College + Co

Speak freely but don't be stupid about it or you'll find yourself on the last train to Clarksville, ya dumbass.
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G-Force
Posts: 341
Joined: Wed Dec 31, 1969 7:00 pm

College + Co

Post by G-Force » Fri Oct 13, 2006 1:46 pm

I know a lot of you guys are older than me and are going through the college experience.

I'm in my senior year, and I'll be sending applications by the beginning of November.

I plan on majoring in Engineering Physics, though I haven't selected a school. The course itself sounds interesting to me but I don't know exactly what it's about. Is anyone majoring in something similar to this, and what does it encompass?

tell me about your college search experience too, i need to learn and learn quick because i've got decisions to make

succotash_54
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Post by succotash_54 » Fri Oct 13, 2006 5:13 pm

G-FAAAAAAAAAAAAAACE, let me put some (hopefully) good advice out there for you.

1. One of the key things to making it fruitful for you is knowing what you wanna major in and how you wanna use that degree, i.e. "what you want to be when you grow up." I originally was going to be a mathematics major. I had no clue what direction I wanted to go, but I enjoyed math class. Calculus was so fun for me. So, I figured I'd make it my major. Late in the decision making process, I realized I wanted to do radio, and that really caused my major to change, and in some cases, it could very easily necessitate a change in universities, too. From the sounds of it, you're not even this far, but that's ok. Once in college you can be "Undecided" or "No preference" until you become a junior, when you will have to decide.

2. Brace yourself and reinforce your mailbox. The letters and flyers will come. Holy hell, will they come. From schools you've thought about, schools that are just not "cool" in your hometown, schools you've never even heard of, schools that you've thought were just plain above and out of your league. (No kidding, I got stuff from Brown, Cornell, and Princeton). It will be inundating. You may just want to decide ahead of time which schools are out of the question (move too far, too expensive, etc.)

3. Research a school you are seriously thinking about attending! I had a periodical that was about schools and which schools were the best for any given major. By all means, get something like this. Once you've got your major decided, you need to know which schools are the best for this major. If you are still undecided, any school will do, as you can take all regular curriculum required classes at any school, and then transfer to another school if necessary later on.

4. Research and apply for available grants and scholarships as if your life depends on it! I cannot make that any clearer. Do it!

5. Make sure your academic portfolio is in order. Not sure how important this will be. But just in case, make sure you have anything your state requires or a university may wish to see out of such a portfolio for whatever reasons. Your school counselor should be handy in helping with this. "Should" is the operative word of course, and it will be the rare occasion where your school counselor will actually be worth anything to you.


Hope this helps, man. Good luck to you.

G-Force
Posts: 341
Joined: Wed Dec 31, 1969 7:00 pm

College + Co

Post by G-Force » Fri Oct 13, 2006 6:42 pm

it is a help, i have fortunately made it alive past the hurricane of flyers. most of them went in the trash, and now im narrowing in on id say about 15 prospect schools, that not only have my major but also some organizations that id be interested in joining. of course expenses are up the butt, but its always gonna be like that.

If anyone knows some really good information (preferably stuff you cant find online, like how cool stuff REALLY is..) then let me know.

Cornell University
Tufts University
Lehigh University
Boston University
Ithaca College
Bucknell U.
Gettysburg
S.U.N.Y. - Geneseo, Buffalo
College Of New Jersey


as for portfolio, I don't think I'll have too much of a problem. I (expect to be) in the top 10 rank of my class, out of 550. My SAts are decent but I'm taking the ACT in 2 weeks to try to get a better score.

I have plans into going into Engineering, however I feel so limited going for a part-Physics degree. I don't want to do structural Engineering, or civil, electrical, or maybe not mechanical. It doesn't leave too many windows open but I figure theres got to be engineers for everything so i should be able to find the job I'll like.

succotash_54
Posts: 2819
Joined: Wed Dec 31, 1969 7:00 pm

College + Co

Post by succotash_54 » Fri Oct 13, 2006 8:32 pm

Hey, if you really want to do your undergrad work at an Ivy League school, be my guest.

Let me ask this, though, do you know what you want to use your degree for, what kind of career you want to have? This is crucial, because it may end up causing you to change your major.

Yeah, take the ACTs, and if you can, retake your SATs too, if you're not satisfied.

Again, research these colleges. Just how well do they rank as far as programs FOR your major? I mean, I could have gone to University of Michigan, but their Telecommunication curriculum is considered subpar, so I ended up going to Michigan State. The extracurriculars will be nice, but they cannot replace the practicum of official curriculum of the program.

Again, apply for grants and scholarships...anything to help defray the costs.

G-Force
Posts: 341
Joined: Wed Dec 31, 1969 7:00 pm

College + Co

Post by G-Force » Fri Oct 13, 2006 10:43 pm

<blockquote class='quote_blockquote'><dl><dt>succotash_54</dt><dd>Oct 13 2006&#44; 08:32 PM</dd></dl><div> Hey, if you really want to do your undergrad work at an Ivy League school, be my guest.

Let me ask this, though, do you know what you want to use your degree for, what kind of career you want to have? This is crucial, because it may end up causing you to change your major.

Yeah, take the ACTs, and if you can, retake your SATs too, if you're not satisfied.

