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NFT: Requesting college choice advice for daughter

Floyd_Fan : 10/6/2015 11:25 am
She wants to major in EE/CS robotics, and wants to apply to
Worcester Poly, Rensselaer Poly, Stevens Institute, NorthEastern as her "preferred schools",
Rochester Inst. Tech, SUNY at Stony Brook, Virginia Tech, in order of preference, last 3 as her "safe schools", following campus visits.

Which ones support collaborative project development where students make each other better, which ones have good school spirit, which ones have good placement record after graduation, or other pertinent information or fact that you won't find listed in a glossy package.

When I made this request 2 years ago for my older daughter, I got some really good advice from alums and people with attending family members.

Thanks to BeerFridge, Metnut, Schnitzie among others, older daughter is very happy with her choice.
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RE: What state do you live in?  
Floyd_Fan : 10/6/2015 1:19 pm : link
In comment 12529851 njm said:
Quote:
In-state tuition would make a cost difference. If you're a Jersey resident I'd add NJIT to your list of safe schools. You already have Stoney Brook for New York.

Stevens is another possibility, but if it came down to RPI vs. Stevens the choice is obvious.

we live on Long Island, so Stony Brook is her in-state, convenient to commute choice.
RE: I found out..  
Floyd_Fan : 10/6/2015 1:23 pm : link
In comment 12529873 FatMan in Charlotte said:
Quote:
just last week at Maker Faire that Bucknell's engineering department now has a Maker space, which will deal with things like lasers/robots/3D printing.

You can check it out in the link below Maker space - ( New Window )

thanks. I forwarded the link to her.
Did she..  
FatMan in Charlotte : 10/6/2015 1:27 pm : link
go to Maker Faire in Queens last week.
RE: Did she..  
Floyd_Fan : 10/6/2015 1:32 pm : link
In comment 12530045 FatMan in Charlotte said:
Quote:
go to Maker Faire in Queens last week.

no, they had robotics competition & and worked on college essay, resume.

they want a resume from high school kids now. 2 years ago, that was not the case.
RE: RE: Did she consider Carnegie Mellon?  
BeerFridge : 10/6/2015 1:32 pm : link
In comment 12529633 Floyd_Fan said:
Quote:
In comment 12529618 jcn56 said:


Quote:


.


Canegie Mellon or similar might be out reach. She is in the center of the bell curve as far as qualifications are concerned on the "preferred choices" list, so those are more realistic.


I suggest she aims high. It's just an application fee paid by you on the line.

Seriously, I went to RPI but had the somewhat misfortune of getting into every school I applied. I thought MIT was out of reach for me and it would have been my first choice. I was happy with how it all turned out in the end but wondered for a long time what if I had applied to MIT?

Troy has gotten less and less shitty all the time since I was there a long time ago - the hipsters have arrived to gentrify. It's a good place to go to school. Carnegie Mellon is great, too. I loved it but it was a bit farther than I wanted to be from CT.

She has a great list. My recommendation is to get on the road and check these places out. She will probably have a gut feeling about which one feels most like home to her and you will have all kinds of chances to ask the questions you want about curriculum and such.

And I don't remember what I said last time, but you're welcome. :)
Women in STEM are in very high demand  
WideRight : 10/6/2015 1:35 pm : link
Why not raise the ceiling? Add a few top tens: MIT, Caltech, Northwestern. You never know.

Thing about technical schools is you need access to resources, so the bigger the better. RPIs the biggest and best of what you listed
I would also recommend Stevens  
T in NJ : 10/6/2015 1:51 pm : link
they have great engineering and technical management programs.
RE: RE: RE: Did she consider Carnegie Mellon?  
Floyd_Fan : 10/6/2015 1:54 pm : link
In comment 12530075 BeerFridge said:
Quote:
In comment 12529633 Floyd_Fan said:


Quote:


In comment 12529618 jcn56 said:


Quote:


.


Canegie Mellon or similar might be out reach. She is in the center of the bell curve as far as qualifications are concerned on the "preferred choices" list, so those are more realistic.



I suggest she aims high. It's just an application fee paid by you on the line.

