<p>DD2 has been accepted to 8 civil engineering programs and has narrowed choices down to UT-Austin, Virgina Tech and OSU. We're very familar with VT as DD1 is there. We just got back from UT and we all loved it. Will be visiting OSU in April. OSU has offered a good scholarship, VT and UT none. We are OOS for all three. </p>
<p>UT seems to have a robust Women in Engineering Program as does VT ,which we view as a huge plus. But we are concerned about the distance from home as well as the 90% in state population - will her only opportunities for internships and eventual job be in Texas?</p>
<p>Does OSU have a Women in Engineering office? We haven't received any communication from them. DD2 has been accepted into the Engineering Scholars program and there doesn't seem to be comparable opportunities at UTA or VT. The Buckeye Scholarship makes this the most affordable choice, but cost isn't the only factor.</p>
<p>We love VT but is it a mistake if both girls go to the same school? DD2 seems to be unsure about following in her sister's footsteps but also is concerned that she'll miss out on a great school just because her sister got there first. They talk about starting their own construction company some day - would they be better off having a more varied educational experience and networking pool?</p>
<p>Frankly, I would say that the scholarship is the only thing really going for OSU. It is a bureaucratic nightmare, and the weather is horrible. The campus is not special, nor is Columbus, but your visit will show you that. The engineering school is excellent but UT and VT are both better. Ohio, as a whole, is a shrinking state with a questionable future. Cincinnati, Cleveland, and Toledo were all on a list of the 10 fastest shrinking cities in America. Yikes!</p>
<p>Texas has the problem, as you say, of over 90% students being Texans. Mostly an issue because she might feel like she is a foreigner or something. However, no, that does not mean that employment possibilities are limited to Texas. I majored in civil engineering far away from Texas, but one of my professors got his Ph.D from UT and compared it favorably to MIT (no kidding!). Employment with a CE degree from UT has endless possibilities. Austin is the best city in Texas, and one of the most interesting cities in America.</p>
<p>I would lean toward VT, but if your DD2 is hesitant that could be the deciding factor. VT is way smaller than the other two… half the size of either UT or OSU, which are both gigantic. If she does not want to be overwhelmed by the campus then VT is the best choice. The campus is definitely better than OSU’s. The concern about networking pool is an interesting angle. You might have a point there. However, differing educational experience is not worth seeking out.</p>
<p>Are you sure these are the final three? Is Georgia Tech among your eight? Almost unsurpassed among state universities for engineering. Michigan is great too.</p>
<p>NROTC - thank you very much for your insights. In addition to VT, OSU and UTA, she was accepted to UConn, UMass, PSU, UWash and UWisc. I lobbied hard for Georgia Tech - I think she had a shot at getting in. But she didn’t apply in any case. Michigan is just too expensive for OOS and there was no chance of scholarships. So, again -she didn’t apply.</p>
<p>Size of the school is important to her - the bigger the better! Her graduating high school class is very small (less than 200) and she really wants a big school for the expanded opportunities - socially and academically. Big time football and other sports mattered too. As they say you can make a big school feel small but you can’t make a small school feel big.</p>
<p>Feeling out of place at Texas is definitely a concern. But she says she doesn’t care - that people are people no matter where you go. While that is true, I don’t think she understands the importance of shared experiences when making relationships. I am glad to hear that her opportunities won’t be limited to Texas but recognize that there will likely be more opportunities there than elsewhere. </p>
<p>Thank you for your frank comments about OSU. OSU is a contender because DD1 (the Hokie) worked with kids from OSU at her internship and she thought they were great - well prepared and hardworking. We thought it was a good sign that her DC based internship employer regarded OSU highly enough to recruit there. DD1 loved her employer and her employer loved the OSU students. That plus the scholarship availability for OOS students put OSU on the map. </p>
<p>thanks again for taking the time to respond.</p>
<p>@Bennnie, my OOS son felt very welcomed at UT. He said, “Mom, people here come up and TALK to me!”</p>
<p>I was a female engineering student at UT in the early 80s. Even then, I felt like “one of the guys.” I loved my time at Texas. I ended up getting my BS and MS there. If it wasn’t for my fear of oral exams, I probably would have stayed for a PhD. </p>
<p>What kind of engineering does your daughter want to go into?</p>
<p>Very good list of schools. But, I can see why you narrowed down to these three. Personally, I would have been sorely tempted by U.Washington because Seattle is wonderful and the weather is mild. Oh!.. and I lived there for 18 years before moving to Ohio. Might even return some day. However, if she wants some serious college sports, UW is not the place. They like football but do not love it. No other sport even registers.</p>
<p>Regarding U.Texas, you could think of it this way. DD2 would be regarded as rather exotic – a non-Texan! People will find her interesting, just because she is there. This is probably a good thing.</p>
<p>Also, remember that the state of Texas is enormous, and most of these students will not know one another from high school. Plus, Texas has one of the healthiest economies in the country (exactly the opposite of Ohio). If she wants to stay in Texas after graduation, it probably will be easy enough to get a job there.</p>
