<p>"Pomona and CMC offer 3-2 Dual Degrees in Engineering, not to mention Harvey Mudd, which contends with Caltech and MIT for top undergrad engineering students."</p>
<p>In other words, he'd have to spend an extra year, and transfer. (The number of CMC students who take extended curricula at Harvey Mudd you could likely count on one hand, maybe with several fingers left over.)</p>
<p>Well, that was probably a bit of an overstatement on my part. The only time I have spent in Bing was for a week-long summer lacrosse camp, so my perceptions were probably colored by the limited # of places we were taken in town (movie theater, coffee shops, a few restaurants). It seemed OK to me, but I have pretty low standards given the crappy small towns my parents and relatives are from, ha ha. The surrounding countryside was pretty, at least!</p>
<p>menloparkmom- I believe the deadline for USC scholarship consideration was yesterday (12/1) not on the 10th.</p>
<p>Wait, never mind. Apparently it is the 10th.</p>
<p>Count_</p>
<p>I grew up there and I'll give you the pretty countryside. Otherwise...</p>
<p>College application process is so cruel and sometimes so unpredictable. It's only a few $ (okay maybe about $100) more and just a little more effort to apply for another school. I say apply for 20+ schools, and apply even for the schools you don't really love at the moment. It will buy you higher hopes for guarantees and some peace of mind. In addition, while you are waiting for the acceptance letter of your dream school, you might receive a few acceptance letters which will be good for your nerves (and ego).</p>
<p>I outlined the engineering offerings of Pomona and CMC to demonstrate that something at the very least "remotely resembling engineering" existed there. The post wasn't really directed at the OP, as I don't think 3-2 programs are particularly attractive, for the same reasons you cite; few people actually end up doing them. </p>
<p>I doubt the OP will need more than a few classes at Mudd to fulfill his 'waning interest' in the field.</p>
<p>Sorry, I don't know where the university is located in Rochester. I've never visited. Perhaps the web site could give you more of an idea. The River Campus seems to be where most of the undergrad life is, and it appears to have many large grassy quads and so forth. No concrete jungles.</p>
<p>If you aren't interested in engineering, I would say look at the University of Chicago. The campus is "urban," but beautiful in the manner of Yale. The neighborhood of Hyde Park/Kenwood is more like Cambridge than a gritty urban environment.</p>
<p>"Are you sure its a safety, though?"
For you, with your stats an NMSF status, I'd say yes. USC is EAGER to pull in top academic students[ hence the generous merit $$] My son, whose stats were almost identical to yours, was accepted with a full tuition scholarship, and all of his friends at USC [ most are Engineering students] are also merit scholarship winners. USC encourages students to double major, and there are plenty of safe places to live nearby, as well as some dicey areas, but the same can be said of Yale, Penn, Chicago, etc..Freshman are guaranteed 2 years of on campus housing.</p>
<p>All I can say is apply [ before Dec 10] and see what happens. What do you have to lose by applying? You probably will hear mid Feb from admissions if they want you to interview for the Full Tuition scholarship, and will probably be notified of acceptance in early March. If that happens, you'll have the opportunity to visit and see what it's like for yourself [USC's Spring break is March 16-21- don't come that week] Pm me if that happens and you want to meet with other smart students at USC, and I'll pass it on.
By the way, S was accepted at Chicago, Dartmouth, Brown, Wash U, Pomona, Carleton and others but is happy at USC. He was not accepted at Stanford[ and was a legacy
there]</p>
<p>Final suggestion based on this"
As I said, engineering isn't really terribly important anymore, so having a top notch engineering department isn't as vital as it once was."
Have you looked at Reed? Top academics[ often compared to Chicago and Swarthmore], beautiful campus in Portland, and close to home!</p>
<p>Yes, why didn't you mention the obvious? Because you are from Portland and want to leave town? That's easy to understand. Reed is a safety for no one (fit is crucial), but might be a match for you, except for no engineering.</p>
<p>amciw, here is a link to last years USC accepted students thread- you can compare the stats of those accepted to your own to get an idea of your chances.
