College Shopping
I'm glad I live in New York. That meant I did not have to go on one of those 12-campus-visits-in-one-trip marathons. Being conveniently located in New York, and being a student who would like to remain on the East Coast for college, we could easily split up our 12-campus-visits-in-one-trip tour into three 4-campus-visits-in-one-trip tours. Except we didn't have as many as 12 campuses to visit.
Some things that were present in all or most of the colleges...
- Liberal arts education
- Lots of clubs and extracurriculars
- Can create own clubs pretty easily
- Intense 4-year mental marathon education
- Diversity
- Accessible professors (of course, they could be lying about this)
- Lots of research opportunities
I just don't want to repeat these for all of the colleges.
I'm planning to major in Engineering, but I want a liberal arts education. I'd like the college I go to be big on music and the arts. I like the idea of living on a rather compact campus that still has a good amount of grass and trees. I'd like a college that is located near or in a decent-sized city. I'd like a college student body that isn't filled with bland overachievers. Interesting overachievers are okay.
Up North
We drove to Massachusetts and stayed at a family friend's house. They have two children: Rosanna, my age; and Larry/Lawrence, rising sophomore. It was fun but we could only stay a single night. Rosanna came along to see Harvard with me.
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Didn't quite measure up to my dreams about it.... Perhaps because it was because the first part of it I walked through didn't quite look like a campus. It looked more like a bunch of dull street corners. Of course, this is coming from somebody who has often roamed around the grassy and spacious C.W. Post campus in her youth. Well, at least I got to see the funky "drunken robots" MIT building (aka Stata Center). The campus proved to be nicer once we went on the tour. It's all pretty modern, considering it's... MIT, after all. Also, most of MIT is connected through indoor/underground pathways, such as the Infinite Corridor.
Academically-wise, it's almost ideal, given that I'm a math/science geek who wants to study engineering, but still wants to take humanities courses; typical course emphasis is on the math and sciences and then the humanities to enhance communication skills. There are also ample research opportunities. I don't remember if they ever said anything about the professors being really accessible there.... There are a copule things in the MIT academics that stand out:
Diversity is emphasized at MIT (lots of Asians, which I have mixed feelings about), as well as humor (as seen in the numerous MIT hacks).
I'm not sure how I like the dorms. I'd really like suite-style dorms (MIT doesn't really seem to have them based on the sparse MIT dorm research I've done), and I'd like to avoid communal bathrooms (fat chance that'll happen freshman year). The dorm we visited was rather dark and gloomy. I guess I won't be applying to that dorm if I do go to MIT. A weird thing about the dorms, based on my sparse MIT dorm research, is that most aren't wireless... and this is MIT we're talking about.
Considering Early Action application.
Harvard University
The campus is grassier than that of MIT's. The info session and tour were more disorganized than at MIT. The parts of Harvard academic setup that make it different, so to say, as emphasized in the info session, are...
The people at Harvard made it sound like so much fun. I took that with a grain of salt. In any case, Harvard doesn't seem quite appropriate for me. It's not exactly known for engineering, though they do have an engineering division.
Not considering application.
Yale University
When I visited Yale, I fell in love. It was freaking amazing. The presentation was absolutely great. Our information session speaker (aside from being a wearer of funky pants), did an absolutely great job of "advertising" Yale and its perks. The guy, named Chris, also claimed that going to Yale was like going on a four-year vacation. I took that with a grain of salt.
But that aside... Yale continues the "Harry Potter trend." Upon entering as a freshman, you get sorted into a random house (there are 12), to give the "small" feeling in a big college. Dorms are suite-style, each house has its own dining hall and all of these other facilities, and there are house masters with master's tea! There's also another Harry Potter-like dining hall somewhere, along with a cathedral-like library. And... much of the campus is in Gothic style. Yeah, I really like that. What I also found really attractive about Yale are its study abroad opportunities, paid for by the university (*that* is great).
I also went on a special Engineering tour at Yale. The engineering program there is the oldest in the country, it seemed pretty nice inside the engineering buildings we visited. However, Yale (or probably any other university for the matter) doesn't offer as many engineering majors as MIT.
Yale is also pretty big on music, but it doesn't offer minors... so I can't have a music minor. =(
Strongly tempted to apply Restricted Early Action, but probably applying Regular.
Next Door, in NYC
Well, since we're living on Long Island, getting to the city isn't exactly a problem. This time around, it was Rosanna and her family staying at our house for a night and visiting Columbia and NYU with us.
