MIT, VT, MTU? looking at some colleges...

[Zeeky Boogy Doog]

i'm still looking at colleges, and one of my dad's friends recomended michigan tech

apparently his daughter went there and loved it, i had never heard of it, wondering if any of you had, i'm thinking most likely my major will be computer engineering
i do like the size of the school, i don't want to go to a huge school, and i like the aspect of the first year that is general engineering so i can decide if comp engineering is really what i want to do, and if it's not i can easily change my mind, but i was wondering what you all could tell me about it... have you even heard of it? is it good?... my dad said that his friend's daughter was even contacted by mit about going there, but decided she wanted to go to mtu instead, but, yeah, um so, what can you tell me? any other advice?

my gpa as of the end of first semester jr year is 3.957
class rank is 23/445
if you need to know anything else let me know, i'll see what i can do

also other recomendations are welcome, i'm always looking for more good schools

edit 2: what are your thoughts on the computer engineering as a major? do you agree with frankie that its a bad idea or can i go on with it and get a good job doing it? and a poll!

edited to make somewhat more standoutish from the rest of the thread titles i hope...

 

[Zeeky Boogy Doog]

(to the theme of bonanza) bumptiy bumptiy bumptiy bumptiy bump bump!

 

[Legendary]

Originally posted by: Zeeky Boogy Doog
i'm still looking at colleges, and one of my dad's friends recomended michigan tech

apparently his daughter went there and loved it, i had never heard of it, wondering if any of you had, i'm thinking most likely my major will be computer engineering
i do like the size of the school, i don't want to go to a huge school, and i like the aspect of the first year that is general engineering so i can decide if comp engineering is really what i want to do, and if it's not i can easily change my mind, but i was wondering what you all could tell me about it... have you even heard of it? is it good?... my dad said that his friend's daughter was even contacted by mit about going there, but decided she wanted to go to mtu instead, but, yeah, um so, what can you tell me? any other advice?

my gpa as of the end of first semester jr year is 3.957
class rank is 23/445
if you need to know anything else let me know, i'll see what i can do

also other recomendations are welcome, i'm always looking for more good schools

edited to make somewhat more standoutish from the rest of the thread titles i hope...

I'm willing to bet that your dad's friend is lying through the teeth about his daughter getting contacted by MIT, but that's just a guess. Rare are the times when MIT contacts people about their application, and even rarer are the times when people pass it up (especially since MTU doesn't look like a state school (I assume you both live in Michigan and would get benefits from being in-state and going to a state school.)

Anyway I'm no MIT admissions expert but the people that I know that went there (not including myself) were the top of the top of their class with GPAs like yours, 1500+ SATs, 750+ on basically all their SAT IIs (800s in both Maths + if they were thinking Chem, 800 in that, likewise for other concentrations) + 4s/5s on all their APs (literally all of them) and extra-curriculars like none other.

There's a reason it's a top tier school, and one of them is their admission standards. I would apply anyway though, their application isn't very hard.

 

[EvilYoda]

MIT and VT are still relatively big schools compared to MTU, but you have to know that MTU is way up in the middle of nowhere, where you can literally snowmobile to class every day. There is a crapload of nothing and just about as many females to go along with the nothing. I've had a few friends going there, having grown up in Michigan, but you have to be really dedicated.

Give MIT a shot, your numbers don't disqualify you, but depending on your extra-curriculars, test scores and blah blah blah, it'll depend. Best of luck!

 

[HardcoreRobot]

what are your sats? mit rejects 1/4 of its applicants with 1600s anyways, but you need a high score . no harm in trying, be aware that part of the application is an interview.

i was 30/715, ~1500 SAT, 750 SAT II Math 2C, with extras like basketball, NHS, and president of computer science club and got rejected, so good luck

and i hope you arent afraid of the water bc all MIT graduates have to know how to swim

 

[cosine17]

VT is a nice place (was there this weekend)

otherwise something to seriously consider when u decide. m:f ratio

hugely important :x

 

[monk3y]

I graduated from the University of FLorida and since my graduation I have been in Blacksburg, VA which is where Vtech is located. It's alot of fun here. Plenty of bars, women... and a great football team (I've went to one game). I'm not sure what you're looking for but Blacksburg is pretty much a town, you can find everything you need in terms of shopping but if you can't, Roanoke is around 45 mins away.

 

[iamwiz82]

I have a friend who was rejected from MIT for his Masters and he had a 1600 SAT, a 36 ACT, and a 4.0 coming out of Kettering University with a dual degree in CS and EEQ). It certainly was a reality check for him.

Anyways, I'd steer clear of MTU unless, as EvilYoda said, you enjoy nothingness. Something about requiring bulldozers to clear streets in the winter screams "RUN AWAY!" to me.

