What university shall I go to?

[Alan Bolte]

I was going to reply to the other thread, but then realized that I might hijack it, and in fact kind of wanted to. So here's the question. I live in Columbus, Ohio, am seventeen, and am about to enter my senior year. I need to have applications sent in within a few months. Now, I've got my choice of schools. I may not be rich, but my parents have just enough money to support me to some extent. I have a great High School record and may end up being one of a couple validictorians, at a school recognized nationally as College Preparitory (got some silly thing from the College Board a year or two ago). I got a 1510 on my SAT, a 4 in AP Chem, and a 5 in AP calc. Add to that the classes I'll be taking next year, some at Ohio State.
Now, just because it was necessary and I didn't care all that much, I've selected my major to be Materials Science and Engineering. Luckily, that limits my choice of schools somewhat. I don't think I need to tell you how much of an interest in science and math, as I'm on this board. This major is something I'd be quite interested in, although I had also considered aerospace engineering. Who doesn't like to make things fly through the air and go boom?
Anyway, my question to the board is, where to go? Just how much do the rankings matter? What have been your experiences? I grew up to a big state school, and I visited Penn State recently, and I don't think that's what I want. However, if all else fails, OSU is a good school and much cheaper than any of my other options. I also visited Cornell. Pretty cool, but is Ivy League what it's supposed to be? Finally, (this was all a trip last week) I visited a smaller private school called Lehigh. Gorgeous campus, but how much does that matter? How on Earth can I choose where to go?
For your convenience, here is a website listing departments of materials.
The following is my adaptation of rankings from US News and Word Report:

Code: Select all

              Materials/Aerospace/Overall Eng/Overall Nat

U of Illinois 1        8         3           38
U of Michigan 2        3         7           25
Cornell       4        15        7           14
Stanford      5        3         2           4
MIT           7        1         1           4
Penn State    7        12        15          45
Cal Tech      15       5         3           4
Purdue        15       7         10          -

[Howedar]

If you took the PSAT, got a good score, etc, etc, and got recognized as a National Merit Scholar, you can go to Arizona State for free, plus $5500/yr cash.

[Alan Bolte]

Yes, well, I won't know anything about scores until september, and that's a bit of a distance. I'm not sure I want to go so far away from Columbus that I have to fly home.
Gonna head to Purdue and Illinois first week of August, but I haven't got high hopes up, cause they sound a bit like Penn. But my parents want me to check them out, and they're really highly rated, so I might as well.

[Howedar]

If you took the PSAT, you'd have your scores by now.

[J]

Anyway, my question to the board is, where to go? Just how much do the rankings matter? What have been your experiences? I grew up to a big state school, and I visited Penn State recently, and I don't think that's what I want. However, if all else fails, OSU is a good school and much cheaper than any of my other options. I also visited Cornell. Pretty cool, but is Ivy League what it's supposed to be? Finally, (this was all a trip last week) I visited a smaller private school called Lehigh. Gorgeous campus, but how much does that matter? How on Earth can I choose where to go?

I'm not an engineering type so I can't really help you out on that part, but I did go to and graduate from Princeton so I know a bit about Ivy League stuff. I think the main thing about Ivy's is the sense of community in the school, you feel like you're part of a family and tradition. Princeton's not even in the same country I live in, and yet they made me feel so welcome and at home. From the beginning of when I applied there to the orientation tours to actually starting school there, they went out of their way in making me feel like a part of a team instead of some number on a register sheet. The people, students, teachers, and even the admin were just really good and special, it come back to that community thing where we all help each other out.

I've briefly visited Cornell, Stanford, and Purdue on swim meets and I've noticed the same thing there as in Princeton, though my school pride compels me to say that Princeton's the best and that Harvard's highly over-rated.

[TrailerParkJawa]

[quote="jmac
I'm not an engineering type so I can't really help you out on that part, but I did go to and graduate from Princeton so I know a bit about Ivy League stuff. I think the main thing about Ivy's is the sense of community in the school, you feel like you're part of a family and tradition. Princeton's not even in the same country I live in, and yet they made me feel so welcome and at home. From the beginning of when I applied there to the orientation tours to actually starting school there, they went out of their way in making me feel like a part of a team instead of some number on a register sheet. The people, students, teachers, and even the admin were just really good and special, it come back to that community thing where we all help each other out.

[/quote]

I think the "community" feel of college is something I really missed by going to a local school just a few miles from home. I liked my school, but part of me probably really would have benefited by going someplace with a real university "feel".

[Alan Bolte]

Scores, yes. And I've been Recognized, meaning I'm in the top 50,000, which was determined in April. But I won't know if I'm Commended or a Semifinalist until September. Fingers crossed for Semifinalist, because even if I'm not a Finalist or Merit Scholar some places still will give you stuff.
Thanks jmac, always looking for insight from the experienced. And I was kinda thinking Harvard was overrated. Didn't MIT weld their gates shut or something?

[Master of Ossus]

Okay. First things first. ALWAYS visit the schools you plan on attending. Almost everyone I knew in college and university found the school to be perfect, and exactly what they wanted. You'll know if that's where you want to go immediately.

If that doesn't work, it's tougher because you really haven't said what you're interested in. Here's the deal:

Cal Tech and MIT are the best technical schools in the US. Cal Tech is stronger, but that works both ways. They also have a more selective student body. If you can get into Cal Tech and you're sure you want to go into a science/engineering type of field, you will not do better anywhere. Cal Tech professors know their stuff, and they really work with the undergrads, who tend to be even brighter than the grad students it attracts.

Stanford and Duke are the next best options for undergrad work. Both of them offer a VERY wide selection of fields, and both of them are exceptionally good at what they are. You can get an education in any field you like at either school, and expect it to be about the best you can possibly receive. This is where to go if you're thinking about engineering or sciecne, but aren't sure, yet.

Beyond that is a little more difficult. If you're interested in liberal arts, there are a bunch of very good schools. If I may say so, Pomona College is one of the best in the business (go Sagehens), and you'll be able to take classes at the rest of the C5 after your freshman year, so you can get a versatile training. Amherst is another very good option (Mass.), so you should consider checking them out (they are a lot like Cornell, but much better). The Ivy League schools TEND to focus on graduate work, so you may want to avoid them and find one of the "baby" Ivys for undergrad. Look for schools like Bucknell and Colgate before making your decision. The only Ivys that are clearly much better than their lesser-known counterparts for undergrad work are Princeton and Harvard, so consider them if you can't find anywhere else.

Have a GREAT time at college. I think that college made up the best four years of my life, and I know you'll do wonderfully whereever you wind up. Have fun!

Edit: BTW, Claremont McKenna and Harvey Mudd are a little less selective than the other engineering/science schools you were considering. If you want a good "back-up" private school, they might be good places to look at. Granted, here's my C5 bias, but oh well. They have some pretty cool people there, though Pomona is obviously the stand out of the chain.