<a href="http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/university-southern-california/454785-stats-only-usc-official-decisions-fall-2008-a.html?highlight=accepted+2008%5B/url%5D">http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/university-southern-california/454785-stats-only-usc-official-decisions-fall-2008-a.html?highlight=accepted+2008</a></p>
<p>note the date this thread was started-late Jan 2008- many of those with the earliest acceptances also were awarded scholarships.</p>
<p>Oh, so I'll get in. I'll talk to my dad about it, and guess will apply. What about the safety in terms of personal safety, though? That is, seriously, an issue. Am I fine on campus?</p>
<p>
[quote]
Have you looked at Reed? Top academics[ often compared to Chicago and Swarthmore], beautiful campus in Portland, and close to home!
[/quote]
[quote]
Yes, why didn't you mention the obvious? Because you are from Portland and want to leave town? That's easy to understand. Reed is a safety for no one (fit is crucial), but might be a match for you, except for no engineering.
[/quote]
</p>
<p>I'm not from Portland, actually, but from Central Oregon. However, I looked at Reed for about three seconds, before realizing I didn't want to go to school in Portland, and more importantly, I wouldn't really like a place with such liberal views and activism (or marijuana use).</p>
<p>"Am I fine on campus?"
YES, as well as off campus, unless you are really stupid and ignore all the safety advice you will get at USC and walk around drunk late at night alone onto a few streets south of campus. You'll be fine. This subject comes up every year and yet 16,000 students end up going to USC. There are always lots of other students around, as well as plenty of campus police and there are safe methods[free rides] for you to get around at night. Just so you know, there are on average more reported rapes on the Stanford canpus each year than at USC.[ I live next to Stanford so we see the reports in the newspapers]</p>
<p>I don't think I have to worry about rape, fortunately, but okay. I'll discuss it with my parents, and most likely apply. Thanks for all the information, and to everyone else in the thread who has given input. More is welcome, especially in the Harvard vs. Yale debate.</p>
<p>amciw, Debating Harvard vs Yale is a massive time waster. Both are great, both are ridiculously selective. Apply to both. If you're so fortunate to get into both, then come back for a REALLY heated (but fun) debate.</p>
<p>I'm not sure my parents will be so enthralled with me applying to HYP, (and S), since they will think I am just applying for the name. I'm not sure how far the FA argument is going to take me, so deciding between the two is kind of necessary at the moment. I am very torn, sadly, so I'll probably end up doing both supplements and deciding (should I need to), around the 20th.</p>
<p>Additionally, I need a bit more advice, especially from menloparkmom. I was thinking of removing Pitzer, which was my other sort of safety, because looking into more deeply it appears that it is essentially Reed in southern California, which wasn't the college experience I was looking forward to. Is USC really secure enough for me that I could drop Pitzer and not jeopardize my chances for at least one acceptance?</p>
<p>Oh, momrath, I just noticed your question about my book's topic.</p>
<p>It rather complicated to explain, but essentially it details the experiences of an officer in a government military who is captured in an anti-rebellion operation. That is, he is captured by the rebels, and we see what he undergoes during captivity. The back story is that the country is under autocracy, as it has been for the past 15 years, and before that there was corrupt and wasteful government brought in by ignorance and currency. The country isn't specified, because I want to let the readers make their own connections regarding it.</p>
<p>Edit: Menloparkmom, the USC application says that the deadline for scholarship consideration is the first of December. How are you sure its the tenth?</p>
<p>amciw, after learning a little more about what you're seeking I really think you should look at the schools I mentioned above -- Hamilton, Colgate, Bowdoin, Middlebury, plus Williams and Amherst as reaches. Talk about your book, include an excerpt. LACs like that kind of stuff.</p>
<p>Oh dear, if it is the 1st then give admissions a call, tell them about yourself [ mention you are a NMSF] and see if they will give you an extension. But you will get at least 1/2 off Tuition for being NMSF, plus you would probably get financial aid as well.
Yes I would drop Pitzer.</p>
<p>I just reread your personal info and now see that you are male. My bad! Slap head for mentioning the rape stats earlier.</p>
<p>amciw, your PM mailbox is full.</p>