<p>Up until yesterday when I received the notification that I would be receiving a scholarship which would pay for tuition, room and board for all four years of my undergraduate studies, VCU was my safety school that I had pushed to the back of my mind, but now, I’m legitimately considering going there since it would, well, be for free. Of course, I don’t want to sacrifice getting a good education because of financial problem (I’m certain that I won’t receive as much money from UVa or NC State), but I mean, it’s free everything. Will VCU’s engineering school compare to the engineering programs of UVa or NC State? (I also applied to UNC-Chapel Hill and Duke but don’t here back from them until April.)</p>
<p>NC States engineering program is very good and very rigorous. However, if VCU is completely free, it would be pretty silly to turn down. As long as the school is ABET certified, the curriculum is pretty similar. </p>
<p>VCU has a limited number of Engineering majors available (ME, EE, BM, and smaller Chem E and Comp E programs). Make sure the one you’re interested in is offered at VCU. </p>
<p>Otherwise, it’s hard to be FREE (thanks to ABET accredited programs). You will need to work harder for internships, etc, but the effort is well worth the “Free Stuff”. </p>
<p>Good Luck!</p>
<p>Would you have to have loans for NCSU and UVa? If so, I would take the free ride at VCU. </p>
<p>We live in NC. My S went to NCSU on a fullride (ROTC+ merit money ) instead of unaffordable schools. I can’t tell you how happy he was to graduate with no debt and savings money in the bank. It made starting off in life so much easier. He had a great four years at NCSU and has never regretted his decision to take the freeride.</p>
<p>What’s affordable for your family? If UVA or NCSU are affordable <em>without loans</em> then you should look at everything before you decide - if your parents can pay for UVA and neither you nor they would take a loan, or only a small one, it may be worth it. You need to talk with your parents: what’s affordable for them? Is that free ride keeping them out of a pickle? Can they afford to pay their EFC? If UVA or NCSU are only affordable through loans or your EFC is not affordable, then VCU is the better choice.</p>
<p>I work in an industry associated with engineering. I am in Virginia. In my part of the industry, UVA is not known as an engineering school. Most folks I work with have graduated from Va Tech, ODU, and other programs like NC State. VCU has a very respectable engineering program as well and their facilities are relatively new, which typically equates to having more state of the art equipment. Really review each program for the engineering major you are interested in, but remember that the prestige of the overall university does not necessarily mean all their programs are seen that way in the industry. Also, a free ride at a great school like VCU would be hard to pass on.</p>
<p>Thanks for all of the advice, everybody! It’s such a blessing to be able to ask questions and get reliable answers from so many experienced individuals. It really does relieve some of the stress associated with making these decisions that will effect the rest of my life!</p>