Columbia University
Uh... I worked here for much of the summer. So... I'm more familiar with this campus than any other. And the professors there really are accessible. At least the ones I've worked with, even Luca (my main mentor), who doesn't look so accessible but is.
The campus is absolutely gorgeous. Columbia is in its own little grassy bubble within New York City, which itself is a great place. So you've got the excitement of New York City there at Columbia, and if you want to get away from all of that, you simply return to the serene Columbia campus.
Columbia didn't really appeal to me on the general tour I went on with Rosanna. The information session guy was boring, the student tour guide kinda soft-spoken and had no flare (can't really blame her though -- all of my previous tour guides were in drama clubs while she wasn't). The focus in Columbia College seemed to be on training students how to argue, and debate is encouraged. This seems to be more of Dhruv's school. I saw him there that day incidentally, along with Fletcher.
I also went on a separate engineering tour a few weeks later. We just toured the engineering facilities and learned about their Gateway program. It's a first-year community service-based course that gives you the opportunity to do something like create playgrounds for disabled children. Which is of course awesome.
You have to apply separately for the engineering school at Columbia, but the admit rates are higher than the Columbia College. So... yeah. Also, while Columbia College students have to pass a swim test, engineering students don't. The rumored justification being that engineering students will be able to build boats in the times where swimming is otherwise needed.
Considering regular application, though Columbia doesn't have a really strong appeal.
Oh, and Columbia offers free music lessons for many instruments.
New York University
I can't go to this school. It's city. PURE CITY. No serene grassy areas with lots of trees and not too many people... NONE. All buildings. Perhaps the buildings are nice buildings with ample security. And then there are nice dorms with individual bathrooms in each room. But... I can't go here. I can't apply to a school with the city as its campus. Not even as a safety school. The environment totally does not fit me.
I doodled quite a lot during the information session. I drew three snails, made scribblies, and a stack of books. I wouldn't have come here if it weren't for Rosanna. She wanted to take a look at NYU as a safety-ish school. Our tour guide was actually from her school, which was interesting.
Not applying.
Cooper Union
Well... we didn't exactly tour this school, or go on any information sessions. We couldn't find any information on tours or info sessions on their website. There's an open house in November, which I may attend.
What we did do is try to find Cooper Union (we did) and took a peak at it. It seems kinda too small, city-integrated, and career-specific for me.
Not considering application at the moment.
Down South
My cousin from China had come over a few days before we went down south. He was my first relative to come to the U.S. other than my mom's parents (unless you want to count my mom's distant cousin in Maryland), and he is studying his PhD at William and Mary. Which I am not going to apply to, for the record.
So we went down South to drop him off and to go... of course, COLLEGE VISITING. Going down south was weird. It was a lot more rural there... our new GPS took us through these random rural shortcuts, which was most interesting...
University of Virginia
Payvand is there. Always a perk.
The people there are really nice. Like.
South means warmer winters. Like.
It's in the South. Dislike.
There is a lot of grass. Like.
There are a lot of trees. Like.
The buildings are almost all made of red brick. Dislike.
The campus is huge. Dislike.
Orange school color. Dislike.
Not located near a big city. Dislike.
2/3 of the students are from Virginia. Uncomfortable with the fact.
Presentation lackluster. Didn't help improve my impressions.
Jefferson Scholarship. Nice, but someone else can go for the nomination.
Not applying.
Duke
I love Gothic architecture. And I never knew it until I visited Yale and Duke. I think it's so pretty. There's also nice newer architecture too... like in the engineering buildings. The campus is pretty, of course. It's kinda big... which I'm not a huge fan of. I like the idea of being able to access a campus anywhere by foot. But there's a nice shuttle service around the campus, as well as to Chapel Hill. Duke itself is in its own bubble, so it's really more like a northern school even though it's located in the south.
Now, before the information session, there was a video, and one student on the video said that they have "phenomenal discussions" there at Duke, because the study body is so diverse in its views. Great, I love good conversations. =D The information session itself was very engaging, and our tour guide was the best tour guide we had ever had. He told us so much, he showed us so much, the whole tour group loved him.
Duke also has free printing, which is always nice to have. And Duke does offer merit scholarships. There is a Pratt School of Engineering at Duke, but I don't know too much about it. I wrote down in my notebook that it has a liberal arts education, 40% of its students pick a second major, and engineers do cool things. Uh... I wonder if I was writing verbatim at the time. I probably did.
