What colleges chould I look at?

College Search & Lists
1

<p>I’m going to be a Junior in high school this coming fall, and I’m starting to go into that whole stage of trying to figure out where in the world I want to go and what I want to do with my life.
Here’s some facts:</p>

<p>I know I want to go into Engineering. Either Mechanical or Architectural or something along those lines.</p>

<p>My GPA so far is about 3.5</p>

<p>My OGT [easy test, but yeah…] scores were all in the highest range possible [but for writing, second highest range] so I’m expecting high(er) SAT/ACT scores.</p>

<p>Most of my classes are honors, and the few that aren’t are still higher than just general classes. I fill my schedule with hard classes, no study halls.</p>

<p>I’m in a lot of extracurricular activities… student council, PRIDE, Just Say No, Peer Counseloring, and a few others. As well as plenty of sports, school dramas, marching band, wind ensemble, and chorus [I ALWAYS have a full schedule]</p>

<p>I want a college atmosphere that is semi-serious, plenty of fun, but knows when to study too.</p>

<p>Rural/Urban etc doesn’t really matter to me. And neither does college size.</p>

<p>Another option I was looking at was the Naval Academy… opinions?</p>

<p>But yes… if you have any colleges you think might be a good match for me, or at least something to look into, please let me know… I’m determined to get this figured out as soon as possible…</p>

<p>:-) thanks!</p>

2

<p>How about Ohio State?</p>

3

<p>I’m of coursed biased about my school but I think you might want to look into it and other schools like it. I attend Rice University in Houston, TX. It has an extremely well-respected engineering program for anything from civil to mechanical. Rice is consistently ranked in the top 20 schools in the nation, and has also been praised for its quality of life. (see <a href=“http://www.explore.rice.edu/explore/Rankings.asp?SnID=1989371447[/url]”>http://www.explore.rice.edu/explore/Rankings.asp?SnID=1989371447&lt;/a&gt; )</p>

<p>If you’re looking for a “semi-serious” place to go to school, Rice should go on your list of schools to consider. Rice students are extremely smart and are quite studious. We take hard classes and work hard to do well in them. However that doesn’t mean it’s drudgery all the time. There are a ton of activities going on (you can still easily keep up your music and theater and other activities and still balance your major). Also, Houston is the 4th largest city in the US so there’s a ton going on off campus too.</p>

<p>What was most attractive about the school to me was the residential college system. The Rice website explains it succinctly:<br>

</p>

<p>The colleges allow students more opportunities to participate, as the final paragraph says. Each college is a microcosm of the university as a whole, and I think the system has been one of the most rewarding parts of my college life. Rice doesn’t have fraternities or sororities at all; the residential college system takes the place of that, but in a completely noncompetitive way. I think this is part of why Rice students have such a good time when they’re not working – there’s always something fun going on in their college and everyone is invited.</p>

<p>Rice has a lot of other things going for it, too. It is relatively inexpensive (for a small, private university), has an amazing baseball team, is absolutely beautiful with its sprawling live oak trees and Spanish Mediterranean architecture, and all of the students are quirky and brilliant in their own ways.</p>

<p>Hope this gives you a starting point on your college search. Best of luck.</p>

4

<p>As a student who took those OGT’s in March, I can tell you that they are totally different from the ACT/SAT. The ACT is probably closer, but you’re tested more on your ability to notice quirky little flaws in answer choices than on the OGT, where the answer is usually blatantly obvious if you have the mental capacity of an 8-year-old.</p>

<p>Judging from the nature of your post, you haven’t been exploring too much on CC yet. You are likely to get tons of replies saying that you should check out Ivy this and top 10 that, but don’t forget the honors colleges at OSU and University of Cincinnati if you want to stay local. University of Cincinnati has a very reputable engineering program. If you want out, listen to the other posts :)</p>

<p>I recommend that you use the college search at CollegeBoard.com. This helped me get a tentative list of colleges based on the stuff I care about. If you took the PSAT as a sophomore, you can register and take advantage of some great features on the website. You’ll need your score sheet if you’re going to register. </p>

<p>Don’t be discouraged if nothing jumps out at you right away. You still have a year before you should start losing sleep over this.</p>

5

<p>So many of you kids don’t say if you need aid. This is crucial info in suggesting schools.</p>

6

<p>ohhhhh I know that the OGT’s are a LOT different, it was just something I thought I would throw out there.</p>

<p>And yeahhhhh I want to get away from home, otherwise UC would have been my choice. It’s really close to my house, but EVERYONE in my family goes there. Literally. I have like 7 relatives there right now and I want to be different and get away from my family. I want to leave home completely and be at LEAST an hour or two away.</p>

7

<p>Take a look at USC in S Calif.</p>