Seriously, I went to RPI but had the somewhat misfortune of getting into every school I applied. I thought MIT was out of reach for me and it would have been my first choice. I was happy with how it all turned out in the end but wondered for a long time what if I had applied to MIT?

Troy has gotten less and less shitty all the time since I was there a long time ago - the hipsters have arrived to gentrify. It's a good place to go to school. Carnegie Mellon is great, too. I loved it but it was a bit farther than I wanted to be from CT.

She has a great list. My recommendation is to get on the road and check these places out. She will probably have a gut feeling about which one feels most like home to her and you will have all kinds of chances to ask the questions you want about curriculum and such.

And I don't remember what I said last time, but you're welcome. :)

You said that for an architecture major, it is like a school within a larger school, and they sort keep to themselves. I warned her about that, and she joined activities to join the larger community.

While Troy looked pretty bad as a first impression, it kind of grows you over time.
RE: RE: RE: RE: Did she consider Carnegie Mellon?  
BeerFridge : 10/6/2015 2:06 pm : link
In comment 12530196 Floyd_Fan said:
Quote:
In comment 12530075 BeerFridge said:


Quote:


In comment 12529633 Floyd_Fan said:


Quote:


In comment 12529618 jcn56 said:


Quote:


.


Canegie Mellon or similar might be out reach. She is in the center of the bell curve as far as qualifications are concerned on the "preferred choices" list, so those are more realistic.



I suggest she aims high. It's just an application fee paid by you on the line.

Seriously, I went to RPI but had the somewhat misfortune of getting into every school I applied. I thought MIT was out of reach for me and it would have been my first choice. I was happy with how it all turned out in the end but wondered for a long time what if I had applied to MIT?

Troy has gotten less and less shitty all the time since I was there a long time ago - the hipsters have arrived to gentrify. It's a good place to go to school. Carnegie Mellon is great, too. I loved it but it was a bit farther than I wanted to be from CT.

She has a great list. My recommendation is to get on the road and check these places out. She will probably have a gut feeling about which one feels most like home to her and you will have all kinds of chances to ask the questions you want about curriculum and such.

And I don't remember what I said last time, but you're welcome. :)


You said that for an architecture major, it is like a school within a larger school, and they sort keep to themselves. I warned her about that, and she joined activities to join the larger community.

While Troy looked pretty bad as a first impression, it kind of grows you over time.


Ah yes, this I remember. Glad your older daughter is enjoying it!
FWIW, RPI has a woman for its President  
SwirlingEddie : 10/6/2015 2:15 pm : link
I can only assume they give at least as much attention there to women in engineering as any of the others. They also have, on the school spirit front, a decent college hockey team which seems well supported by students and community.

Best of luck to you and your daughter.
Stony Brook has a special...  
manh george : 10/6/2015 2:16 pm : link
Women in Science and Engineering program. (WISE.)


Did you check that?
Link - ( New Window )
RE: Stony Brook has a special...  
Floyd_Fan : 10/6/2015 2:17 pm : link
In comment 12530275 manh george said:
Quote:
Women in Science and Engineering program. (WISE.)


Did you check that? Link - ( New Window )

yes, she is applying for that and honors college.
thank you.
I went to Stony Brook in the late 60's and 1970.  
manh george : 10/6/2015 2:21 pm : link
Absolutely hated it--but it certainly has changed a lot. I hear good things about honors and WISE. The quality of the students in the regular tracks is high for a NY state school, but not super-impressive. Much better in honors and WISE.
Has she thought about Cooper Union?  
T in NJ : 10/6/2015 2:22 pm : link
Now there is an outstanding school with tons of cred.
RE: Has she thought about Cooper Union?  
Floyd_Fan : 10/6/2015 2:26 pm : link
In comment 12530299 T in NJ said:
Quote:
Now there is an outstanding school with tons of cred.

I am not too sure after their president decided to gamble the endowment in the stock market. weren't they victimized by Madoff?

I don't know how that affects their current R&D facilities budget.
I 2nd Purdue  
NNJ Tom : 10/6/2015 2:27 pm : link
for obvious reasons.

