Originally posted by emad
hmm...nothing truly hellish for me.
the program i reeeeaaaaalllllyyyy wanted to get into had a portfolio submission as a requirement. The problem was that i had moved recently and during the move, the portfolio, despite the care i took in packing it, got destroyed... then i had 2 months to make one and they just insulted me to death when i went for the interview. That was last year. Now, i'm doing Information Technology Management @ a university. All i can say is that it is nothing like i expected. more than 60% of the course load is Business courses and the rest is technical stuff. I soooooo should have gone to college rather than university. But at least here, i'll be able to have a business degree and proficiency in Information Technology...if one fails, i'll have the other to fall back on.
My suggestion to any aspiring engineers...if u wanna get your hands dirty, i'd suggest college over university. University will be pure theory for the first few years of the program followed by technical stuff in the last 1 or 2. (also one of the hardest course loads around).
Well that portfolio story sounds pretty hellish to me.
I definately agree that any prospective engineers should look into the programs to which they apply to make sure that there will be the opportunity for real hands-on research and projects...not just lectures on the theories.
Since I started the thread, I should probably breifly give my story. I have been looking into mechanical engineering programs since the spring. (Two great sources of information are
www.princetonreview.com and
www.usnews.com.) I began with a list of about twenty schools and have narrowed it down through visits, virtual tours, and advice to about 7. I gave up on trying to pick a specific number to apply to; I am just going to apply one at a time until I go crazy I think. My number one choice would be MIT, and I will get their notification in mid-December (only two more weeks!
) I am also applying to Cornell, but that is a later deadline. If I don't get in or my family decides that those two school would be too much of a financial stretch, I have given myself several solid alternatives like University of Maryland and Rensselaer Polytech. My goal is that every school I apply to should be a school where I would be happy, not just, "Oh well, I guess I'll just go here."
It's hard to give any advice on the college process since I'm right in the middle of it. Definately do a lot of research and find what fits you. Visiting the campus is also important. (For example, I think Rensselaer and UMD are on the same level academically, but if I had to choose between the two I would choose UMD because I really, really, like the campus atmosphere.) For the essays, it's better to just write what you want IMO rather than what you think they would want to hear. Don't go against your writing style.
I thought this thread would be a good idea for some of us to share are stories as we go through the process, if you want. To everyone else out there in GTP who is in this process, I wish you all the best of luck.