<p>VT is a big school, but UT and OSU are ENORMOUS! So, it is guaranteed that DD2 will go to a big school, one way or another.</p>
<p>Ohio State does have an excellent engineering school. So, that is not a problem. I trust that your visit will tell you pretty much everything else you need to know… other than that winters in Columbus are simply horrid. Even people who live here wonder why anybody would move here from out of state. Most residents would move to Florida if they could make it happen, and could take all their relatives.</p>
<p>All three schools love their football, but at both OSU and UT it is taken to the highest intensity possible. Even losing a single game is considered a form of incompetence for both the Longhorns and the Buckeyes. Hopefully DD2 will not catch that disease.</p>
<p>Thanks to everyone for their input. We appreciate the comments very much. When given the opportunity to pick UT without visiting OSU, DD2 made the mature decision to hold off until after she visits OSU. In the meantime we’ll be researching as much as possible.</p>
<p>I have a friend who goes to UT, would choose it over OSU just for the people, I really like Texans and the weather, so much better. Born and raised in Ohio, but I hate to admit all I boast about is the Buckeyes.</p>
<p>OSU and UT engineering isn’t even in the same ranks. And I wouldn’t advise putting both your DDs in the same place, its a sibling thing I personally dont like, and VT isn’t even in a college town like Austin or Chapel Hill, Athens. Or not a city like Columbus ot Atlanta. so they might not like their lives so intertwined? Depends on them though. </p>
<p>UT has had a very strong civil engineering program for decades. I had excellent stats and could have gone anywhere (as a female engineering student), but chose UT. Why go elsewhere when I had an excellent program in my backyard for $4 a credit hour? :)</p>
<p>If VT ends up seeming like the best option after all is said and done, I wouldn’t worry about her sister being there. They can see each other as much or as little as they like. Lots of Virginia kids have siblings at the same school because we have good schools and strong alumni. Sometimes a parent has also attended. Probably similar in Texas and Ohio.</p>
<p>Rundy3 - I don’t think their relationship would suffer as a result of attending the same college. It would only be for 1 year. DD2’s reluctance is based more on her desire to have the full college experience including the jitters of the first days and trying to figure things out for yourself. DD2 feels very comfortable at VT - almost too comfortable. </p>
<p>Sevmom is right in that at a large school it is likely very common for siblings to all attend. DD1 has several friends with siblings who attend/ed VT.</p>
<p>Additionally, a great mentor to my girls has suggested that, if they are intent on starting a business together, they might benefit from going to different schools and having a wider pool of contacts and experiences to draw from.</p>
<p>NROTC - it was the rankings of both VT and UT that drew us to the schools in the first place - particularly their rankings for civil engineering - both top 10. Agree rankings shouldnt’ be the only factor - but they are hard to ignore. </p>
<p>Thanks again to all contributing - this is what make CC great.</p>
<p>The decision has just gotten more complicated. DD2 is leaning heavily toward UT and we were okay with that since the cost of VT and UT were within the ballpark of each other. OSU is falling behind. But now, VT has just awarded her a $5K one year non-renewable scholarship, thus making the first year tuition differential more significant. First year is the only year we will have two tuitions to pay, so that $5K would be very helpful.</p>
<p>Are you sure that $5,000 is worth a major reconsideration of colleges? I tend to think that enthusiasm about a specific college is worth more than $1,250 per year (spreading $5,000 over four years). Just a thought. Also, see if Texas has any similar scholarships which require submitting an application for them.</p>
<p>Unfortunately she missed the deadline to apply to UT and be eligible for scholarship consideration by 2 days. We weren’t aware of the deadline. We’ve contacted the school to see if there were any scholarship opportunities still available but were told no. </p>
<p>NROTC - you make a great point about the $5K. </p>
<p>I have no doubt that she will be happy with either Texas or VT. I hope that you still intend to visit OSU. It does have a great engineering school.</p>
<p>By the way, it sounds like your family has done a great job in the college search. Just in the past two weeks I have run across two instances where the student reached too high (Ivy League, and other elites) but did not choose any good matches, and only one “safety.” In each case the “safety” was like swallowing vinegar to the whole family, but they had no other option. You do not have that problem.</p>
<p>Thanks NROTCgrad - thank goodness for CC and contributors like you and many others or we could easily have made the same mistake. It is impossible to overstate the value of this website. Without it, all we would know about VT was from headlines (none of them good) and all we would know about UT and OSU would be football. We’d be stuck in our NorthEast bias toward small private schools and never would have know the great opportunties and value that large public institutions across the country represent.</p>
<p>Thanks for mentioning the “NorthEast bias toward small private schools.” I got chastised for bringing that up on another thread. I know that the bias does, in fact, exist. Yet, it is nice to know that others recognize it too.</p>
<p>^As a UT grad living in the northeast, I also agree that the bias exists! Of course, it can go the other way, too. My dad, an engineering prof at UT, said, “Why does the kid want to go to a little school like that?” when I told him about a distance runner’s decision to attend Dartmouth. :)</p>
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