Help me choose a school? UMich vs. Northeastern vs. Stony?

cc1200
Mon, 10 Apr 2017 18:40:15 +0000

I’m going to major in electrical engineering. I have no engineering experience whatsoever (I’m planning to join as many engineering and robotics clubs there is at college). I also want to start some sort of research in freshman year for experience in the future. I don’t know how easy it is to conduct research/find an internship at these schools during freshman year, so I can’t decide on which one to commit to… Here are my pros and cons of each school.

UMich:
Pros: Has a great engineering program
Cons: Far from my hometown (NYC) and I’m sure I’ll be too homesick (I know I should’ve considered applying to some engineering schools that were closer to home, but the thought of leaving home wasn’t a big deal until I actually got accepted). I don’t know much about it, other than it’s ranked well for engineering and many other majors. If any alum/current students can post what they know about engineering at UMich, I’d appreciate that.

Northeastern:
Pros: I became interested in Northeastern’s co-ops after going to the admitted students day. It’s also slightly closer to home than UMich is (I could probably take a bus back home).
Cons: I kind of applied on a whim, don’t know much about it. I didn’t get accepted to the honors program, so it wasn’t much of interest to me until a few days ago. If someone from NEU engineering can elaborate on their co-op experiences, that would be great (of course, non-engineering is fine too)! Also, what’s the difference between the life of an honors student and a regular student over there? Is it possible for a non-honors student to be honors in sophomore year?

Stony:
Pros: Close to home. Parents would prefer it as well because of proximity and it’s a cheapest option. I also got accepted to WISE.
Cons: I went to the reception yesterday, but I didn’t hear much about electrical engineering at Stony, since many students are on the pre-med track. I’m not sure how reputable the electrical engineering program at Stony is… If someone from Stony knows about how engineering/WISE is like there, please let me know!

By the way, my family can afford all of these schools. It’s just they don’t know much about NEU or UMich and have only heard about NY schools/other elite colleges. They would also like for me next year to apply for a transfer to schools like Cornell, Columbia, CMU, JHU, etc.