Colleges?

[muscle4me33]

Heyy guys - Im about to make my decision on where to go to college. What was the major factor that made you decide in which college to go to? 

[41husk]

Party atmosphere and hot girls,  everything else is just details.

[253862656971]

Party atmosphere and hot girls,   everything else is just details.

If you go by that standard you probably won't graduate. 

First guide yourself to a major.  Maybe you don't really know what you want to do yet (I didn't).  If that's the case just think of stuff you like.  When I started at the South Dakota School of Mines and Technology I had an undeclared major.  Quickly thereafter I chose to go into mechanical engineering and I love every minute of it.  You really don't have to pick a major for the first year and a half because all the classes you will be taking are general stuff like math and social science to meet your Board of Regents requirements. 

Bottom line pick a field you might like to get into then go to a good school.  Make sure you go to a good school.  If you go to an easy school you might graduate but your potential employers won't hire you because you probably weren't taught as well as another guy who struggled through a tough college.  SDSM&T mechanical engineering graduates are almost guaranteed a $50K a year job at Cat their first year out.  I know one guy who's been at Cat for 3 years and is pulling down $100K doing metallurgy.

[emily]

Depends on your field of study.   I'd always advise going to the biggest, most well known school with the highest reputation in your chosen field.   It will open doors to you for your entire career quickly.   Employers will judge you according to your academic credentials, and the school you choose will speak volumes to them.   Good grades from a highly ranked college or university mean more than honors from a mediocre school.

Have you an idea of which field you want to go into?   

em

[69_500]

I picked the University of Illinois to go to college because at the time they were the #2 school in america in the field of Phsyics. Which was my major, and I didn't get any scholarships to go to MIT, so I went to UofI on a scholarship.

[69bananabeast]

Yeah i'd say the best thing is to find your   major and a good school for it.   It's important to find your major as soon as you can. Like stated earlier you can always go to college with an undeclared major , though there could be some down sides. With out having a major set you might be taking classes that you dont need. It would be a waste of Time And Money to go this route. Also going this route could prevent others from being able to get into any of these classes who might really need them. Once you have found your major and on your path school will go by faster.

Right now im starting my second year on my Associates in Auto Body Collision Repair/Refinishing.   I Love every minute of it. It doesnt feel like im actually in school at all , just like im picking up a hobby. Thats they way you need to feel throughout school because you will need it later on when it comes to your career.   My dad always told me since I was a kid " Son the day you wake up and say    "Oh $hit I've got to go to work", is the day you need to start looking for another job"

[253862656971]

Oh when you do pick a college find out what kind of extracurricular activities they offer that will help you apply what you learn.  Right now I'm on a mini-baja team.  There are several others in the shop too including mini-Indy and aero team.  The baja guys get a standard motor on which no modifications can be made.  We then have to engineer the car to it's best for turning, speed, and durability.  We then take it to competition to race and we're usually in the top 10 out of 100 cars.  It's incredible the stuff you learn doing things like this.  Some of the stuff I have learned in my first year I will never be taught in a classroom.  You would be amazed that changing the position of the A-arms just a half an inch can take the car from so tight you can't drive it, to a touch loose.  I've been applying some of it to my charger and it can out handle pretty much every muscle car.  Oh there's no sway bar on it either.

[TheGhost]

I went local.

[41husk]

I followed my own advise and did fine. graduated in 4 years and had a great time.  I have been working in my chosen field for 12 years now.

[mustanghater]

OSU

[moparguy01]

i moved to the middle of nowhere to go to school for Automotive Restoration Technology. mostly because its the only accredited college course in automotive restoration.

unfortunately it was probably a bad choice, as the market for this hobby is currently pretty crappy. now i think im gonna go to school again. and try something more convention with better career prospects. unfortunately.

[muscle4me33]

Depends on your field of study.   I'd always advise going to the biggest, most well known school with the highest reputation in your chosen field.   It will open doors to you for your entire career quickly.   Employers will judge you according to your academic credentials, and the school you choose will speak volumes to them.   Good grades from a highly ranked college or university mean more than honors from a mediocre school.

Have you an idea of which field you want to go into?   

em

Thanks everyone for your input. A lot more than i expected, so thanks. - dont take that badly. not what I meant.

But I want to do something in regards to medicine and helping other people. Sports medicine, pyschology, something.. I have no clue.

[muscle4me33]

oh yea, I know - I took sports med in school and my mom used to be a personal trainer. Thanks 

[amidemon]

I decided that I need to go to UNL because Tommy Lee went here.  Yep, can't pass that up. 













Actually, I'm a Senior and that jackass was a momentary blip on my day-to-day radar (I'll probably still watch his show).

[Dr. V]

You can't go wrong with PITT    8 years worth for me and I turned out just fine

[last426]

Depends on your field of study.   I'd always advise going to the biggest, most well known school with the highest reputation in your chosen field.   It will open doors to you for your entire career quickly.   Employers will judge you according to your academic credentials, and the school you choose will speak volumes to them.   Good grades from a highly ranked college or university mean more than honors from a mediocre school.

Have you an idea of which field you want to go into?   

em

Without a doubt that is the right advice.  I was a simple boy from Reno (only one in my family to go beyond high school) thinking that all things were more or less fair and equal so I went to the University of Nevada for my undergraduate degree and started working, none the wiser.  Then I decided on going to law school and wham, I learned quick and hard the difference a top tier school makes.  It's so much more than just doing well, getting good grades, or getting the same education.  Like it or not, there is weight given to the school you choose.  And it is equally important for law school.  I did real well at a second tier school and had to fight to even be considered for some jobs -- and frankly, some employers would not even interview me based solely on the school I attended.  I equalized the playing field by doing a federal clerkship but going to a decent school would have made all the difference in the world.  And the law schools that admitted me based a bunch on the undergrad.  So make the choice wisely with the knowledge that it is much more important than some know -- I sure didn't know.  Kim

[Mass_Mopar]

check out keene state in NH, I have a friend going there to be a physical trainer
and check out UMass Amherst....kicks ass, dunno about the phys ed stuff though