pallid smelt
Schools: Virginia Tech and University of Washington Seattle
Intended major: Mechanical Engineering
Similarities: Both are big schools that are well known for their engineering programs and are similar in price for me.
Virginia Tech
Pros: It's a tech-heavy school and well-known for mechanical engineering. The campus culture is also pretty nice. The weather is cold but not too cold, very manageable.
Cons: Blacksburg is kind of in the middle of nowhere, and because I'm intl it takes a while to get there. I've always lived in cities so idk how living in a classic college town would be like.
University of Washington
Pros: UDub is also well-known for engineering. It's in a big city which means there's more to do off campus, both in terms of leisure and internships/jobs. The campus is beautiful with the libraries and cherry blossoms. It's easier to reach coming from overseas. There's good diversity in terms of intl students.
Cons:
The weather is not the best - it's raining ALL the time - which I don't mind too much but I definitely prefer clear skies. I've heard safety is a slight concern. I've also heard about some 'weed out' classes that are incredibly hard and force some people to fail.
Tiebreaking considerations:
Ultimately my priority is how good the engineering program is, and how it will prepare me for sucess in my career with jobs and such - all while obviously having fun and growing into the best version of myself.
radiant glen
stray knot