<p>I will be beginning my junior year studying engineering at Southern Illinois University (Carbondale) and was just wondering how behind I have set myself by attending school here. You see (not attempting to blow my own horn by any means… just giving some background), in high school, I got a 32 on my ACT+W, 5.0/5.0 GPA, was a varsity football team captain, and was class valedictorian. Due to my own horrible ignorance (No words describe how foolish I was!), I took to heart my guidance counselor’s advice that SIUC would be a great option. SIU has seemed to be a fine school, mind you, but after doing some reading on this website, I have come to question whether I made a good choice. I chose SIU over UIUC because, due to various merit-related scholarships, it was going to be between $5000 and $10,000 cheaper per year. Based on information I’d been supplied (and, again, made this mistake of believing), the quality of education (and subsequent employment opportunities) would be similar… the only difference was campus/student body size! If that was true, when evaluating things like cost and proximity to home, why would I not choose SIUC?</p>
<p>I now worry whether I made a good decision decision and am looking for advice and opinions.</p>
<p>Thank you all!</p>
<p>For those that didn’t want to read the wall of text:
-I was ignorant.
-I had decent high school stats (32 ACT, valedictorian, football team captain).
-I chose SIUC over UIUC based on foolishly believing information I’d been given and based on cost.
-I would appreciate any advice.</p>
<p>Reasons transferring is not an option (at least this year):</p>
<p>1) I have already signed an off-campus apartment contract through the rest of this year.
2) I have registered for and purchased books for all of my classes this semester.</p>
<p>10k a year difference is quite a chunk of change to be saving while majoring in something with a relatively high median pay and decent job security. You should be aware that transfer aid is not doled out as generously to transfer students as it is to freshman – (since colleges are ranked based on entering Frosh classes, they try to lure in higher stats with more aid), so transferring might mean being at even greater disparity in what you’ll be paying. </p>
<p>UIUC is an excellent school, no doubt, but like @Crimsonstained7 mentioned, a lot of careers aren’t pedigree driven. Where you go to school doesn’t mean nearly as much as how you did (academically) and how you spent your time in terms of resume building. </p>
<p>You also may be a big fish in a small pond…so do well in your classes, get to know professors, see if you can do research or get internships through them…see what co-ops are availble…Smart people do well whereever they are planted.</p>
<p>I am most interested in attending graduate school, to pursue either biomedical engineering or business (I know, quite the difference!) after I receive my Bachelor’s. If it matters, I already hold an Associate’s degree from a community college.</p>
<p>When you say I need to do well in classes, what GPA should I shoot for? I currently have a 3.9/4.</p>
<p>If you want to go in a research direction for grad school (i.e., BME PhD), get involved in research now. Your GPA is more than high enough. Once it’s above a certain point (maybe 3.7), it’s not going to help you much. The big thing you need is research experience. Take the initiative to talk to professors and get involved.</p>
<p>If you want to go to business school, MBAs usually aren’t looking for people straight out of school. They want some work experience under your belt.</p>