Again, research these colleges. Just how well do they rank as far as programs FOR your major? I mean, I could have gone to University of Michigan, but their Telecommunication curriculum is considered subpar, so I ended up going to Michigan State. The extracurriculars will be nice, but they cannot replace the practicum of official curriculum of the program.

Again, apply for grants and scholarships...anything to help defray the costs. [/quote]
don't reccomend undergrad at an ivy, huh? its just hard to find schools that have everything i want


an engineering physics degree can prepare me for various different types of jobs, and many of the schools i'm looking at have good engineering programs so incase i do want to switch it shouldn't be a huge process.

i feel like its such an overwhelming decision to make.. do i REALLY know if this is what i want to do? what if i change my mind? what will be available to me outside of college? what if i hate what i'm doing?

right now I think I know what I want but sometimes i doubt myself.

though i might not want to major in music i still want to keep my passion alive and take a minor (if available) and make sure the school has plenty of courses available for me, while also checking that it's engineering program is up to par.

succotash_54
Posts: 2819
Joined: Wed Dec 31, 1969 7:00 pm

College + Co

Post by succotash_54 » Sat Oct 14, 2006 1:22 am

<blockquote class='quote_blockquote'><dl><dt>G&#045;FAAACE</dt><dd>Oct 14 2006&#44; 03:43 AM</dd></dl><div>
don't reccomend undergrad at an ivy, huh? its just hard to find schools that have everything i want


an engineering physics degree can prepare me for various different types of jobs, and many of the schools i'm looking at have good engineering programs so incase i do want to switch it shouldn't be a huge process.

i feel like its such an overwhelming decision to make.. do i REALLY know if this is what i want to do? what if i change my mind? what will be available to me outside of college? what if i hate what i'm doing?

right now I think I know what I want but sometimes i doubt myself.

though i might not want to major in music i still want to keep my passion alive and take a minor (if available) and make sure the school has plenty of courses available for me, while also checking that it's engineering program is up to par. [/quote]
If Cornell's got everything you want, go for it. You have to decide for yourself. I've just never known an Ivy League school to be renowned for its engineering programs. And it's gonna be more expensive just because it is an Ivy League school.

And I just mean... are you sure you wanna do something that requires/is bettered by an engineering physics degree?

And you don't have to minor in music to keep it alive. A few elective classes will work, or if you want, work for the college radio station, if the college has a station.

G-Force
Posts: 341
Joined: Wed Dec 31, 1969 7:00 pm

College + Co

Post by G-Force » Sat Oct 14, 2006 11:11 am

<blockquote class='quote_blockquote'><dl><dt>succotash_54</dt><dd>Oct 14 2006&#44; 01:22 AM</dd></dl><div>

And I just mean... are you sure you wanna do something that requires/is bettered by an engineering physics degree?
[/quote]
unforunately, thats how i get scared sometimes. right now i think thats the direction I want to go in, but what will my perpective be a month before college starts? will i have changed my mind? what if i get to college and realize this isn't for me? i'm scared to say that this is what I want to do, if i might change my mind..

succotash_54
Posts: 2819
Joined: Wed Dec 31, 1969 7:00 pm

College + Co

Post by succotash_54 » Sat Oct 14, 2006 3:38 pm

<blockquote class='quote_blockquote'><dl><dt>G&#045;FAAACE</dt><dd>Oct 14 2006&#44; 04:11 PM</dd></dl><div> <blockquote class='quote_blockquote'><dl><dt>succotash_54</dt><dd>Oct 14 2006&#44; 01:22 AM</dd></dl><div>

And I just mean... are you sure you wanna do something that requires/is bettered by an engineering physics degree?&nbsp;
[/quote]
unforunately, thats how i get scared sometimes. right now i think thats the direction I want to go in, but what will my perpective be a month before college starts? will i have changed my mind? what if i get to college and realize this isn't for me? i'm scared to say that this is what I want to do, if i might change my mind.. [/quote]
If that's the case, there really is no need to be afraid. For all I've been hammering the importance of knowing what you're doing and where you're going, it's possible to get through for awhile if you don't. You can be undeclared, you can change your major as often as suits you, and you can even transfer to another school if you think you'll need to. The worst of all that is simply that you'll be in college longer, and amass more bills. But don't rush yourself if you just don't know. Especially if you end up changing your mind before actually enrolling in classes. Like I said, I had a change of major/heart between getting accepted to three colleges and actually choosing MSU.

NO2
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Location: Morgantown, WV

College + Co

Post by NO2 » Mon Oct 16, 2006 5:54 pm

Engineering sucks....not really lol, its pretty cool but very hard. I know the engineering program here at WVU is good. I'm in my third year of mechanical right now, but more than likely switching to civil sometime. What's cool about mechanical is there are so many job opportunities. If your not into civil, mechanical, or electrical, theres always computer engr. whose demand is increasing. I know here they offer a biometrics degree which would be cool, they also have a good aerospace program.
Your first year is pretty much focused on your core classes like calc, physics, chem and all that good stuff. You'll probably take an intro to engr. class which is geared toward helping you find which engr. major is for you. Probably at the beginning of your soph. year is when you'll actually be "declared" into your major so you have plenty of time yet to decide yo.

G-Force
Posts: 341
Joined: Wed Dec 31, 1969 7:00 pm

College + Co

Post by G-Force » Mon Oct 16, 2006 8:10 pm

i want to design rollercoasters, lol that would be my dream job.
:P

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