Sciencey(yes I know that isnt a word) Colleges in NE

[skibum1321]

Re: Canada

IMO if you are looking to go to grad school after undergrad you should probably look at some of the more competetive schools. Unfortunately these are also the more expensive ones. Obviously Middlebury and Dartmouth are awesome schools (with good location). Gotta give a plug to the alum - St Mike's - awesome location (50 min from Stowe, Smuggs, the Bush, MRG) and right next to Burlington. Maybe they won't ask me for a donation since I'm shamelessly plugging the school. UVM has the same great location but is much bigger.

Kinda curious about St. Mikes. Like hows the housing? How much does it cost? Whats the average GPA? Just pretty much any info, good or bad you got about the school.









I also have a stupid sounding question for everyone. How much harder is college then High School, I know it depends on what you go into and where you go. And I know it is obviously going to be harder. Right now I kinda believe it wont be nearly as hard as everyone says because every year Ive been is school so far I was told next year would be a lot harder, and it never was. Like for example this year I have all honor classes and about a 4.0 gpa and I never do homework at home unless it is project or needs to be typed.

Here's the scoop on SMC...

Costs: Total Tuition & Residence fee $33,330
--They give a lot of financial aid, though.

According to the Princeton Review the average GPA is 1140. Obviously there is variation there -- mine was 1360.

As for the housing, you live on campus all 4 years. The first 2 years will be in dorm rooms, then there is some variation. The classes have been getting bigger and they're now forcing people to live on campus so housing is getting tighter. I lived in a campus apt junior year and a townhouse senior year, so all in all it's pretty good. I loved having everyone right there on campus. It's a tight community and there are lots of wilderness/volunteer opportunities.

In general, I think college is more work, but it isn't so much work that you can't keep up. At the start of the semester you gauge the class and figure out what reading you have to do. I found that you really don't need to read for most classes because the teacher will test you on what they teach in class. Obviously not true for all classes. There is a good amount of hw but not so much that you have no life. There is still plenty of time to get involved and most importantly, time to ski.

 

[smitty77]

Smitty, recommending WPI?

What are you trying to do to the poor kid? You must be getting a kick back from the Alumni Assoc. or something...

Don't I wish. I get that stupid pledge form 2-3 times every year, and have yet to send them a red cent. I figure they got enough from me for now. Plus, they've been using my picture with my former boss/professor on the flyer they mail out of their FEE/EIT Review course. And I don't get a kickback when some Hollywood types would be making revenue on every copy mailed out. Sheesh!

Seriously, I had a great time at that school, worked full time as a staff member for 2 years after graduation, and was offered a real nice position by my present employer becuase of some research work I did while I was working there. Like you Marc, I worked my arse off but put myself in a good career position because of it.

 

[smitty77]

Re: Canada

If you decide to be a science or engineering major, I can tell you that your freshman year will be a big-time reality check.

I was also a Valedictorian and my freshamn year at WPI was harder than I expected, but I still mamaged okay. In one of our intro engineering classes we had a few people "from the outside world" also attending. (Their companies were paying for the credits if they passed.) About halfway through the course, they asked a few of us: "Are all the courses at WPI this intense?". We told them most were harder. They never came back. Looking back, my last 2 years were twice as hard as my freshman year, but you learn how to cope and adjust, and just "Git 'Er Done" at all costs.

It's not for the faint of heart. The school runs on a "quarter" system, like high school, and not semesters. The courses are 7 weeks long, then a break, then a whole new set of courses. The bonus is you only have to suffer for 7 weeks at a time. The downside is effing-off for three weeks in the winter will basically spell doom for your term grades. Plus there are three major projects to complete to earn your degree.

Austin, don't get scared! You sound a lot like a friend I had at WPI. He double-majored in Nuclear/Electical Engineering and Aerospace Engineering. He also found time to be an officer on the EMS squad, a member of the crew team, dabbled in the amateur radio club, and had a radio show with me on Sunday afternoons for a stretch at the campus radio station. He never seemed to crack a book or labor over homework and graduated in 4.5 years with high distinction and two majors (took a half year break for co-op). Some people are just damn smart. You may be one. You won't find out until you challenge yourself.

The again, Bode Miller seems to be doing just fine as a ski bum.

 

[kbroderick]

I'll throw in my 2 cents, as an '03 SMC grad who still owes way too friggin' much on student loans. I went to a prep school in Maine with a strong ski program, and I decided before I even started looking that I wanted to be in ski country. I went in with the desire to go to a good liberal arts school while also having the time to not be studying 24/7 (hence, no applying to MIT). My SATs were good, for all that they're worth (I have yet to be attacked by a vicious army of dots that must be filled in under time constraints in real life).

Anyhow, I visited SMC, Dartmouth, and Middlebury; I also looked into Colby and would have been quite interested in Bates, had it not been located in Lewiston/Auburn. I'd recommend SMC to anyone who's not quite sure what he/she wants to do and who is willing to accept a Smugg's pass for $25 (caution: you do need to be in good academic standing). Colby and Bates might be worth a look, as well; both have some pretty competitive academics and are reasonably close to ski country.

As far as UMF, my brother is a senior there now and I think he's been pretty happy. He's majoring in geology and geography or something similar, and he went in looking for a way to be interested and spend plenty of time out of doors. Academics weren't his highest priority, but I think they're working out okay for him at this point. The school has been building a pretty solid reputation in the past few years, so it may be worth a look.

