<p>I graduated high school in 05 and was accepted to stevens institute of technology as a mechanical engineering major. it was a difficult time in my life and i decided it would be best if i withdrew from stevens. i spoke with the dean and was assured that if i could return i would be immediately reinstated.</p>
<p>after sorting out my life i have come to realize things i hadnt considered. over the past month i have had more time to look at other colleges and hear about what my friends have to say about schools they go to. basically my question is about what i should do now. I know stevens is a great school and probably the best that i would be accepted to, but I hear rutgers is much more relaxed and still very well known for engineering. also i have heard good things about rowan and tcnj. </p>
<p>another aspect of the problem concerns when i would be able to return to school. Stevens may allow me to return for the spring semester, whereas others do not accept engineering students mid year for spring semester. </p>
<p>any advice on what i should do? which school and when? is stevens worth all the extra hard work and money? are big schools like rutgers really that much fun?</p>
<p>zerox321 - As a transfer student myself in college, I can relate just a bit to your current situation. Since it appears that if you return to Stevens you will be starting with a clean slate academically and assuming your original reasons for choosing Stevens are somewhat intact (excellent and challenging engineering programs, etc.), my personal bias would be toward going back to Stevens and giving the university and yourself a really good shot there. However, if the landscape has changed substantially in both your personal life and academic pursuits (i.e. Stevens is no longer a fit), then by all means transfer to another university such as Rutgers. Since most universities don't accept students in the winter semester, consider attending Stevens again in the winter semester but start your transfer applications as well. Then you can have the best of both worlds, seeing if Stevens is really your cup of tea and having the choice (when accepted) to transfer to other universities next fall if you'd like.</p>
<p>your advice is sound. Stevens seems to have too many requirements, difficulties and expenses to go to. but as for going there in the winter i dont think thats the greatest idea. if i am accepted to rutgers as a freshmen next fall i receive much more in scholarship money. I plan on taking less than 12 credits at a community college this spring just to keep myself focused. this way i still qualify for the scholarships rutgers has to offer for freshmen. </p>
<p>is stevens really that much better than rutgers as far as reputation? and would it matter if i went somewhere else as a graduate student later?</p>