A letter arrived today (I'M GOING TO AMERICA!!)

[cbre88x]

others can have one beer, pass out

lawl. lightweight.

[Dave]

I know you might not like the idea of being at a part with a load of people you dont know, loud music and getting wasted, but at least try it once so you know. Humans are social creatures by nature, you might like it.

[Valentine Wiggin]

I know you might not like the idea of being at a part with a load of people you dont know, loud music and getting wasted, but at least try it once so you know. Humans are social creatures by nature, you might like it.

did it a lot in high school and early college, now you couldn't pay me to go to a big party or club.  small social gatherings are where it's at

[Aerox]

Harvey Mudd is one of the top computer schools and if you went you could be near Trace.

[Benito Mussolini]

Well...

I'd tell you to come to U of Montreal...
But it's in french... a language you should actually learn quite easily.

But there are also good english school over here.

McGill and Concordia are fine establishments... for engineering too, I believe.
Especially if you don't want to pay too much, the education is not cheap at all, only the cost is. 8)

[Daft Pink]

Congratulations. ^_^

I don't know much about good schools around here, so sorry.

[Riosan]

come to north carolina

we don't have karth

[Versus]

UT Austin

also california.

come to north carolina

we don't have karth

hahahahahaha

[SAVAGE-0]

Avoid Texas.. or any Southern States really. Don't ask why just do it.

I'll tend to agree here

the north east is known for having a great educational system - both k-12 and colleges... new york or boston has a shit ton of really good schools.  And cali - after looking at those areas, I'd stick with the really big name tech schools (but they tend to fall in the southern states like VA, TX etc.)

Also,
I would wholly agree with this list:
http://colleges.usnews.rankingsandreview...ngineering

[Surf314]

[quote author=Neonie link=topic=3206.msg94479#msg94479 date=1246604939]
Avoid Texas.. or any Southern States really. Don't ask why just do it.

I'll tend to agree here

the north east is known for having a great educational system - both k-12 and colleges... new york or boston has a shit ton of really good schools.  And cali - after looking at those areas, I'd stick with the really big name tech schools (but they tend to fall in the southern states like VA, TX etc.)

Also,
I would wholly agree with this list:
http://colleges.usnews.rankingsandreview...ngineering
[/quote]

Georgia Tech is actually a really great school, and it is part of "the friendly south."  Seriously, best food around and good people.  My mom is from Atlanta and I've been a few times. You really can't beat Georgia if you want the best of the south without all the bad elements.

[CaffeinePowered]

Georgia Tech is actually a really great school, and it is part of "the friendly south."  Seriously, best food around and good people.  My mom is from Atlanta and I've been a few times. You really can't beat Georgia if you want the best of the south without all the bad elements.

This depends highly on what part of the state you are in, Atlanta can be nice, but "small town" Georgia I'd steer well clear of, but that can be said of almost any state, theres desirable parts and certain areas I wouldn't touch with a 10ft pole.

[at0m]

For Computer Engineering (Look to Duck's Post for the difference between CompSci and CompE)

1) MIT
2) UIUC Engineering
3) UC Berkley

Those are the top three schools _in the world_ for engineering, the only one I'd be able to tell you about in depth is UIUC since I went there and did spend a good deal of time on the engineering campus getting a minor in CompSci

This. I went to Purdue University for Electrical Engineering, but I applied at the top two. I was going to apply to Berkeley too but the alum that I know wouldn't write me a reference letter so I didn't bother >_<. I can vouch for UIUC, though, I know many people that went there, and it's a solid school. The only reason I went to Purdue and not UIUC was because they have a quota to keep from having too many people from my hometown/high school >_<. Top 3% high school + competetive parents == really highly qualified applicants :/ they'd have a school full of people from my hometown if they didn't have a quota. BUT ANYWAYS

[quote author=The Chilean Crusher link=topic=3206.msg94562#msg94562 date=1246643974]
Thanks for the help :3

