College decisions... help!

[clarisse]

Ok so I haven't posted in a very long time but I figured some of you could offer me some help or advise.

 

So I have to decide where to go to college and I assume many of you went through the period of total confusion I am going through.

 

So can anyone tell me what helped you decide? And how do you feel about your decision? Any regrets? Did you have a hard time adjusting?

 

Thanks!

[Dave]

Moved this to the Education section, hopefully you'll get a better response there

[Phi for All]

Your profile says you live in Mx which I assume is Mexico? Do you want to stay in-country? Is being near your family important to you? Have you decided what you want to study (majors, minors, etc)? Do you have a career in mind? Are you looking for intensive studies or do you want a good mix of social activities as well (not *just* partying).

 

Will you have to work while you attend classes? My niece is taking some specialized courses at a school that is perfect but it's in an area where the economy precludes her getting even the most menial job (many locals are unemployed).

 

Can you tell us what you'd like to get out of college?

[clarisse]

Thank you for moving it, I do hope I'll get better replies (like Phi's) because time is really running out for the decision and I think I'm more confused than ever.

 

While family for me is important I already made my decision to leave the country seeing that I only applied to colleges in the US (and therefore have to make my decision to May 1st.) I could in the end well stay here but I think that I am ready to leave, and it is something I have been thinking of doing for many years already.

 

Partly why I'm so confused is that I am not 100% sure what I want to major in but since I'm really interested in artificial intelligence I think I might want to study either electrical engineering and computer science or mechanical engineering to enter the world of roboritcs and perhaps do a minor or concentration in psychology or cognitive science. Then again, I would just love to study maths or literature and lingüistics but I think that I would have better job opportunities in the other fields.

 

Hopefully I will not have to work while attending classes because most of the colleges where I applied where need-blind and the other have agreed to give me some financial aid.

 

And finally, while academic rigour is indeed very very important for me, I think that all the colleges I got into will give me all the academic rigour I need, and perhaps more he he, but I'm really willing to try, the thing is that I went to visit my first choice while I was on spring break, and I didn't feel very comfortable with the people, (obsessed with alcohol, more immature that I had exected, excessively competitive about grades, etc) but I've been told it is going to be the same everywhere, and that wherever I go I will find all types of people and only have to find my own group. So, I think that the long speech colleges give you about finding the "right match" for you and following your "gut feeling" is true, so I want to know how some of you decided which one was the "right match."

 

Thanks for the help!

[Klaynos]

I'm not going to be able to give you any specific advice as I'm not in the US system, but do what you enjoy, most of the people who I know who took degrees because they thought the end jobs would be good instead of doing what they enjoy now have dropped out.

[Phi for All]

Since you're thinking about electrical engineering how about "reverse engineering" your decision? Check out a company you'd love to work for in a place you'd like to live. Contact them and ask them what they like to see in potential new employees. There are mentor programs within some of the larger companies. It's even possible they may like you enough to arrange summer internships and other yummy opportunities for young people interested enough to folow through.

[clarisse]

I really do like engineering, it's more of a thing between the match between me and the school Klaynos, and I can always do a minor on something else that I like.

 

Thanks Phi, I had already thought of doing that but mainly to see if I could get a sponsor for college, although that may be quite hard I do not know.

 

However, I'm still not sure that will help me to choose where to go because both of the two cities I'm in between (Boston and New York) I've heard offer great job opportunities and regarding internships, both of the universities also have great options. I did like New York more than Boston though, but ... I'm trying not to choose based only on how impressive I found the city.

[cessna7686]

Thought I'd give my two cents, since I had to go through the same decision process a few years ago. I also was looking in schools in NYC and Boston (Columbia, Boston University, and Northeastern). I didn't like Columbia because of how they set up their course structure and ended up not even applying there. I liked BU and they have a very good engineering program (I am mechanical engineering) but I really liked Northeastern University. NU was actually the weakest academic school I applied to however they have a very good co-op program which allows you to alternate between classes and internships. In addition to getting good real life work experience you are also payed during the internships (at least for engineering) which can help lower the cost of school/housing. I actually ended up going to Drexel University which has a stronger engineering program than Northeastern and competes with them for the top co-op program in the country. If you are really concerned about the cities I would recommend taking a hard look at your financial situation since New York City is WAY more expensive than Boston but Boston was a really fun city (I think it has the most college students per capita than any other country in the US, but I might be wrong.)

Hope that helps a little, I'm happy to help with any other questions you might have.

[ecoli]

I really do like engineering, it's more of a thing between the match between me and the school Klaynos, and I can always do a minor on something else that I like.

 

Thanks Phi, I had already thought of doing that but mainly to see if I could get a sponsor for college, although that may be quite hard I do not know.

 

However, I'm still not sure that will help me to choose where to go because both of the two cities I'm in between (Boston and New York) I've heard offer great job opportunities and regarding internships, both of the universities also have great options. I did like New York more than Boston though, but ... I'm trying not to choose based only on how impressive I found the city.

 

Hey clarisse... long time no speak. I'm glad you've reactivated here, though.

 

I have a question, is tuition going to be an issue for you?

[clarisse]

Ecoli hi! I know... it's been so long, but hopefully I'll be able to contribute to the forums more now that school is almost over.

 

While tuition is an issue they accepted me even though I applied for financial aid (well one was need blind.) Nevertheless I was planning on asking my government for help and if that doesn't work out, I got a list of entrepreneurs who could potentially be interested in sponsoring me and my dad is selling property so I'm hoping the financial part will work out.

 

I know you must have been choosing just a few years ago. How did you choose?