EDIT: Check out Kettering University. You may like it. You cannot be 4.5 years of real-world experience, either.

<- Kettering Alumni!

Kettering's Website

 

[screwd01]

theres many females here....i started as a CS major but changed to polisci because i stink, all my roomates, 7, are in the engineering college.

good school, pretty big, easy to get in to. 3.36, 1230 sat, 13th in class (bad high school)

but i am asian...hmmm, quota?

 

[frankie38]

I dont like computer engineering as an undergraduate major. I believe that you will not get enough of either Electrical Engineering or Computer Science to be qualified for a good job.
My recommendation would be:

1) Major in either Electrical Engineering or Computer Science. This will give you more indepth preparation for Graduaute School. Decide whether you like engineering or programming. (HW or SW)
2) Get MS in Computer Engineering from a leading school that specializes in something you want to do. check out IEEE.org for ideas. For example, Nanotechnology is emerging and is of great interest. find out what school /professor is doing research in that area.
Look to attend schools that are near high tech centers. That is schools such as Stanford , Cal Tech(near Silicon Valley), University of North Carolina (Near NC research triangle), get the idea.
3) Make sure what you want to do will be in demand in the future not just now. Otherwise you will be in law school if you cant find a job.

 

[Albis]

My friends love MIT. They say it's big enough but still feels like a great environment. It's like one big high school where people drink on weekends and party like normal college students. It has a great engin program and an amazing business school.

 

[amoeba]

MIT does have local alumni interview potential candidates out of high school but it is very tough to get in.

 

[RedPickle]

Any activities, volunteering, sports teams? I suggest going to a school where you can really enjoy yourself, cause nothing will ever be like college for you again. Find one where there is a good balance between school and having fun. I suggest a school with a great sports program, because those schools make you LOVE going there. Just a suggestion.

 

[toekramp]

i went to VT, it was awesome. but yes, the m/f ratio is messed up.

 

[LordMorpheus]

Originally posted by: EvilYoda
MIT and VT are still relatively big schools compared to MTU, but you have to know that MTU is way up in the middle of nowhere, where you can literally snowmobile to class every day. There is a crapload of nothing and just about as many females to go along with the nothing. I've had a few friends going there, having grown up in Michigan, but you have to be really dedicated.

Give MIT a shot, your numbers don't disqualify you, but depending on your extra-curriculars, test scores and blah blah blah, it'll depend. Best of luck!

don't forget to look at Rice U for engineering.

Very selective though (less so than MIT, but still is tough). Great school, great atmosphere (i'm here now).

kinda far from michigan, though.

http://www.rice.edu

edit: link isn't working as of now, we all got emails about how they are installing some new network hardware, and it looks like our local system is temporarily out.

 

[acemcmac]

I partied at VT last weekend................................

 

[Ketteringo]

Originally posted by: iamwiz82
I have a friend who was rejected from MIT for his Masters and he had a 1600 SAT, a 36 ACT, and a 4.0 coming out of Kettering University with a dual degree in CS and EEQ). It certainly was a reality check for him.

Anyways, I'd steer clear of MTU unless, as EvilYoda said, you enjoy nothingness. Something about requiring bulldozers to clear streets in the winter screams "RUN AWAY!" to me.

EDIT: Check out Kettering University. You may like it. You cannot be 4.5 years of real-world experience, either.

<- Kettering Alumni!

Kettering's Website

I'll second that, as I am a Junior at Kettering

You go to school for 3 months, then work for 3 months so you come out of college w/ 2 and a half years of real world work experience which is invaluable. That's the only reason I am here

 

[Kipper]

Please tell me you've looked at UIUC, Georgia Tech, CMU, and CWRU...

You may be better off looking for a small liberal arts college with a strong CS program so you can transfer out of the program into another major (i.e. bio, chem, history, etc.) if you end up not liking it. Many of the larger schools make it a tough time doing this.

Edit: BS seconded on the MIT issue. If MIT contacts you about your application, they want you and will throw money your way.

 

[aplefka]

Just go to junior college

 

[Zeeky Boogy Doog]

actually i'm in colorado, the my dad seems to think mtu was a really good school or something, and never having heard of it i kinda doubted him, so i asked here, but i qualify for the instate tuition for out of state people, anyway, um i'mll look more at that kettering website when i get home again, sounds interesting though, i'm not exactly expecting to get into MIT, but i'm not going to throw it out either, if they accept me i'd go, but not holding my breath, i've heard lots of good things about vt too, anyways, um, thanks for the replies, also, do more people think the same about computer engineering as frankie, is it a bad idea for an undergrad?