It IS Computer Engineering, thanks for the difference

1) I don't care if it's la creme de la creme, but as long as it does help improving my career, will work
Always at least apply for the top, then you can think about it later if you do get in
2) Well.. yeah, again, i don't care if it's the best, but i want one that when i show it on my CV someone will recognize it
See #1, you may get a good education at a lesser known school, but you wont get this benefit
3) Hum... i wouldn't mind to be honest.. but yeah, to make things a little more diverse
Larger schools tend to be more diverse
4) Don't mind as long as they mantain extracurricular.
Any larger school will have tons of activities
5) Hard question... i really enjoyed being in the city while i was on Chicago, but i think i'll go with something suburban like Ontario
UIUC is close enough to Chicago to take a train to for a weekend, but far enough away that you don't get the worst of Chicago winters, still gets cold though
6) Work, please, i want to buy some cheap games  and be able to never depend on my parents while i'm there (at least on the living part)
Any school will have decent opportunities for on-campus jobs
7) I want a big school, but honestly.. i don't want to be known by everybody, i just want to mantain my low profile
The three I listed are all fairly large
8) I practice Judo since i'm 13, so as long as there's a Judo club i'm fine
Any school with >1000 people probably has one
9) Nah, i don't care, already have a girlfriend and i'm not really good at talking with girls (not because i'm shy but because girls are really boring)
What happens when you are out of country, stays out of country, just keep pictures off facebook

And my school will pay for the trip, and help with the tuituion when picking a school, i've got to find the rest

Also, i don't want a Spanish club, seriously. Everyone who knows me already knows that i hate Spanish, to be honest as soon as i get there i don't want to talk in spanish again. And i want to fit on the normal school, not the "look at the special exchange students" club

[/quote]Also this (what Caff said). Duck's questions are the questions that any college-bound person should be seriously considering when trying to decide on a school. Especially little things like the social environment (the last couple of questions). It's hard to tell what you'll like without visiting, but typically if you go to a larger school you've got a better chance of finding a social niche of people that you want to be friends with. My $0.02. You'll have to be careful about jobs though. Read up on the details of your Student Visa, because you might be screwing yourself out of the opportunity to work over the summer (at an internship) or after graduation (while you're trying to find a job that'll sponsor you to stay in the country if you choose to stay) if you work while you're in school. I don't pretend to be an expert myself, but I do know that there are some tricky aspects to it that you should really educate yourself about.

[quote author=Surf314 link=topic=3206.msg95010#msg95010 date=1246884085]
Georgia Tech is actually a really great school, and it is part of "the friendly south."  Seriously, best food around and good people.  My mom is from Atlanta and I've been a few times. You really can't beat Georgia if you want the best of the south without all the bad elements.

This depends highly on what part of the state you are in, Atlanta can be nice, but "small town" Georgia I'd steer well clear of, but that can be said of almost any state, theres desirable parts and certain areas I wouldn't touch with a 10ft pole.
[/quote]
Georgia Tech is another solid engineering school, but I'm not sure how good their Computer Engineering program is. They do have a Co-op program like Purdue does, though, where you get your degree in 5 years because you spend alternating semesters at internships with a company. The only people I've met that went to Georgia Tech were jerks though, so I don't know about the culture. It could've been because I was from Purdue. Atlanta is a cool place, it's not at all like small-town Georgia, Caff. Tech is downtown, and while I didn't get out much while I was living there, but I wish I had.

If you have any questions about my own college search drop me a PM, I'd be more than happy to talk about it. I'm sure anyone here who has finished college feels the same.

[Surf314]

[quote author=Surf314 link=topic=3206.msg95010#msg95010 date=1246884085]
Georgia Tech is actually a really great school, and it is part of "the friendly south."  Seriously, best food around and good people.  My mom is from Atlanta and I've been a few times. You really can't beat Georgia if you want the best of the south without all the bad elements.

This depends highly on what part of the state you are in, Atlanta can be nice, but "small town" Georgia I'd steer well clear of, but that can be said of almost any state, theres desirable parts and certain areas I wouldn't touch with a 10ft pole.
[/quote]

The places I've been in Georgia have been highly enjoyable.  Dehlonaga, Stone Mountain and Atlanta were the places I went.  It was all good food and friendly people, also it is generally very pretty.  If I had to move to somewhere else in the south I'd definitely pick Georgia.  Also I've heard really great things about Savana which is supposed to be pretty thick with ghosts (if you believe in that sort of thing).  I'm sure there are bad parts of Georgia, but there is a huge minority and gay population (especially in Atlanta) which I think helps with tolerance a lot (which is unfortunately one of the biggest problems with the south).

