quiet, introverted but loves to group stuff. We want him to go to Mines b/c it seems like a wonderful environment. I’m worried he’ll get swallowed up at Wisconsin.
Is there a running group or club? My son ran xc for 4 years and is hoping to find other runners. A running club is not listed on the website but I know they have a great xc team.
so I think you were talking to the other person in the thread…BUT both my husband and I are from WI and are UW alumni.VERY EASY to get lost in the crowd there, my experience was sink or swim and I have encouraged my kids to stay away from those huge schools.
I love the size of Mines
I’m sure if there is not a formal running club at Mines there would be lots of opportunities to find people to run with. That’s just the nature of outdoor activities in Colorado. Running, hiking, biking, skiing all have many small and big groups in every town or at every college. Often the dorms will form groups for weekend activities or just have people show up who want to run ‘on Wednesday at 4.’
How has her first semester been? I have a son who is between Mines and Toledo. Two very different schools for the same reasons. Curious what her experience has been.
I have the same question as “ewb”. My daughter (OOS) has been accepted and with max merit scholarship, so Mines is a serious consideration. Loves the reputation, small size and Golden, but she has since become concerned with the social aspects. I know everyone says, it will be fine, but some of the comments made by students on Reddit is a little concerning. Our older daughter went with a large state flagship and it worked for her. Currently a practicing Civil Engineer having great success and fun in her career.
Mines has the same social opportunities as other schools . Went to a number of parties there when I was an undergrad (3 of my sorority sisters at CU married guys from Mines, so we all thought they were quite social). I know some current students (or recent grads) and they participate in Rodeo, have jobs, are in sororities, etc. This season the football team has been very exciting, once ranked as high as #3 in D2. The weather has also been great this fall (today, Dec 2, it’s 74) so outside activities are going strong too. Except skiing - very little snow!
It appears you have intimate knowledge of the Colorado schools. As you may have seen, our younger daughter is seriously considering Mines and CU Boulder. She has done a weekend virtual Girls in STEM seminar at Mines and liked the women she met. We toured CU in the Summer at Discover CU and she loved the campus. Thoughts?
CU is a typical big school with D1 sports, marching band, majors in everything from dance to geology to journalism. The engineering school is excellent (especial in aerospace). There is a whole section of campus that is just engineering. It is a really fun school with high energy and a lot of clubs and activities for its 30k students. The campus sits just above the city of Boulder and it is easy to walk down to the mall (maybe a mile from the center of campus) but most students don’t do that often. There is another commercial area, The Hill, that gets more student foot traffic. There are all kinds of students, from those just looking for fun to those who are very serious about school, but most are between those two extremes and are serious students who like to have college fun too.
Mines is much smaller and more concentrated on science subjects, especially engineering. It is in Golden, and the main street of Golden is just blocks away. I’d say the students are quieter, very serious, but also like to have fun (mostly on weekends). The women I know who attend think they have had wonderful opportunities in their majors. They all get great jobs on graduation. There is still an imbalance between the number of men and women at Mines, but they don’t seem to mind (my daughter went to an engineering school with an even bigger unbalance, and she didn’t mind either). There are plenty of social opportunities, but I think the students stick to their interests pretty closely. Several of the sports teams are very good. The football team went to the Div 2 semifinals this year and there are often TV profiles of the women’s track team and swimming team.
I really like both schools, but my heart is with CU. I really like big schools, but if a student likes smaller schools, Mines is one of the best.
My daughter LOVES Mines!
Her biggest worry was making friends…… she choose her roommate randomly and it worked out very well -her best friends are her roommate, a suitemate and 2 boys they met in the dorm next door on the first night. The 5 are inseparable and she feels she’s known them for years. She is also on the track team and has made good friends there as well. Great school! They really are in it together, support each other and keep each other accountable. It’s not a party school at all and I really like that. She doesn’t drink etc, a lot of that is due to track… but her friends don’t drink either. She is so glad she chose Mines!!!