University of Miami vs Appalachian State?

<p>Ok I know these two schools are completely different, but please hear me out.
I'm a Miami native, not a fan of the city life though. And I absolutely love Boone.
I was accepted to UM's College of Engineering, and App State's pre-engineering program.
If I go to UM: I'll probably just start and finish there. Or possibly transfer to MIT.
If I go to App State: I'll do two years of pre-eng and then transfer to another school. But what are my chances of being accepted into MIT, VT, or another good tech school? Would UM even bother accepting me as a transfer student? </p>

<p>My whole purpose for going to App State is to spend a little time away from home (it's pretty hectic) and to hopefully grow up and discover myself. I also go to Boone a lot and I always feel right at home there. Although App isn't as prestigious as UM, I've heard great things about it. </p>

<p>Academically, UM is better. But I feel App is good too. Does anyone have any opinions, suggestions, personal experiences, etc about these two schools? What about their engineering programs?</p>

<p>What are their costs?</p>

<p>UM is twice as much as App</p>

<p>Hmmm… I actually just finished enrolling at App a few minutes ago and I didn’t even know that Appalachian State had any sort of engineering program. It certainly isn’t known for engineering. Still, if you do very well in the program I think you could transfer to a good engineering school like VaTech. </p>

<p>Since App’s program is only pre-engineering anyway, I don’t think the prestige of the specific program will be as important to possible transfer schools as your GPA and demonstrated ability. If you really love Boone and money is a factor in your decision, I don’t see why going to Appalachian State for two years would be a bad idea.</p>

<p>Of course, I don’t actually know anything about Appalachian State’s pre-engineering program. If it is really, truly terrible; then obviously I can’t recommend going there. But I would think its pre-eng would be at least decent because Appalachian State’s academics in general are fairly strong.</p>

<p>I don’t know if you’ve seen this already, but here’s a webpage I just found that lists some of the engineering schools that pre-eng students at App have been able to transfer to: [Pre-Engineering</a> Program | Department of Physics and Astronomy | Appalachian State University](<a href=“http://physics.appstate.edu/academics/undergraduate-programs/pre-engineering-program]Pre-Engineering”>Pathways to Engineering | Department of Physics and Astronomy)</p>