Considering regular application only if our traffic violation gets rescinded. We accidentally covered our parking permit with the sunshades. Oops.
Okay, perhaps I'll still apply even if the violation doesn't get rescinded.
University of Pennsylvania
Not really down south, but we came here while heading back to New York. It wasn't the best of days when I went to UPenn. The weather wasn't too great, which in turn made the more-shaded regions of the campus look gloomy. Philadelphia, my birthplace, is also a shabbier city than New York City. =\ My father is an alumnus at UPenn (and my mother often went to UPenn to use its library), so I therefore have legacy at UPenn... and it meant that we couldn't get lost on campus (we did at other campuses).
In any case... I saw Alison at UPenn!!! I was taking a picture of a squirrel on a tree, then I turn around... and I see ALISON! Yeah, it was great, because Alison is great. The presentation was good, and UPenn doesn't seem like a bad place to go to. What was kinda weird though was that its engineering school was ranked beneath Penn State's engineering school in some ranking last year, but you can't trust those things.
Well, UPenn does fit into what I'm looking for in a college. It just looked so... gloomy there. And I don't know what I think about the dorms there; a lot of people move off campus to live nearby in their own apartments. Also, the UPenn faculty just recently voted to accept no more AP credits. I don't know when this policy is going to be implemented, but if it's while I'm there, it's a bit of a letdown.
Possibly applying.
All in all, MIT and Yale are my top choices. Yes, I like the north. If I could only could combine the MIT academia (and glass blowing workshop, hacks, and Infinite Corridor) with Yale's house system, Gothic architecture, and study abroad opportunities.
Ideally, I'll apply MIT early action and get in, so I won't have to bother with applying to any safety schools, and then I'll apply to Yale and get rejected, so I won't have to agonize over which school to go to. Yeah, that seems good. Or I can do it the other way around. Gee, but... these choices to make! GAH!
People in general seem to be "pro fei at mit" though. Anyway, I think my chances of getting deferred at Yale are greater than getting deferred at MIT.
Some things that were present in all or most of the colleges...
- Liberal arts education
- Lots of clubs and extracurriculars
- Can create own clubs pretty easily
- Intense 4-year mental marathon education
- Diversity
- Accessible professors (of course, they could be lying about this)
- Lots of research opportunities
I just don't want to repeat these for all of the colleges.
I'm planning to major in Engineering, but I want a liberal arts education. I'd like the college I go to be big on music and the arts. I like the idea of living on a rather compact campus that still has a good amount of grass and trees. I'd like a college that is located near or in a decent-sized city. I'd like a college student body that isn't filled with bland overachievers. Interesting overachievers are okay.
Up North
We drove to Massachusetts and stayed at a family friend's house. They have two children: Rosanna, my age; and Larry/Lawrence, rising sophomore. It was fun but we could only stay a single night. Rosanna came along to see Harvard with me.
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Didn't quite measure up to my dreams about it.... Perhaps because it was because the first part of it I walked through didn't quite look like a campus. It looked more like a bunch of dull street corners. Of course, this is coming from somebody who has often roamed around the grassy and spacious C.W. Post campus in her youth. Well, at least I got to see the funky "drunken robots" MIT building (aka Stata Center). The campus proved to be nicer once we went on the tour. It's all pretty modern, considering it's... MIT, after all. Also, most of MIT is connected through indoor/underground pathways, such as the Infinite Corridor.
Academically-wise, it's almost ideal, given that I'm a math/science geek who wants to study engineering, but still wants to take humanities courses; typical course emphasis is on the math and sciences and then the humanities to enhance communication skills. There are also ample research opportunities. I don't remember if they ever said anything about the professors being really accessible there.... There are a copule things in the MIT academics that stand out:
- The Individual Activities Period (IAP) during January between the two semesters is a time to take fun non-credit courses... like CHARM SCHOOL. So taking that if I go to MIT.
- The first semester is graded on pass/fail. Thank you Mr. Coffey for telling me this information, because MIT never said anything about that when I visited.
- You must pass a swimming test to graduate. And this includes engineers too. See the section on Columbia
Diversity is emphasized at MIT (lots of Asians, which I have mixed feelings about), as well as humor (as seen in the numerous MIT hacks).
