Hi,
My son was accepted into both NCState and University of South Carolina-- into different schools interestingly enough.
He is not positive of what he wants to do (I suspect many freshmen don’t;)) but he is interested at this point in pursuing engineering, agricultural engineering and environmental sustainability. Both schools are out of state schools for him; he liked both- probably loved the campus at USC the most- but NC State seems to offer more focus on engineering and Ag. He is also interested in pursuing Navy ROTC- Marine Corp option. Any thoughts? He is looking for balance and will probably thrive more in an environment where he can develop relationships with his professors and find the direction he wants to move… Any insight really appreciated!!!
NC State is the “eng’g” school…it may also be a land-grant school if Ag. I don’t remember USCarolina having much eng’g…i know it has biomedE, not sure about the other disciplines. Clemson is that state’s eng’g school.
Are their differences in net costs? if so, what?
If USCar has an adequate CofEng’g then if he prefers that school, then fine.
He can get a very competent engineering education at USC-Columbia, but M2CK is correct, engineering at USC is second when compared to Clemson. Of course, Clemson is not one of your options. NCSU is an excellent engineering university, but I suspect that the engineering education at USC is a bit more intimate for undergraduates than at NCSU.
If he is interested in getting a NROTC scholarship after enrolling, make sure that they offer scholarships for Marine Option. I have seen indicators that Marine Option scholarships are only offered to high school seniors, and not to students who have already entered college. I suggest emailing the Executive Officer at either NCSU or USC.
He can still enter the Marines through NROTC, without a scholarship, but just make sure that he knows what he is getting into.
The regular Navy ROTC scholarships can be earned after starting college.
fwiw, NC State is a land grant, and has a very strong Ag / Ag engineering program.