OP, I’m confused. Are you a graduating senior?:
Haven’t you already chosen? If not, how do you know you will be accepted to any particular Top 20?
OP, I’m confused. Are you a graduating senior?:
Haven’t you already chosen? If not, how do you know you will be accepted to any particular Top 20?
So…have you double deposited? I assumed you got off the WL to WUSTL., but you already had decided between UCLA and WUSTL? You obviously were accepted to UA as well with a scholarship. And that would not still be an option unless you deposited there too. Double depositing is unethical and if those schools find out, you could be rescinded from both.
Where have you asked your counselor to send your final transcript to? Surely your counselor is not condoning double depositing?
@Lindagaf I was not waitlisted by Wash U. Yes, I have already sent my deposit in to Wash U, but I was assuming I could call them and let them know that, IF I was going to the U of A, I would not be attending this fall. I’d lose my $450 deposit. I have not accepted the U of A yet or sent in a deposit.
My counselor sent in my transcript to Wash U.
@illinoyz So here’s the deal, yes I have graduated HS. Back in April I was deciding whether to go to UCLA or Wash U and ended up going with Wash U. Submitted my deposit and housing form and everything. I’m asking about the U of A now because I’m kinda having buyer’s remorse/second thoughts about WUSTL. The U of A’s deadline to accept or decline is not for another two weeks.
Okay, I am just surprised that UA hasn’t required a deposit yet.
You seem like a person who has buyer’s remorse. You had the chance to accept UCLA and turned it down, but now you will perhaps try to transfer into UCLA. This seems strange. You must have had very good reasons not to accept UCLA. Stop thinking about the place you said no to. Focus on what you really want. Do you want fleeting prestige, or happiness, @Ariz0na ? TBH, you are done with high school and where all those people attend is not important anymore.
Ariz0na – as a parent of a very happy Wash U student, I can certainly speak to our great experience with the school. But it is pretty clear that you want either UCLA or Arizona or USC – anywhere but Wash U. While I encourage you to make your visit to Wash U and then make your decision, I agree with Lindagaf – ultimately you should go where your heart tells you to go. If Arizona then transferring to UCLA or USC is it, go for it. Rest assured that there are many who would gladly take your place at Wash U.
Best of luck.
Why did you turn down UCLA? What did you like about it in the first place?
@eyemgh I loved the campus, the location & weather, the academics, and the name recognition it has in California to get internships and jobs.
I guess the things I didn’t like about it were the size, the housing situation, and the fact that it did not offer a major that I think I’m interested in - Systems Engineering. However, looking back on it, I think I would’ve picked UCLA because I could compromise on these aspects in order to obtain the qualities mentioned above. I think I underestimated the importance of location/geography back in April - the weather and scenery of a place can affect my mood, so St Louis isn’t winning any fights there. Plus, ucla is just an hour flight away, while Wash U is 5.5 hours with a connecting flight.
More factors that drew me to WUSTL were the housing (possibility of even getting a single) and the advising system. I was thinking that because of the strong career counselors, I could land something in California during the summers, but now I see that despite being a large impersonal school, UCLA still wins in terms of clout in SoCal.
I should probably try and accept, though, that that avenue is closed (at least, for the next two years) since they do not accept sophomore transfers. USC would’ve been a good option for me because they DO offer that major, but I was denied and did not bother to appeal because there weren’t any new developments in my academics.
@Parche And the thing is, I have no idea why I’m feeling this way about Wash U. I loved the school back when I visited in October. I know that it is a great school and that I will probably have a good experience there. I just can’t shake the feeling that something is “off” when I tell people I’m going to Wash U. Maybe it’s just a severe case of buyer’s remorse.
@suzyQ7: If I remember correctly, the state school in question actually has a 4-year graduation rate of about 40% and only a sliver of the student body has stats comparable to the bulk at Ivies/equivalents.
It’s not Cal/UMich/UVa.
Just make your choice with eyes wide open.
WashU is rich and will have a lot more resources per capita than either 'Zona or even UCLA (I frankly haven’t heard people rave about the undergraduate experience at UCLA; tons of WashU undergrads rave about their experience there).
Money is something to consider. Is the net cost difference (over 4 years) around $200K? At that spread, just from a cost-benefit standpoint, 'Zona may make more sense. If it is a 5 figure difference, the perks and benefits of WashU may be worth it. BTW, from the research I’ve the done, the honors program at 'Zona seems to be little more than a joke.
Again, if you take costs in to account, saving up for grad school may make more sense, but, outside of a few departments that 'Zona is renown in, the experience at 'Zona isn’t going to be close to that at WashU.
One of the things prospects fail to consider is the environment that will be in and the psychological effects. At UA their will be considerable peer pressure to go out and party, while at WUSTL there will be more if an intellectual pressure to study more. When you see your peers partying you typically do the same, when you see your peers studying you also tend that direction. You can always go counter to the prevailing winds but it’s more difficult to actually do so.