I'm not sure how I like the dorms. I'd really like suite-style dorms (MIT doesn't really seem to have them based on the sparse MIT dorm research I've done), and I'd like to avoid communal bathrooms (fat chance that'll happen freshman year). The dorm we visited was rather dark and gloomy. I guess I won't be applying to that dorm if I do go to MIT. A weird thing about the dorms, based on my sparse MIT dorm research, is that most aren't wireless... and this is MIT we're talking about.
Considering Early Action application.
Harvard University
The campus is grassier than that of MIT's. The info session and tour were more disorganized than at MIT. The parts of Harvard academic setup that make it different, so to say, as emphasized in the info session, are...
- It has "concentrations" as opposed to "majors."
- There is a 1-week shopping period for classes, where students come in and out of classes, looking at the syllabuses and choosing their courses for the semester that way.
- After the December break, there is a 2-week "Reading Period" where you can get caught up and get ready for exams. (Personally, I think I'll prefer just getting the exams out of the way before the break instead of forgetting everything I learned over December break.)
The people at Harvard made it sound like so much fun. I took that with a grain of salt. In any case, Harvard doesn't seem quite appropriate for me. It's not exactly known for engineering, though they do have an engineering division.
Not considering application.
Yale University
When I visited Yale, I fell in love. It was freaking amazing. The presentation was absolutely great. Our information session speaker (aside from being a wearer of funky pants), did an absolutely great job of "advertising" Yale and its perks. The guy, named Chris, also claimed that going to Yale was like going on a four-year vacation. I took that with a grain of salt.
But that aside... Yale continues the "Harry Potter trend." Upon entering as a freshman, you get sorted into a random house (there are 12), to give the "small" feeling in a big college. Dorms are suite-style, each house has its own dining hall and all of these other facilities, and there are house masters with master's tea! There's also another Harry Potter-like dining hall somewhere, along with a cathedral-like library. And... much of the campus is in Gothic style. Yeah, I really like that. What I also found really attractive about Yale are its study abroad opportunities, paid for by the university (*that* is great).
I also went on a special Engineering tour at Yale. The engineering program there is the oldest in the country, it seemed pretty nice inside the engineering buildings we visited. However, Yale (or probably any other university for the matter) doesn't offer as many engineering majors as MIT.
Yale is also pretty big on music, but it doesn't offer minors... so I can't have a music minor. =(
Strongly tempted to apply Restricted Early Action, but probably applying Regular.
Next Door, in NYC
Well, since we're living on Long Island, getting to the city isn't exactly a problem. This time around, it was Rosanna and her family staying at our house for a night and visiting Columbia and NYU with us.
Columbia University
Uh... I worked here for much of the summer. So... I'm more familiar with this campus than any other. And the professors there really are accessible. At least the ones I've worked with, even Luca (my main mentor), who doesn't look so accessible but is.
The campus is absolutely gorgeous. Columbia is in its own little grassy bubble within New York City, which itself is a great place. So you've got the excitement of New York City there at Columbia, and if you want to get away from all of that, you simply return to the serene Columbia campus.
Columbia didn't really appeal to me on the general tour I went on with Rosanna. The information session guy was boring, the student tour guide kinda soft-spoken and had no flare (can't really blame her though -- all of my previous tour guides were in drama clubs while she wasn't). The focus in Columbia College seemed to be on training students how to argue, and debate is encouraged. This seems to be more of Dhruv's school. I saw him there that day incidentally, along with Fletcher.
I also went on a separate engineering tour a few weeks later. We just toured the engineering facilities and learned about their Gateway program. It's a first-year community service-based course that gives you the opportunity to do something like create playgrounds for disabled children. Which is of course awesome.
You have to apply separately for the engineering school at Columbia, but the admit rates are higher than the Columbia College. So... yeah. Also, while Columbia College students have to pass a swim test, engineering students don't. The rumored justification being that engineering students will be able to build boats in the times where swimming is otherwise needed.
Considering regular application, though Columbia doesn't have a really strong appeal.
Oh, and Columbia offers free music lessons for many instruments.
New York University
I can't go to this school. It's city. PURE CITY. No serene grassy areas with lots of trees and not too many people... NONE. All buildings. Perhaps the buildings are nice buildings with ample security. And then there are nice dorms with individual bathrooms in each room. But... I can't go here. I can't apply to a school with the city as its campus. Not even as a safety school. The environment totally does not fit me.
I doodled quite a lot during the information session. I drew three snails, made scribblies, and a stack of books. I wouldn't have come here if it weren't for Rosanna. She wanted to take a look at NYU as a safety-ish school. Our tour guide was actually from her school, which was interesting.