Football team sucks, but the school is outstanding.
RE: Has she thought about Cooper Union?  
BeerFridge : 10/6/2015 2:36 pm : link
In comment 12530299 T in NJ said:
Quote:
Now there is an outstanding school with tons of cred.


really hard to get into. Like Harvard/Princeton hard.
Those first 3 schools are nothing like Virginia Tech  
AJ23 : 10/6/2015 2:43 pm : link
With that said, Virginia Tech has a very good engineering program - #21 in US News & World Report - and comes with the name recognition that could land your daughter a job anywhere in the US.
RE: RE: Has she thought about Cooper Union?  
Floyd_Fan : 10/6/2015 2:46 pm : link
In comment 12530335 BeerFridge said:
Quote:
In comment 12530299 T in NJ said:


Quote:


Now there is an outstanding school with tons of cred.



really hard to get into. Like Harvard/Princeton hard.

I also spoke to parent of a Cooper Union kid who graduated with a degree in Architecture. He worked so hard to finish the program, that by the time he graduated, he wanted nothing to do with architecture.

I think their EE may be similarly difficult.
RE: Those first 3 schools are nothing like Virginia Tech  
Floyd_Fan : 10/6/2015 2:55 pm : link
In comment 12530361 AJ23 said:
Quote:
With that said, Virginia Tech has a very good engineering program - #21 in US News & World Report - and comes with the name recognition that could land your daughter a job anywhere in the US.

We were very impressed with VT when we visited it 2 years ago, on the college tour for our older daughter.

they were number #5 in the country in her major, but she just did not "feel the vibe". So I am not surprised that they are ranked high in EE/CS for our younger daughter.
I'm a EE from Rutgers, and have hired many, many engineers  
PatersonPlank : 10/6/2015 3:07 pm : link
Out of the list you had, IMO RPI is #1 followed by Northeastern. I have hired people from both. I would also say that she should add MIT (if her grads are the best), Johns Hopkins, Purdue, and Carnegie Mellon.
RE: I'm a EE from Rutgers, and have hired many, many engineers  
Floyd_Fan : 10/6/2015 3:14 pm : link
In comment 12530400 PatersonPlank said:
Quote:
Out of the list you had, IMO RPI is #1 followed by Northeastern. I have hired people from both. I would also say that she should add MIT (if her grads are the best), Johns Hopkins, Purdue, and Carnegie Mellon.

I would be afraid to send her to Baltimore (John Hopkins)
Call it a weird side effect watching The Wire a few years ago.
If you are worried about safety  
NNJ Tom : 10/6/2015 3:17 pm : link
Than Purdue should move up your list.

West Lafayette is basically Mayberry with a major university.
Homewood (Hopkins) is actually a decent area.  
Bill L : 10/6/2015 3:40 pm : link
Roland Park, which is very close is a great area. But, if you walk a little bit, it can degenerate like in most every large city. Baltimore has a lot of character though.
I wouldn't rule out Clarkson  
AP in Halfmoon : 10/6/2015 3:49 pm : link
for the EE program.
EE from Stevens  
jcp56 : 10/6/2015 10:23 pm : link
It is a nice, close campus, but a small, expensive school.

A few of my colleagues went to Manhattan College in NYC and did well. My partner's son and daughter are both in RPI. They like it.

My son is EE/CE double major at Johns Hopkins. The campus and surrounding area is safe. It's expensive, but they are very responsive to students needs (not like working with a large bureocracy).

I work with professors from NYU (formerly Brooklyn poly), and their program is on the rise.

Rutgers will give you good bang for the buck.

Also check out Bucknell, Lehigh and Cornell. U-Penn has a good engineering school too.

Your daughter should visit small-medium-large and rural-suburban-rural campuses to see what she likes. I think the degree matters more so than the school.
RE: RE: Has she thought about Cooper Union?  
Big Al : 10/6/2015 10:43 pm : link
In comment 12530335 BeerFridge said:
Quote:
In comment 12530299 T in NJ said:


Quote:


Now there is an outstanding school with tons of cred.



really hard to get into. Like Harvard/Princeton hard.
Actually some stupid people have got in.
Civil engineer here  
BH28 : 10/6/2015 10:51 pm : link
Applied to most of those same schools, ultimately chose northeastern for the co-op environment. I really think it is invaluable in getting solid work experience prior to graduating. There are co-op opportunities anywhere in the world that she can take advantage of.

