<p>Hi, I'm currently a highschool junior looking at engineering colleges and I need some advice. Although I live in Pa, I have a strong interest in California schools (I grew up there and have family living in California) and I've been looking a lot at Stanford, USC, and Cal Poly: San Luis Obispo. While I know getting into Stanford would be a huge stretch, I feel like I have a fairly reasonable chance at getting accepted into the latter two. Here's where my question comes in:</p>
<p>Could I possibly be overqualified for Cal Poly?</p>
<p>Although my stats (800M, 740CR, 4.0/4.4GPA) are somewhat higher than the averages at Cal Poly, I've only heard great things from people who went there. I don't want to disregard the school just because of some numbers.</p>
<p>So do the universities with more impressive "stats" actually give a better education? Is it better to be a big fish in a small pond, or vice versa? And if I want to go to graduate school, does it even matter too much where I go? Also, I'm hoping to major in Environmental Engineering (if that makes a difference).</p>
<p>Thanks in advance for responding!</p>
<p>Unless you’ve won a Nobel Prize at age 10, you can never be overqualified.</p>
<p>People with perfect 2400s on their SATs and perfect 36s on their ACTs have been rejected from top-notch schools in the country.</p>
<p>also I don’t think you’ll ever be the biggest fish in a small pond. you have to factor in people that would choose it for the atmosphere, or legacy, or financial reasons, that are brilliant people, or people with not impressive grades that are masterminds in their respective fields out of school… so don’t worry about not being academically challenged!!
Also, better universities usually just have better resources and harder workloads, but really in ten years I think it’s more on the individual than on the college.</p>
<p>Wherever you end up going, there will be people smarter than you. One of the iron laws of college selection.</p>
<p>Before you become too emotionally attached to any of the UCs, sit down with your parents and talk with them about how your family plans to pay for your education. Chances are that you would be better off completing your first degree at a public U in PA, and going to CA for grad school.</p>
<p>Hey, Please keep in mind that it would be perhaps an iron law to apply for one of the universities which is considered as “your best shot” in terms of stats, interests, etc. when you exercise “one of your only chances” in your life (I think college choice is surely one of them)
If you think you would be disppointed by the school name afterwards, it might be much better to pursue one of other options in which you do not think of yourself “overqualified”</p>
<p>Why aren’t Caltech and Harvey Mudd on your list? Especially Harvey Mudd, which is part of the 5 college Claremont Consortium, so you get the benefits of attending a much larger school with the personal attention of a LAC? If you haven’t visited, you should. And Caltech in Pasadena is near-by so you can see both on the same trip.</p>