Not applying.
Cooper Union
Well... we didn't exactly tour this school, or go on any information sessions. We couldn't find any information on tours or info sessions on their website. There's an open house in November, which I may attend.
What we did do is try to find Cooper Union (we did) and took a peak at it. It seems kinda too small, city-integrated, and career-specific for me.
Not considering application at the moment.
Down South
My cousin from China had come over a few days before we went down south. He was my first relative to come to the U.S. other than my mom's parents (unless you want to count my mom's distant cousin in Maryland), and he is studying his PhD at William and Mary. Which I am not going to apply to, for the record.
So we went down South to drop him off and to go... of course, COLLEGE VISITING. Going down south was weird. It was a lot more rural there... our new GPS took us through these random rural shortcuts, which was most interesting...
University of Virginia
Payvand is there. Always a perk.
The people there are really nice. Like.
South means warmer winters. Like.
It's in the South. Dislike.
There is a lot of grass. Like.
There are a lot of trees. Like.
The buildings are almost all made of red brick. Dislike.
The campus is huge. Dislike.
Orange school color. Dislike.
Not located near a big city. Dislike.
2/3 of the students are from Virginia. Uncomfortable with the fact.
Presentation lackluster. Didn't help improve my impressions.
Jefferson Scholarship. Nice, but someone else can go for the nomination.
Not applying.
Duke
I love Gothic architecture. And I never knew it until I visited Yale and Duke. I think it's so pretty. There's also nice newer architecture too... like in the engineering buildings. The campus is pretty, of course. It's kinda big... which I'm not a huge fan of. I like the idea of being able to access a campus anywhere by foot. But there's a nice shuttle service around the campus, as well as to Chapel Hill. Duke itself is in its own bubble, so it's really more like a northern school even though it's located in the south.
Now, before the information session, there was a video, and one student on the video said that they have "phenomenal discussions" there at Duke, because the study body is so diverse in its views. Great, I love good conversations. =D The information session itself was very engaging, and our tour guide was the best tour guide we had ever had. He told us so much, he showed us so much, the whole tour group loved him.
Duke also has free printing, which is always nice to have. And Duke does offer merit scholarships. There is a Pratt School of Engineering at Duke, but I don't know too much about it. I wrote down in my notebook that it has a liberal arts education, 40% of its students pick a second major, and engineers do cool things. Uh... I wonder if I was writing verbatim at the time. I probably did.
Considering regular application only if our traffic violation gets rescinded. We accidentally covered our parking permit with the sunshades. Oops.
Okay, perhaps I'll still apply even if the violation doesn't get rescinded.
University of Pennsylvania
Not really down south, but we came here while heading back to New York. It wasn't the best of days when I went to UPenn. The weather wasn't too great, which in turn made the more-shaded regions of the campus look gloomy. Philadelphia, my birthplace, is also a shabbier city than New York City. =\ My father is an alumnus at UPenn (and my mother often went to UPenn to use its library), so I therefore have legacy at UPenn... and it meant that we couldn't get lost on campus (we did at other campuses).
In any case... I saw Alison at UPenn!!! I was taking a picture of a squirrel on a tree, then I turn around... and I see ALISON! Yeah, it was great, because Alison is great. The presentation was good, and UPenn doesn't seem like a bad place to go to. What was kinda weird though was that its engineering school was ranked beneath Penn State's engineering school in some ranking last year, but you can't trust those things.
Well, UPenn does fit into what I'm looking for in a college. It just looked so... gloomy there. And I don't know what I think about the dorms there; a lot of people move off campus to live nearby in their own apartments. Also, the UPenn faculty just recently voted to accept no more AP credits. I don't know when this policy is going to be implemented, but if it's while I'm there, it's a bit of a letdown.
Possibly applying.
All in all, MIT and Yale are my top choices. Yes, I like the north. If I could only could combine the MIT academia (and glass blowing workshop, hacks, and Infinite Corridor) with Yale's house system, Gothic architecture, and study abroad opportunities.
Ideally, I'll apply MIT early action and get in, so I won't have to bother with applying to any safety schools, and then I'll apply to Yale and get rejected, so I won't have to agonize over which school to go to. Yeah, that seems good. Or I can do it the other way around. Gee, but... these choices to make! GAH!
People in general seem to be "pro fei at mit" though. Anyway, I think my chances of getting deferred at Yale are greater than getting deferred at MIT.