college options

i haven't attended any of those schools, but i do have something in common with you. i was dead set on engineering my senior year of high school. it was what i was "sure" i wanted to do for the rest of my life. so i ended up getting a great academic and athletic scholarship to a great school that offered engineering and was paying my tuition in turn for me to play football. sure, i liked the IDEA of doing engineering and the pay that would go along with it, but the reality of what i had to do to earn that degree sucked. nothing but calculus and physics for 6yrs. 6yrs of your life dedicated to that. plus 120+ degree football practices, (idk if you will have those, lol). i loved the idea of engineering. building things, understanding how things work, or creating whatever i wanted, it's awesome. i still find interest in it, but it wasn't right for me.

i changed my mind and came back after a year. i enrolled at a private college local to here. i decided then that i was a biology guy. eh, didn't work. decided i was an ecology guy, nope. since then i've changed schools again and my area of study. i'm in law enforcement classes and who knows if i won't change my mind again. my point is, you don't need to jump in head first with all this. it's hard, i know. people expect you to pick your life out at 17 or 18; if you rush it or jump on the first thing you like, you are making decisions that you might regret. because just like me, in a year, you might be totally turned against engineering. it sounds a lot cooler in the books and tv than it really is. you don't need to completely shut yourself off from everything else or limit yourself to one thing. why? because almost no college students graduate with the major they intended on when they enrolled. almost everybody changes their mind!

that being said, you might make a mistake by going across the country and being "sure" on engineering, and then a semester later be in a mess stuck over there hating the place and your classes. i know, because that's what happened to me. it wouldn't hurt you to at least go to a college somewhere near home (within driving distance), that has a pre-engineering program; just for a while. take it for a year or so, if you like it, finish your pre-engineering there and transfer to one of these schools you listed, if not, you will be in a much better situation than you would if you take off somewhere and commit to some school and degree you hate. you might laugh at everything i'm saying, but you should listen. i'm not some 40yr old dude trying to be your dad. this all is coming from someone who is 19yrs old, is a former engineering student, was in your shoes 2yrs ago, and has had a complete change of mind.

 

i will probably get my mba some time or another. i am usually good about becoming friends with teachers haha ill try even harder in college. i havent decided about rotc scholarship but if i do decide to apply hopefully i will meet people who could help me after i leave the military

yeah vt is probably the most practical school for me since it is fairly close it seems really cool! ill probably be visiting early in the school year to see what its like.

thanks for the info....is that lake jocasse family friendly or more like college friends go out when there not supposed to be there haha...i might use that as something to convince my mom to take a trip down there and visit it

that school had crossed my mind. my step dad went there...ill pm you though because his school living might be a little outdated haha

yeah it seems like it since it is in L.A. i feel like it would have plenty to do and even if i want something new i could go to SD or up north and visit friends...what major are you if you dont mind me asking? philosophy guessing from your name haha?

ill pm you...i am thinking of mechanical...not 100% sure yet though

thanks for the info! i think UT would be a good choice for me because i have a cousin who goes there that loves it...a lot of my family on my fathers side went there and my family on my moms side live in texas...it also has a wide range of majors too so i wouldnt be stuck with engineering there.

great info! do you know of any schools that have the hybrid? i would really like to know

 

jocasse is pretty family friendly. its the nicest of hte 3 lakes. the majority of hte coastline is not zoned for housing and is not for sale, so its got a isolated feel. there are still a handful of houses but they are all milti million dollar homes. its not quite the party lake that hartwell and keowee can be.

 

For financial reasons...I'd stick to an in-state public university. You don't want to be paying for college for the next 25 years.

 

Tech is a great engineering school. I was accepted there but decided to go to a place closer to home....I regret it. My cousin is at Tech right now and she absolutely loves it there.

If you want to go out of state, theres Penn State, NC State, Clemson, Georgia Tech, Purdue...all great engineering schools that should be within a days drive (Purdue will be a long day tho )

 

Im in the same situation right now and am also looking at Cal Poly SLO. Been there a couple times and the Agriculture systems management major looks pretty awesome. Im torn right now as to whether to go to a university as a freshman or to go to community college for a couple years then transfer. Im not really in a hurry to leave home(yet) and all my friends and family are here so im lost. Good luck with your decision man its a tough one. Ill be happy to answer as many questions as i can about SLO ive been there a few times

 

I graduated Virginia Tech in 2008 and really enjoyed it. I wish I was in-state like you so I didin't have to pay so much. Of course I have a biased opinion but you should go there.


Go Hokies!

 

ODU man

 

Lots of great advice in this thread, wish it would've been around this time last year lol! I'm a freshman ME major at SMU and haved loved it so far. I knew I wanted to do engineering so it really came down to what felt "right", which sounds so cliche but it makes all the difference. I looked into the big state schools (UT, A&M) an I couldn't stand the size of the campuses and student bodies, but that's just me. I did my research beforehand, like yourself, vistited campuses, and found a perfect fit. SMU is known for it's business program, but the engineering department is quickly gaining attention and funding. We have a partnership with Lockheed Martin which is actually really cool. So that's why I chose SMU, the engineering department is quickly growing, I'm going to have a minor from the business school (big plus IMO), and I'll be co-oping to gain experience. At this rate, you won't have anything to worry about, just keep researching and visiting campuses!

 

haha ive been thinking about it, i might apply

yeah i dont think the size of the school will really bother me, id liked to go to school in a bigger city, but there arent many like that in VA, but thanks for the assistance! i noticed you avatar is specialized, do you mountain bike?

 

it looks like you are willing to travel, and if thats the case, you may wanna start googling. you'll get far better results if you want to do engineering than what you might get from a truck forum.

Im currently doing mech engineering at auburn. There are plenty of good eastern US options for engineering. GA tech, Mississippi state (very good engineering actually), auburn, UNC, etc.

 

yeah ive used college board and google and stuff, just wanted to see if i could get some responses from personal experiences on here

 

PAC 10 ftw. UCLA!!!

 

yup! I went to CSU, Chico and they had everything i enjoyed in my free time, mtn biking / atv riding galore, drinking, floating down the river in tubes, fishing, snow not too far away. Also it was a super friendly bike town so i hardly EVER drove my car (to the point that i got warnings for it not moving)

outstanding advice! In my case i went to junior college first and lived with my folks and worked for years to be able to afford state. Out of the three places i wanted to go (Chico, Humboldt, San Diego) Chico had the best Recreational administration program, and the lowest cost of living. I was able to graduate loan free, and havent had steady employment since, so thats one less worry i have hanging over my head.