Engineering with a more "interesting" student body - Page 3

twomules · 10-20-2009, 09:19 AM

Vassar has a program in conjunction with Dartmouth, if you are open to 3-2 programs. And Wesleyan has one with Columbia and Cal Tech.

hudsonvalley51 · 10-20-2009, 09:52 AM

BordomBeThyName -- Thought about getting involved with the new robotics club at Lafayette? From what I've heard from my daughter their are a fair number of quirky engineering students involved in it. Sounds like you have ended up in a dorm with a high percentage of athletes, as the actual percentage of student-athletes at Lafayette is around 25%. It seems a little early to be thinking of transferring.

static75 · 10-20-2009, 09:02 PM

Can you define "interesting"? You pretty much want to surround yourself with theater geeks in college, correct? And engineers? WPI comes to mind. But honestly, it's really hard to get the best of both worlds in one. I think you need to set your priorities straight, to be honest...lol, no offense. Maybe it's because I'm starting to look at careers, but just make sure you stay somewhat serious in college too. Seriously :P because if all you really have to show for after four years of colleges is a b.s.-ed resume and n arsenal of multiple, hil-ar-i-ous facebook albums, you'll need luck to land a good career/future, you know? :S

I.e. have fun in college, but don't choose a college based on how much fun and coolness you hope to find there. It isn't all about fun and coolness, sadly. well, it is for a bit and it'll always be there, but maybe not as conspicuously as "quirky." :/

momomom · 10-20-2009, 09:04 PM

Check into Franklin W. Olin ... look at its mission and type of students it attracts.

static75 · 10-21-2009, 01:25 AM

^Okay, Olin is a REALLY good one. Totally and completely agree.

BordomBeThyName · 10-21-2009, 06:18 PM

twomules,
Dartmouth really kind of strikes me as a more selective version of the place I am already, but I've looked into the Wesleyan program, and kind of like it.

hudsonvalley51,
You know, I saw one poster for them at the beginning of the year but haven't seen a thing from them since. My dorm *does* have a lot of athletes, but even outside my dorm, I've met roughly four people who don't spend all of their free time playing sports, and I haven't met a single person with an interest in art (although that will presumably change next semester when I get to take some arts classes). I haven't given up on this school yet, and I plan on giving it every chance I can. So far though, it doesn't look promising, and if school keeps being like this then I want to have a good chance of getting out to somewhere I like.

static75,
Not particularly theater geeks, I just want there to be some sort of active arts culture. I do like theater people, but that's just because they tend to be extroverted artists. Don't think that I'm ignoring my future though. I've already started looking into internships for this summer, and the engineering schools that I'm looking into transferring to aren't exactly B.S. institutions (Brown, CMU, Columbia, Swarthmore, Case Western Reserve, NYU, Penn, WPI). I know that college is about the education primarily, but that doesn't mean it shouldn't be enjoyed.

momomom,
Honestly, Olin was really underwhelming when I visited. I know that the education is incredible but the school's culture seemed completely... nonexistant. The entire humanities curriculum consists of 20 classes, and the reason I went to a liberal arts college is so that I wouldn't be stuck in an infinite expanse of engineering, science and math.

twomules · 10-21-2009, 08:53 PM

Have you ever looked at Harvey Mudd? They have some hard core engineering going on but also have the 4 other colleges right there in the consortium.

static75 · 10-21-2009, 10:44 PM

hey, fair enough, didn't mean to attack you. sorry! CMU actually doesn't really let you take Liberal Arts classes, well, at least if you're in CS. I think. Check it out. I got into that program and was pretty disappointed. :/ Also, only the theater/art kids there are artsy. I.e. the engineering students are relatively depressing lol. In my opinion. Maybe you should visit some of these soon!

slik nik · 10-22-2009, 04:44 PM

Although this has already been mentioned, you really do need to take a serious look at Rice University in Houston, TX. Our motto is: "Unconventional Wisdom." All the students here are "quirky" or "eccentric" to some degree, although there are some "normal" people here too. There are TONS of research opportunities here for undergrad, plus it is ranked #1 for Best Quality of Life and #8 for Happiest Students.

Rice is not your stereotypical Texas school.... just because it is in Texas, it does not mean everyone has guns and is Republican. Houston is a very diverse, cosmopolitan, modern city... it is the FOURTH LARGEST city in America! Politically, Rice is split between liberals and conservatives, although it tends to lean to the left (as almost all universities do). People need to stop hating on Texas... I'm from the north myself, and a lot of what people say about Texas is exaggerated. However, do check it out if you do get in... Rice is not for everyone, and you don't want to transfer again later.

By the way, we are a peer school of CMU, WashU, Northwestern, Tufts, Vanderbilt, Berkeley, Stanford, and Duke (along with most of the other top 20 schools).

BordomBeThyName · 10-24-2009, 02:40 PM

twomules,
Harvey Mudd is an excellent school, but once again, it's on the west coast (barely 2 hours from home), and I'm trying to stay away from there.

static75,
I'm definitely going to try and visit sometime. I've got some friends who got in who I can stay with, I just need to work on transportation and timing.

slik nik,
Rice is a fantastic school, and I've heard good things about the city. Something just doesn't... feel right... about it. I'll definitely be looking into it seriously though. It was on my list of schools to apply to last year as well, but I had to get rid of it due to time restraints.

slik nik · 10-24-2009, 10:53 PM

Yeah if something doesn't feel right about it, then that's not a good sign... you may want to look into what that "something" is.

MNmomma · 11-07-2009, 01:57 PM

Like you, my daughter is a science/math nerd, but she thrives with the eccentric artsy, creative kids. With its attention to the arts and expanding science programs, Bard College in NY has been the perfect match for her. The campus is up in the woods, but it is a quick train ride to NYC. She is in the 3/2 engineering program and will be finishing her 3rd year in May. If she maintains a 3.0 or higher, she will qualify to enroll at Dartmouth, Columbia, or Washington University in St Louis next year. Tip: Get a single dorm room, so you can get some studying done!

BordomBeThyName · 11-07-2009, 02:43 PM

It's excellent to hear that people are going through with the program. Bard is on my list for sure, and I already love the school from what I've seen.

Does she know anyone else in the 3/2 program? What I've heard from everywhere is that very few people enroll in 3/2's to start with, and a very low percentage of those people ever go on to finish it.

Tip taken about the single rooms though. I had a single for about a week while my roommate was quarantined for swine flu, I was definitely more productive for those few days.

fogfog · 11-07-2009, 02:58 PM

Perhaps
Cooper-Union?