[xTorvos]

If you could go/could have gone to any college you wanted to go to, which school would you have attended and why?

Note: Imagine that it is free for you to attend, is located wherever you want, and is 100% guarantee that you get in if you applied.

[eker676]

MIT

Just think how that would look on your resume. Realistically, I might be able to get accepted but if that actually happened there would be no way I could pay for it.

On a serious note:
If I get accepted and get tons of scholarships/financial aid from the University of Michigan that would be totally awesome.

This post has been edited by eker676: 28 September 2010 - 02:47 PM

[thinkdevcode]

MIT in a heartbeat

[nooblet]

Same school I actually went to, Stanford. Since I never went to MIT or CalTech, I can only presume that base on rankings among several other things that their engineering program is probably better to some level. However for me, that's not as important. Stanford is a top engineering school no matter how you look at it but when you factor in the level of entrepreneurship plus resources available, close proximity to San Francisco (where I live), year round sunny 70 degree weather, and ultimately Silicon Valley, I just can't imagine a better place to be. It was my top choice back then and having attended Stanford, it'll always be my top choice.

Having said that though, I would love to visit MIT and CalTech one day.

[thinkdevcode]

Herman, on 28 September 2010 - 04:27 PM, said:

Realistically, even if you would've gotten to MIT, you wouldn't survive their undergrad program.

I just love how so many people think that money is what stands between them and a degree from MIT.

I just love how some people think that most people cant survive a few years of challenges. I know I can survive and even do extremely well - I just never had the opportunity to go.

[nooblet]

What prevented you from going? Couldn't get in? Not enough aid? Other issues?

[thinkdevcode]

nooblet, on 28 September 2010 - 04:55 PM, said:

What prevented you from going? Couldn't get in? Not enough aid? Other issues?

I went from an amazing school system (NJ) to a terrible one (AZ) where I got bored and completely lost interest in school (middle/high school) and wound up doing poorly grades-wise and never even took the SAT. I got caught up with bad people and went down a dark hole. Fortunately I recovered about 2 years ago and realized what I had done with my life and have been on a mission to attempt to recover lost time. I am a very bright guy, studying just about everything having to do with science - from neural science to particle physics and of course EE and CS all on my own because it's what I love. I will go to one of the major engineering schools one day - be it MIT, Stanford, Caltech, etc. no matter what it takes. The really sad part is I come from a wealthy family so I never had to worry about financial aid for any school I go to.

This post has been edited by thinkdevcode: 28 September 2010 - 07:59 PM

[AlbuquerqueApache]

MIT or Caltech.

Money is primarily why I didn't go. That and I lacked the grades, though if they have some other way to get in (Assessment test) I probably could. If I studied REALLY REALLY hard.

[moopet]

I'd have gone to the same place I went. It was the only place that did my course back in those days and I had a great time there, very little of which actually involved any work.

[Brewer]

MIT is a great school, there is no disputing that. However, I prefer warmer clients, so I would probably have chose Stanford. Not considering the major CS schools, NC State is a great engineering school.

[NeoTifa]

The United States Air Force Academy.

[Scorpiion]

nooblet, on 28 September 2010 - 04:14 PM, said:

Same school I actually went to, Stanford.

Hi nooblet, I just answer to an other thread about MIT:
http://www.dreaminco...masters-degree/
asking if anyone at this forum went to MIT, Standford, Berkley or similar "high reputation school" or so to speak.

Would be interesting to know what your take is on how hard it is to get into Standford?

First of what degree did you take, CS might sound obvious but EE is very tight in some areas, If you look at Standfords EE research areas for example you can find "Systems Software: OS, compliers, languages" that might sound like a CS subject. And as a side note that is an area I'm very interested in.

As I said it the other thread I've read that it is recommended that you have an GPA of 3.7+ and good letters of recommendation and research experience to get in....

What are your comment on that? Is it true with a few exceptions or what do you think?

[nooblet]

I was going to reply to the other thread but looks like it wasn't your primary thread. I'll answer what I can. Keep in mind since I didn't attend MIT nor have I ever applied to MIT, this bit of advice may differ greatly regarding them. In comparison of Stanford and Berkeley at the very least, Berkeley is much easier to get into. I've talked to numerous personal friends of whom applied to both and pretty much all of them got into Berkeley but not everyone got into Stanford (which was their top choice between the two). That isn't to say that Berkeley is easy to get into. Relatively speaking, it's still a difficult school to apply to.

Having said that, Stanford clearly is very academically driven. Grades and GPA is an obvious. However, it's not everything. Even 4.0 valedictorians and a flawless SAT score can get you rejected. Keep in mind there are numerous applicants and only a handful of people that will ever be accepted. That said, they highly evaluate what you do outside of academics and your letters of recommendations. By this I don't merely mean volunteer work and extracurriculars like after school clubs you've been apart of. It's almost certain a large number of applicants that attend Stanford or apply to Stanford will fit that. The key difference is what is written about you in your letter of recommendation beyond how good of a student you were and your so-called achievements which is merely reinforcing what you've already submitted yourself, and what you do.

Stanford, and I'm willing to bet to some degree other top schools like MIT, are looking for what makes you stand out that your other peers who are applying don't have. Clearly having a high GPA, high SAT/ACT score, and extracurriculars are part of the formula and a huge factor in determining whether you're even considered for admission, but more important than that, what makes you UNIQUE. What makes you diverse that 99% of the other applicants don't have. There were a lot of things that I did to try to increase my chances when I applied and while I don't have a perfect answer as to what combinations of things led to my acceptance beyond my academic performance, I'm willing to bet founding a company, employing over a dozen employees, and selling it for millions probably made me stand out to some degree.

I will tell you, if your GPA and test scores are not high enough, you'll get eliminated from the stack of applications before any consideration is done. I don't know whether or not 3.7 is that magically number or not but it is probably safe to assume that in 99.9% of those cases, it is probably very true. Ideally you probably should be a 3.9 to a 4.0 on a 4.0 scale with extremely high test scores. Have some very distinguish and highly valuable letters of recommendations that doesn't illustrate the stuff you're already submitting and do things to separate you from the crowd that makes you worthy of being part of Stanford. That much I can say will clearly increase your chances of attending.

I actually didn't declare CS or EE. I chose to stay undeclared. I am not going for a degree like most other students as with most people, they are looking for a degree and a career in CS. For me, money isn't as much of a problem. I mostly go for the education and the will of wanting to learn something I can't do otherwise on my own so I pick classes and pre-reqs base on what I want to take, rather than base on what I need to for any major. Hope that helps.

If it helps, my major interest areas are CS, EE, ME and MSE.

This post has been edited by nooblet: 03 October 2010 - 06:56 PM

[Dogstopper]

Thanks nooblet! I am a junior now wanting to apply to both Stanford and MIT and I see even more now how difficult that will be. I do have the GPA and the scores for it, but will being a Mentor on DIC at age 16 be enough? I also am going to do a community intern next year at SAIC or Oak Ridge National Lab or NOAA as a class at my school.

That, along with my DIC, and 3 years of science club will be good for me? Or should I still expect to not be chosen?