I had work experiences in three different fields of civil engineering before I graduated which really helped narrow down the field I wanted to pursue post graduation
RE: I wouldn't rule out Clarkson  
Rick5 : 10/7/2015 1:03 pm : link
In comment 12530497 AP in Halfmoon said:
Quote:
for the EE program.

I posted about Clarkson on another similar thread. I am out of loop as my EE degree is from way back in 1990, and I left the field 20 years ago. In any event, I always remember Clarkson being talked about very positively back then.
out of the loop.  
Rick5 : 10/7/2015 1:04 pm : link
...
CS/EE grad here  
JonC : 10/7/2015 1:16 pm : link
and Robotics was my initial field of interest when looking at schools back in 1987, and it seems the top schools remain the same as back then : RPI, Northeastern, and MIT or USMA if you're willing to aim high.

I wound up at a SUNY with no robotics program, but got re-directed by this thing called a router and the Internet in '89 as an undergrad. Would agree an excellent engineering school in general will present a number of career options.
Rick  
AP in Halfmoon : 10/7/2015 1:28 pm : link
My son is a recent Clarkson grad and we're all very pleased with the program, placement, etc.
RE: Rick  
Rick5 : 10/7/2015 1:29 pm : link
In comment 12532536 AP in Halfmoon said:
Quote:
My son is a recent Clarkson grad and we're all very pleased with the program, placement, etc.

Cool!
RE: CS/EE grad here  
Rick5 : 10/7/2015 1:34 pm : link
In comment 12532477 JonC said:
Quote:
and Robotics was my initial field of interest when looking at schools back in 1987, and it seems the top schools remain the same as back then : RPI, Northeastern, and MIT or USMA if you're willing to aim high.

I wound up at a SUNY with no robotics program, but got re-directed by this thing called a router and the Internet in '89 as an undergrad. Would agree an excellent engineering school in general will present a number of career options.

The SUNY schools are a great value. I remember that you attended a SUNY school, but I can't remember which one. I had a double major in physics and EE between Geneseo and Buffalo. I was really happy with that program, and it was definitely rigorous. I was always worried about debt, so I never really considered any private schools. My brother got into Cornell but also attended a SUNY school for the same reason.
SUNY schools are indeed a great value (two of my kids are SUNY grads)  
Bill L : 10/7/2015 1:39 pm : link
In re-thinking though, I wish the one who went to Geneseo (a really nice school) went to somewhere a little less isolated. I don't know if Clarkson is the same way. I did have some students and techs who got their degrees from places like Potsdam, SLU, Canton and said the only thing to do there is get drunk and STD's. That wouldn't have been my choice as a parent, so, I would say that location does play some role in making a choice.
RE: RE: CS/EE grad here  
JonC : 10/7/2015 1:41 pm : link
In comment 12532560 Rick5 said:
Quote:
In comment 12532477 JonC said:


Quote:


and Robotics was my initial field of interest when looking at schools back in 1987, and it seems the top schools remain the same as back then : RPI, Northeastern, and MIT or USMA if you're willing to aim high.

I wound up at a SUNY with no robotics program, but got re-directed by this thing called a router and the Internet in '89 as an undergrad. Would agree an excellent engineering school in general will present a number of career options.


The SUNY schools are a great value. I remember that you attended a SUNY school, but I can't remember which one. I had a double major in physics and EE between Geneseo and Buffalo. I was really happy with that program, and it was definitely rigorous. I was always worried about debt, so I never really considered any private schools. My brother got into Cornell but also attended a SUNY school for the same reason.


Hey Rick, I'm a New Paltz grad. As enticing as the big schools were (and I wanted to attend UNC Chapel Hill in the worst way, but the baseball scholarship didn't show up), the SUNY degree and only $9500 in college debt in the end worked for me as well.

I've wondered if life would've been different now if I'd gone away to school ... alumni stuff, maybe an easier time to bump into a future wife etc ... but it was a low cost, low friction option.