Possibly, @CU123 , but there are over 40,000 kids. It will be very easy to avoid partying. Especially if OP is in the honors college, where there will be plenty of like-minded students. And @PurpleTitan , going to UA doesn’t mean the OP will have a poor undergrad experience if that is the type of experience OP wants. The 6 year grad rate is 60%. It’s a public school, so, yes, there will be a lot of attrition. No doubt honors college students graduate at a higher rate.
@Lindagaf: I didn’t say it would be worse. Some kids would like it. But the OP shouldn’t kid himself about the resources and student body (and quality of TAs, outside of certain departments) being comparable. And if he isn’t in to partying, then what are the draws of 'Zona besides money and weather?
Mind you, those are legitimate reasons to choose UA, but I think he should dispassionately list down the pro’s/con’s of each school rather than going off feelings. He says he just doesn’t feel excited telling people that he is going to WashU. Would he get a rush if he said he was going to UA? He should try that out a few times (at least imagine it in his head) as well.
If we were comparing Wash U to Arizona for business or liberal arts majors, I’d be on the Wash U band waggon. It’s a strong regional school and has been for a long time. We aren’t though. We are talking engineering. Wash U is solid for engineering, but certainly not a powerhouse. It’s much smaller than Arizona. They offer 5 ABET accredited majors where as Arizona offers 13. It’s been a long time since I’ve visited Wash U and I’ve never visited Arizona, but my suspicion is that Arizona has more toys. Now, will an undergrad be as supported at Arizona or have access to said toys? I don’t know. They are very different, one not clearly better than the other.
Money should be a huge part of the conversation. It always is for the smartest kids and wisest parents. Opportunity cost for the differential between Wash U and Arizona in state over a career is an large amount of money…in the neighborhood of $2,500,000.
There are different ways to answer this inquiry that are highly dependant on the student’s intended major and future career aspirations. You wanna be a high powered lawyer, politician, wall street financier? I would say there are some distinct advantages to attending the top 20 or so “prestige” universities/colleges. Engineers may have a bit more leeway and many state flagships are more than sufficient for providing the “prestige” factor for future careers.
Husband is a engineer at a large multi-natioanl petroleum company and, frankly, even in the upper echelon of management, most engineers are products of top 20-100 ranked universities and there really is no distinct advantage to the “prestige” diploma. In his world, it’s the ability to get the job done that carries the weight. I don’t even see the top 20 universities opening the door to employment any easier, in his world, so really there is not that much advantage to it, IMO
I worked as a paralegal and in the legal world, across the board, there is/was definitely a distinct advantage to holding a diploma from a “prestige” university.
I have seen it argued here on CD multiple times that if you are intending medical or graduate school, the place where you get your undergrad degree is far less important than your GPA, so choose the most “reputable” school where you are going to attain the highest GPA. (A quick look at the most recent astronaut class seems to confirm that arguement!)
So OP, if you are my kid and you want to major in an engineering field, I’d say … do not discount the large state flagship, it’s just a likely to get you where you want to go in terms of your career. Chose the school that you like the most and doesn’t put you (or me) in too much debt.
For your husbands perspective Texas A&M or Colorado School of Mines would be the place to go as they are top ranked schools for petroleum engineering (and not in the top 20 overall) and big oil recruits them heavily. Go to UA and I doubt they have any recruiting going on there or very little for petroleum/chemical engineering so major is very important in determining which university to attend. Not knocking UA here just saying rankings do matter for recruitment in particular careers.
@CU123 my husband is a chemical engineering graduate from Case Western. He was recruited by BP, Dow and Proctor and Gamble out of college, he took the BP job to be closer to me while I attended paralegal school in Philly , so that is how he got into petroleum, it could just as easily been chemicals with Dow or manufcturering with P&G. The company he works for now actually has (or I should say had don’t know if it is still the case) a list of preferred schools to consider when selecting who to interiew. Back when he was reviewing potential candidates, particularly new hires, he was surprised at the schools that made the list and those that did not. Case was not on the list…experience is what earned him his initial interview. BTW in his technical niche directly related to refining he works with surprisingly few A&M grads and not a single CSOM grad, I’d have to ask him but I don’t believe any of them are “petroleum” grads either.
Interesting, I personally know 5 Texas A&M grads that work in big oil in Houston. I also know a couple more that graduated from CSOM that also work for oil companies, and it is a FACT that big oil RECRUITS these schools as they are ranked number 1 and 4 respectively for petroleum engineering. So besides your husbands anecdotal experience I’m pretty sure there are a ton of grads from those schools in big oil. After all they are getting there degrees in PETROLEUM engineering not chemical engineering. It does make sense that case western is not recruited as it’s not specific to petroleum engineering. Back to my point though, when choosing schools pick one that is well regarded FOR YOUR INTENDED MAJOR.
You are right choose a school that offers the major that you want to pursue, but keep an open mind that there is more than one way to reach a goal.