[Surf314]

Also to follow up, I know this probably seems like terrible advice but I'd go for the college that has the most enjoyable surroundings.  Unless you can make it into a top tier school most colleges give you similar opportunities, like I said two of my friends were computer engineering and landed really good jobs out of UF (which probably is pretty solid middle in the rankings).  I think how you perform and your internships probably matter more than your school in a lot of cases.

Your college years are probably your best memories though and the time you get most exposed to the world and different ideas that will help shape your world view and your values.  Once you get out it's pretty much work/eat/sleep with little time to get away and have adventures like you did in college.  So if you can get in a top tier school then go for it, if you can't just pick an area you really want to be able to explore and find a good school there.

[cbre88x]

The places I've been in Georgia have been highly enjoyable.  Dehlonaga, Stone Mountain and Atlanta were the places I went.  It was all good food and friendly people, also it is generally very pretty.  If I had to move to somewhere else in the south I'd definitely pick Georgia.  Also I've heard really great things about Savana which is supposed to be pretty thick with ghosts (if you believe in that sort of thing).  I'm sure there are bad parts of Georgia, but there is a huge minority and gay population (especially in Atlanta) which I think helps with tolerance a lot (which is unfortunately one of the biggest problems with the south).

You must have been to the good side of Stone Mountain. Dahlonega is awesome..really nice quaint town during Christmas. Atlanta is Atlanta. Savannah and the surrounding area is awesome..connects to Tybee Island and there is a lot of supposed "spiritual energy" in the area..also good food. The satellite communities of Atlanta are awesome. If any of you take a trip to Georgia I can tell you where not to go. And if you go to Savannah I can tell you where all the good eateries are.

[Surf314]

You live in Georgia?  Also I went to the tourist part of Stone Mountain and had fried pickles and hand tossed rolls.  My perceptions of the place may have been colored by how awesome fried pickles are.

[copulatingduck]

Your college years are probably your best memories

Not always true, I know a lot of people that really hated their time here, and personally I enjoyed high school a lot more than college. Some schools can be really valuable albeit miserable experiences. That's why I'd suggest with lowering your sights a bit and going with a program that's affordable and can give you some leeway with your social life/free time.

[cbre88x]

You live in Georgia?  Also I went to the tourist part of Stone Mountain and had fried pickles and hand tossed rolls.  My perceptions of the place may have been colored by how awesome fried pickles are.

lawl yea.

[Riosan]

If any of you take a trip to Georgia I can tell you where not to go.

taking a trip to near-atlanta next week

start talking, seabreeze

[cbre88x]

[quote author=cbre88x link=topic=3206.msg95029#msg95029 date=1246894302]
If any of you take a trip to Georgia I can tell you where not to go.

taking a trip to near-atlanta next week
start talking, seabreeze
[/quote]

If you're in Atlanta the semi-high class area is Buckhead. It has nice restaurants and places to visit that won't rape your wallet. I'd also reccommend visiting the CNN center..it's a walk away from the Falcon's stadium and the Hawk's coliseum.

World of Coke is a cool place as well. Pretty cheap entrance fee if I remember correctly. Six Flags Over Georgia has some badass rides and if you carry specifically marked coke cans to the door you get 10 dollars off..just beware the parking fee. White Water is also a cool water park right next to it, but I haven't been there in years even tho I hear it's still badass.

If you want your food to rape you at night..The Varsity has fanfuckingtastic chilidogs and hamburgers and shit. Braves games are always fun too and they are doing fairly well this season. Cheapest tix you can get are 5 bucks and the seats are usually not bad for nosebleeds. There is also a special to get into their casino area..where tix are usually like 30 bucks they are 6 this year, probably have to be 21 for that tho. Just get there fairly early.

If you feel like hardcore shopping the Mall of Georgia in Buford is like 30 minutes northeast of Atlanta. Largest mall in Georgia and it's like 3 stories tall. Not to mention it has 1 of the state's only IMAX theaters. You also got the Georgia Aquarium. I actually haven't been there yet, but everyone who has tells me it's the shit.

If you have any more questions ask away.

Edit: Forgot to tell you where not to go. Don't get lost in the area around the Braves Stadium. It's clean, but some of the areas around it are slightly sketch. Also, be careful around the Georgia State campus. There are a few hoody areas, but they are few and far in between.