I had the shittiest tours of..  
FatMan in Charlotte : 10/7/2015 1:42 pm : link
Clarkson and RPI. At clarkson they told us each student would get their own PC and things were going well until we walked outside and 4 inches of snow fell in an hour. We were in a whiteout until we hit Watertown.

At RPI, I stayed with a kid right before finals and teh rest of the hall took his books and confiscated them which sent the kid into the biggest meltdown I've ever seen. I had top call the baseball coach to pick me up and I spent the night with his family.

Both schools I really had high on my list of attending.
Bill L  
AP in Halfmoon : 10/7/2015 1:43 pm : link
There's a not a lot to do in Canton or Potsdam but that's an exaggeration. Clarkson is demanding so there's not a lot of free time to begin with. Students who enjoy being active, skiing, etc are probably better suited.
FatMan  
AP in Halfmoon : 10/7/2015 1:45 pm : link
I'm not sure when you toured the campus but the free PC program is a clue. The campus has changed a great deal since then, for the better. Unfortunately, the weather hasn't.
AP..  
FatMan in Charlotte : 10/7/2015 1:49 pm : link
it was 1987. I had narrowed my choices down to University of Rochester, West Point, Bucknell, Princeton, Clarkson, RPI and Cornell.

My parents offered me a free car to go to West Point, but believe me, you don't want me on that wall. You don't need me on that wall, and my ass wouldn't have been able to drive a car until I was a senior, probably. So I compromised and applied for an ROTC Scholarship. My main decision was to go either Army ROTC or Navy ROTC.

I ended up going Army and choosing Bucknell. The only thing I could have looked back at is if I should have gone to Princeton, but the way things have turned out, I don't really think I've done that.
It's true that West Point wouldn't have let you drive the car  
Bill L : 10/7/2015 1:51 pm : link
until you were senior.

But on the up side, they would have loaned you the money to buy it yourself.
In effect they did..  
FatMan in Charlotte : 10/7/2015 1:52 pm : link
anyway through the ROTC Scholarship:)
RE: SUNY schools are indeed a great value (two of my kids are SUNY grads)  
Rick5 : 10/7/2015 2:56 pm : link
In comment 12532574 Bill L said:
Quote:
In re-thinking though, I wish the one who went to Geneseo (a really nice school) went to somewhere a little less isolated. I don't know if Clarkson is the same way. I did have some students and techs who got their degrees from places like Potsdam, SLU, Canton and said the only thing to do there is get drunk and STD's. That wouldn't have been my choice as a parent, so, I would say that location does play some role in making a choice.

Bill, Clarkson is in Potsdam too. I loved my time at Geneseo. I made some great friends there that I am still in touch with to this day. Those were three of the best years of my life!
thank you all for your input.  
Floyd_Fan : 10/7/2015 5:31 pm : link
Anecdotal info that you provided is really valuable.
Cornell ...  
DonQuixote : 10/8/2015 10:15 am : link
Why is Cornell not being included in this discussion. Seems to be the strongest Engineering in the Ivy League, and it fits geographically. Am I wrong there?
Ivy League  
Maryland Giant : 10/8/2015 11:07 am : link
No merit money +
No athletic money =
-------------------
No thank you.
Stony  
DanMetroMan : 10/8/2015 11:09 am : link
Brook is a very cold campus (lots of commuters) and is very, very cliquey. I hated it there and left as soon as I could (keep in mind this was 2000-2001)
Rowan University in NJ  
Bubba : 10/8/2015 11:21 am : link
often gets overlooked but they consistently rank in the top 10 of all engineering schools in the country. Worth a look.
RE: Ivy League  
SwirlingEddie : 10/8/2015 11:43 am : link
In comment 12534113 Maryland Giant said:
Quote:
No merit money +
No athletic money =
-------------------
No thank you.


However, the Ivy's have some of the largest endowments and financial aid budgets of any schools out there, so it's the net cost that matters more than the top line.

For example, if your household income is less than $100K/yr then your accepted student can attend Dartmouth tuition-free. That's huge.
True  
Maryland Giant : 10/8/2015 12:35 pm : link
If you are eligible for large amounts of need based aid, you are in good shape for the Ivies. However, if you are not eligible for large amounts of need based aid it is utterly unaffordable.

Such is life.

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