<p>I'm a student at the American University in Cairo, Egypt, and I am planning on studying abroad for a semester in a US school sometime in my junior year. My school has extensive agreements with schools all over the US, but I've come to narrow my choices to these 4 universities:</p>
<p>University of Virginia, Charlottesville
Drexel University
Penn State
University of Washington, Seattle</p>
<p>I am a Mechanical Engineering major, and I've picked the schools above because of the reputation/good ranking of their engineering programs. I don't know what to choose though: Penn State's highly ranked engineering program, the UVa "stamp", Drexel's co-op opportunities with the benefits of being a private school (better students and smaller classes?), or University's of Washington's also good engineering program. Could you please tell me which one you would think would be the best, and the reasons behind your judgment ? Ranking them would be even better.</p>
<p>I would say Penn State, just because of their engineering program, and it’s located in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, which I hear is really nice. I think the diversity would provide a really unique and very interesting experience. :)</p>
<p>Anyways, I’m really no expert, but good luck to you! :)</p>
<p>UVA hands down - since they have the most stringent requirements for admission you will naturally find the students smarter than at the others. Since you’'ll be a junior classes wont be as large as for freshmen and sophomores.
Its really no contest in these 4 schools.</p>
<p>For engineering, UDub and Penn State are the best out of these. Penn State would provide you with the American college town experience, which is not common in other countries. However, it is also much more rural and isolated. UDub is in Seattle, a great city, and has a very global feel. It would be a great urban choice.</p>
<p>UVA would be an acceptable compromise between the other two if you’d prefer to avoid the cold. I don’t really see an advantage to Drexel.</p>
<p>I’ve just learned that my home uni’s study abroad program won’t let Mech Eng majors go to UWashington Seattle, because of agreements between both universities. So one down, three to go: either Penn State, UVA or Drexel.
To summarize, for Penn State, the things that get me down are: its huge party state school rep, its big classes and to a lower degree, its relative ruralness and isolation. Otherwise, great engineering programs.
Drexel is a small and somewhat engineering-oriented in a good location (Philly), which I kinda like. The other interesting thing about it would be the co-op program. I am planning on studying abroad on a Spring Semester and I am planning on applying for summer engineering internships while my stay at the US. I am not exactly sure about this, but I think Drexel has better contacts with companies, plus a highly formalized and extensive internship database that would make it easier for me to apply for and get into internships. The down point is, its engineering programs aren’t as good and well-ranked as Penn State or UVA’s.
At the moment, I am more inclined to UVa. Smart students, beautiful campus, great location, small classes, and nicely-ranked engineering programs.
Please tell me if I missed or misjudged something.</p>
<p>I agree w/you about the remote location of Penn State. Drexel does well w/co-ops, but you should look very carefully into whether or not that is available to guest students.</p>
<p>Penn State is huge, and filled with jocks. It’s also located in the middle of the Pennsylvanian woods, and can get really cold in the winter, which isn’t something the OP is used to. Assuming the OP lived in Egypt his/her whole life…having to go from warm Northern Africa to walking through two feet of snow in the-middle-of-nowhere, PA will be quite the culture shock.</p>
<p>I am actually Moroccan and the weather in my home country is colder and rainier than Egypt (we have snow in some places too !!), but of course without comparison to US East Coast weather. I don’t mind at all going to a snowy place, I mostly care about quality academics, reputation and the whole experience. But being in an isolated spot would be a big minus: after all, I would like to make the most out of my semester abroad. So from all the replies, I guess UVa would be the wisest choice.</p>
<p>I’d put in a vote for U of Washington. The Pacific Northwest is a really beautiful part of the US, and Seattle is a fun city. Don’t know much about the engineering program, but if post #7 is correct it would be a good choice. Also… there was a comment about the cold. While it is rainy in Seattle, you won’t get the same kind of snowy winter weather the other locations do. Snowy is interesting for a few days when it is new to you, but not so much when you have to walk around campus in it. You can go up in the mountains near Seattle for snow if that is important to you.</p>