I did honestly realize that while typing it out. I think though that I will probably only decide to consider a school like Clarkson if I don’t like the more local schools when I consider touring them.
I could consider Lafayette If I decide I want to go to a smaller school, maybe as a reach school, but the thing about those smaller schools is that it seems like the entire student body is pretty similar and I’m not sure if I would want that. A school that has more than 10,000 students will have people I don’t fit in with, but my point is that the bigger the school, I would think it’s more likely I find a group I fit in with.
I am going to start touring schools this school year, probably the local ones that interest me the most which is Rutgers, njit, Rowan and Drexel, and I can also consider Lafayette. Though when it comes to small prestigous private schools in northeast pa, I think I would rather tour lehigh university. Both seem like reaches for me, and I am not sure if they would even give me good financial aid, but if I give either a chance, it would probably be lehigh.
So last pitch and then I will leave it alone.
Part of the point of visiting a representative sampling of conveniently-local colleges with an open mind is many kids end up surprising themselves with which colleges they actually like or dislike. Indeed, if you are not surprised, it didn’t have much value. It is when your likes or dislikes are unexpected that you have actually gained important new information.
So like if you look through this amazing thread:
You will see all sorts of examples of kids being surprised by their reactions to colleges they visit. Really inspiring.
So I hope you can approach your first visits with that spirit of discovery and possible surprise, and make sure to include colleges which in fact could surprise you (in a good way).
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Ok, so maybe I will visit some other schools with lower expectations, maybe TCNJ for example, I haven’t really been interested but I could end up loving the campus. By the way I have been on some colleges campuses before and I will give my thoughts
University of South Florida - was pretty chill though I didn’t get out of the car and we left after 5 minutes
University of Tampa - cool campus in a cool area but I saw a lot of people that looked like they just wanted to party, as well as a smashed bottle of alcohol on the floor outside 
University of Rhode Island - Was alright, the weather was bad but otherwise it was a normal campus I guess
UConn - Very nice, a lot of places to go, I liked it though I am not sure if I would want to stay on that campus for 4 years
I think this is why I am currently preferring bigger campuses. Because they are just inherently more diverse, and they usually have more to do.
That again is not an accurate assumption.
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Maybe I can consider touring some schools I wouldn’t otherwise consider just in case I actually like them. Thanks
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Schools of different sizes and environments - urban, suburban, rural, whether they have engineering or not - just to confirm the school type that’s preferable.
That gives you a better basis to build from. Go check out an NJIT, Stevens, Drexel but then a Lafayette and Lehigh and even Drew or William Paterson if close.
Rutgers .
Nothing formal. Check the campus and surrounds.
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William Paterson is overwhelmingly a commuter school. 80+ percent I believe. Unless you are interested in a largely non residential experience I would pass on visiting Bill on the Hill.
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Usually if you go to a big school, your classes are concentrated in a much smaller group of buildings. If you are in engineering, you’ll interact most with other engineers. If you join an organization like student government you’ll interact with students from many other majors.
I’m not an engineer but I did know a lot of engineers while in school. Why? Because I was in a sorority with a lot of women who happened to be engineers (one asked another to join, and on and on it went). There were also a lot of women who dated engineers, so that brought them into my circle. But of course I also knew dance majors, business majors, education majors, and a lot of recreation majors. If you join a club outside your major, you’ll meet many from other majors.
But you’ll still meet a lot of engineers whether your school is big or small. My daughter is an engineer and most of her friends from school were engineers or dated/married engineers. Her BF is not an engineer. She did play on a team and not all of them were engineers but probably married one.
Nothing wrong with a big school. Your major will make it smaller.
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I’m gonna try to join some clubs that will probably have people from other majors. Some of the clubs I am considering right now that aren’t engineering related are a gaming club, college radio, college newspaper, photography club, music interest club (most colleges don’t seem to have a music interest club but if they do that would be great)
Many will have “competitive” newspaper and radio - meaning you need to audition or present pieces. I think most schools have a variety of music clubs - but whether or not they meet what you desire, is a different issue.
Back to your premise - you are way overthinking in regards to getting into an engineering school.
But you will realize, once there, you won’t necessarily have the time to do all the things you want to do. You’ll be studying, and studying and studying, or perhaps you’ll have to find another major. It’s not to say there’s not some time to do extras…but it’s a really demanding major academically.
I think no matter where you choose to attend - you’ll have ample clubs. The trick will be though - pick a school and look at their clubs - I think many have clubs that aren’t necessarily active at that time. They take student involvement and leadership - year after year - and some can go on hiatus.
The best thing you can do is cast a wide net of affordable schools. If you’re worried about the hyper-competitive engineering/comp-sci schools, there are plenty of others to choose from. Computers is a field where prestige really doesn’t matter, and your degree is ridiculously employable. After about 3 years experience, employers don’t even ask where you went to school. In fact, most end up taking an IT job where they spend an entire well-paid career never looking at a math problem. My advice…don’t overthink it. Work hard, enjoy your teenage years, hang out with friends, and go to prom. Just don’t blow anything up 
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I do get what your saying, studying will come first, it’s just that I am really going to want to meet new people, and I would be sad if I can’t find people I enjoy being around. Living in a dorm and all that other stuff that comes with college shouldn’t make it hard, especially if I join a living-learning community, which I am also thinking about.
You know how you started - am I over thinking?
I think you are about this too.
LLCs can be wonderful if you find a common interest but know they also often have educational requirements too.
You have loads of time to get ready for all this. Focus on school this year so you have the most options - affordable ones - next year.
From what I have seen, it doesn’t seem like llcs require a certain gpa or anything and if they do then I will prepare accordingly. But I think what would be smart is that I make sure I am focused on all my classes the first month or so of college and then I start thinking about attending clubs. Clubs and social interactions will be a very close 2nd to my studies.
One thing you may want to look into is what type of pre-college programming there is at the schools of interest. Some colleges may have students go on a week-long trip (service project, wilderness camping, etc). Other colleges may have students living in the dorms and taking a class with the idea of having students getting to know the campus and each other. All of these are options to start building your social network from the get-go.
I agree that the focus should be on academics, but waiting a couple of months before getting involved in any clubs may not suit your goals. When freshmen first arrive on campus, they usually don’t know anyone, or certainly not many people. That’s when everybody is really open to meeting each other, trying things out, and building relationships. If you wait a couple of months before engaging more socially, then people may already have started to find their people and may not be as invested in forming new relationships. That doesn’t mean that it won’t happen, but I think it would be easier starting to work on building your social relationships at the start of the semester rather than waiting a couple of months.
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I get what you are saying, I was kinda thinking about it like that while typing it out. I think a better approach would be to stay on top of my homework and assignments, and go to all my lectures and classes, but also try to meet people when I am not in class or can’t/don’t need to study. Also, I don’t know how common it is to study on the weekend, but I would be willing to do that, just not every hour of me being awake.
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You should expect to study on the weekend, but it should not be all day and night.
Sounds like you have a good plan for college.
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You’ll meet kids in the dorm, in class, in the lunch hall, at the gym, study groups, myriad places. It’ll just happen. Hopefully.
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