Road to a good engineering school?

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Discussion Overview

The discussion revolves around the steps and considerations for transferring from a community college to a prestigious engineering school, specifically in the field of chemical engineering. Participants share insights on academic performance, course selection, and the implications of choosing schools based on prestige versus quality of education.

Discussion Character

  • Exploratory
  • Debate/contested
  • Conceptual clarification

Main Points Raised

  • One participant seeks guidance on how to successfully transfer from a community college to a prestigious university, mentioning specific schools of interest.
  • Another participant suggests that achieving high marks and gaining relevant experience, such as summer placements, are key to transferring successfully.
  • There is a discussion about the difference between "prestige" and "good" courses, with one participant arguing that the quality of education may not correlate with the school's status.
  • A participant shares an anecdote about a friend's choice to attend an Ivy League school despite a significant cost difference compared to a well-regarded state university, raising questions about the value of networking opportunities versus financial burden.
  • Another participant recommends considering the University of Delaware as a viable option for chemical engineering, noting its strong program and potentially lower admission barriers.
  • The original poster expresses interest in applying to multiple top chemical engineering schools while prioritizing financial considerations.

Areas of Agreement / Disagreement

Participants express differing views on the importance of prestige versus the quality of education, with some emphasizing the need for good grades and relevant experience, while others question the value of pursuing prestigious institutions at a high cost. The discussion remains unresolved regarding the best approach to selecting a school.

Contextual Notes

Participants discuss various factors influencing school choice, including academic performance, financial considerations, and the perceived value of networking opportunities. There is no consensus on the best strategy for transferring or the significance of prestige in education.

beachhouse
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hello, pf i am new here and this is my first post and i would like to know what course of action i will need to take in order to reach my goals. [sorry if this is in the wrong section, if it is can a mod please move it to the correct location]

a little backround info;

I just graduated high school a couple of days ago and i will be attending a CCC. (SMC). in high school i took many AP classes but only managed to pass 2 [waiting for my senior year AP scores]. My SAT and ACT were subpar at best [1570/22] but in my mind I know that I am far from stupid. I went to one of the top 5 worst high schools in california. i applied to some UCs and CSUs but was rejected from 95% of them. I chose to go the CCC route because I would rather try again in 2 years and aim for the stars.

so i come here today to ask what is needed to transfer out of a CC into a school with prestige. the schools id like to attend in the future would be; (for chemical engineering) Cornell, UCB, Georgia Tech, UCLA, CalTech (i wish), Stanford (i wish again) and schools of that prestige. I know it will be far from easy, but I just want a general guideline as to what I need to do. (do i need a lot of EC's, if so what kind, my GPA, my courseload, etc etc)

thank you so much if you read through all of that!
 
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beachhouse said:
so i come here today to ask what is needed to transfer out of a CC into a school with prestige.

That's easy, just get really good marks and do a Summer placement or two.
You seem a bit hung-up on "prestige". You might want to look at "good" courses instead. They aren't necessarily the same thing.
 
thank you for the response :) and what is the difference?
 
I don't think that a course run at any of those univerisities will be bad (I haven't checked but it seems ok). i more saying that you pay a heavy premium for chasing status.

An example: A friend of mine is going to UPenn for a masters next year to the tune of $40,000, when U of Illinois offered them a full tuition scholarship. I thought they were crazy because it is just so much money and Illinois is a really good school, but they just couldn't get the whole "Ivy league" idea out of their head. So now they are spending (what I consider) a small fortune.
 
while being a good point, your friend probably thought the networking possibilites were worth to 40k? I agree though, that is a TON of money
 
Ever try looking into University of Delaware? Top 10 ChemE and not ridiculously hard to get into. You could always try getting into the school and then transferring into ChemE. You may come out with less of a debt burden from U of D too.
 
i was looking into other schools yesterday and Delaware caught my eye. I will probably end up applying to all of the top 10 chemE schools and choose the one where i will graduate with the least amount of debt :P
 

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