<p>Senior admitted to the above engineering programs, struggling to decide - criteria were well-regarded engineering program and larger school with "big sports program" and strong tradition - any input?</p>
<p>Which is his in-state option?</p>
<p>Does he have any scholarships at his OOS publics?</p>
<p>No in-state option (did not like U of Illinois) - A&M healthy scholarship, not much elsewhere</p>
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<p>Texas A&M has all three…heavy on the strong tradition. I don’t think anyone is indifferent to Texas A&M. I think it is cult-like but I am in the minority. I bet 90% of the population is in the LOVE category and 10% is in the hate category.</p>
<p>TX A&M is definitely and “love it” or “hate it” school. But it has a very strong engineering program, great school spirit, good sports programs, and tons of tradition.</p>
<p>thank you - think he was leaning toward A&M but then visits to NC State and VT made the decision tougher</p>
<p>Engineering is a broad field. I would do two or three things:
- Research each school’s specific field of engineering that you are considering and determine which has the strongest undergraduate program and reputation. How strongly are their undergraduates recruited for summer internships and future jobs?
- If you’re going to grad school, determine the likelihood of transitioning at the same school. Or if you want to go to a different grad school, what is the probability of being accepted from the chosen undergraduate school.
- Do a net cost analysis including travel costs to return home. Which school is the cheapest and also meet items 1 or 2?</p>
<p>I’m from NC and freely admit my bias for NC State. You already know that sports and tradition are big. But one thing many prospective male students don’t realize, and is irrelevant to the educational merits, is that the male/female ratio is more balanced in Raleigh than NCSU stats reference. Raleigh is home to three female colleges (Peace, St. Marys and Meredith). During my first two years of college at Peace (only a 2 year college back then), I spent quite a bit of time socializing on State’s campus and off campus since that’s where the boys were! My roommate eventually married a NCSU guy. So, there’s definitely no shortage of females in Raleigh! :)</p>
<p>Oh, there’s female Ags!</p>
<p>Sounds like S has some great options. Va Tech folks are also ardent fans. I’d be tepid about Purdue – it’s not been as welcoming as some of the others. </p>
<p>Texas A&M is an enormous pond. S WILL be in classes of 300 at least some of the time. It can all be a ton of fun (was for me) but students do need to be self starters to do well. (No one is going to notice that you slept through and weren’t in class). I would trust the kid’s gut. All his choices are valid and strong options.</p>
<p>Go Wolfpack! S1 and DH are alums. Both loved NCSU and Raleigh.</p>
<p>TAMU definately has all 3. I’m a Former Student but now live outside Raleigh and spend some time on the NCSU campus. NCSU is a good school; it is smaller than TAMU. However, TAMU is by far bigger on the traditions. It is an enormous school, but it is possible to find a niche.</p>
<p>Where do they want to settle/work/live? Around here, an engineering degree from VT would trump all the others easily. (We’re in PA.) I would suspect a similar bias might be found in other areas of the country. Employers like to hire from schools they are familiar with.</p>