As far as price goes...pay attention to it. I was basically encouraged to figure out where I wanted to go and then worry about how to pay for it, and I've now got what amounts to a long-term, low-interest car loan despite the fact that I do not have a new car. I think it's a little too easy nowadays to end up with $15-20k in college debt without really thinking about it, and having that debt load hanging over your head has a serious impact when you graduate (i.e. you can't say, "Screw it, I'm going to backpack across the country while working enough odd jobs to get food and laundry money," as you've got to come up with $150 or whatever every month to pay The Man).

 

[awf170]

Bump.
Alright, I think I now have slightly a better idea of what I want to go into. As much as I love nature/outdoors stuff like biology just bores me, I just couldn't take the classroom part of it. I have finally found out that I have to go into something involving math. As much as I don't want to sit a computer the whole day, I am too good at math and like it way more than anything else in school. Also I have found out that Physics is my favorate subject so far in school. I love figuring out extremely long complicated problems involving rockets and such.
Another thing, that I'm not sure can help me in anyway. I love maps, I can stare at any map for hours on end. Heck, Terreserver.com is probably my second most viewed website(behind this) and ready to kill my computer right now because it wont load it for some reason.:uzi:

Anyway. I'm not too sure if any of this info can help at all, but I was just hoping for some help.


And BTW. My gpa 3rd quater was a 4.15:-D and is over a 4.0 for so far this year.:-D

 

[BeanoNYC]

Bump.
Alright, I think I now have slightly a better idea of what I want to go into. As much as I love nature/outdoors stuff like biology just bores me, I just couldn't take the classroom part of it. I have finally found out that I have to go into something involving math. As much as I don't want to sit a computer the whole day, I am too good at math and like it way more than anything else in school. Also I have found out that Physics is my favorate subject so far in school. I love figuring out extremely long complicated problems involving rockets and such.
Another thing, that I'm not sure can help me in anyway. I love maps, I can stare at any map for hours on end. Heck, Terreserver.com is probably my second most viewed website(behind this) and ready to kill my computer right now because it wont load it for some reason.:uzi:

Anyway. I'm not too sure if any of this info can help at all, but I was just hoping for some help.


And BTW. My gpa 3rd quater was a 4.15:-D and is over a 4.0 for so far this year.:-D

Ever think about becoming a math teacher?

 

[awf170]

Ever think about becoming a math teacher?

Not really. Even though I'm really good at math I'm bad at explaining things and have the worst hand writing ever.

 

[kcyanks1]

Congrats on the good grades! I skimmed some of the posts earlier in the thread. Are you thoughts still for a smaller, rural school with being near skiing a priority? Would any state in New England be acceptable location-wise? Any particular schools on a list? IIRC, you are 17 now, so you'll be applying in the fall? Have you thought about visiting any schools yet?

 

[awf170]

Are you thoughts still for a smaller, rural school with being near skiing a priority?

Kinda want a smaller school, but isn't a major deal. I'm not going to lie, being near skiing is extremely important to me. I really haven't though about upstate NY but that may be a good idea :idea:

Would any state in New England be acceptable location-wise?

Gotta be NH, ME, or VT. I hate southern NE. Though I guess western MA wouldn't be horrible.

Any particular schools on a list?

So far I'm most interested in UVM, Umaine, and St. Mikes. Middlebury, Colby and Dartmouth look awsome, but I'm not sure if I'll have the grades(actually I think I'll have the grades but not the other stuff) and there wicked espensive.(and I don't think they have to much in the science/math department.

IIRC, you are 17 now, so you'll be applying in the fall?

Yes.

Have you thought about visiting any schools yet?

Yeah, I was thinking about going to UVM and St. Mikes during april vacation but just kind of forgot about it.:dunce: I'll probably do some visiting soon though.

 

[kcyanks1]

I probably can't be of too much help myself for choosing a school, but I have a friend who went to Dartmouth (not a skier) and one who went to Middlebury (a big skier) who I might be able to put you in touch with if you'd like. PM me if you want me to get in touch with them. If you are interested in majoring in physics though and have any questions, that I can talk about since I majored in physics and graduated in '03. Don't worry that your haven't done much visiting yet, you'll have plenty of time in the summer, and then once you get into places they'll have days for you to visit again and meet some students. Good luck!

 

[awf170]

I probably can't be of too much help myself for choosing a school, but I have a friend who went to Dartmouth (not a skier) and one who went to Middlebury (a big skier) who I might be able to put you in touch with if you'd like. PM me if you want me to get in touch with them. If you are interested in majoring in physics though and have any questions, that I can talk about since I majored in physics and graduated in '03. Don't worry that your haven't done much visiting yet, you'll have plenty of time in the summer, and then once you get into places they'll have days for you to visit again and meet some students. Good luck!

Thanks a lot. I might ask you later about getting in touch with them, once I get some more knowledge of those schools so that I'll actually have some good questions to ask them.

So about physics. What do you do now? What are the possible jobs that come out of being a physics major? How hard is it to get physics related jobs once you get out of college(not including be a teacher)

 

[NYDrew]

Major in physics if you like it. It has more possibilities then math. And if you are doing physics you MUST apply to UC Berkely. I know its not in the north east...but it is the best friggin physics school in the world (by my opinion) and a hell of a lot closer to Colorado and Utah. Another choice would be SUNY Stony Brook. Another school that has access to a national lab, but located in bumbleF* long island.

Good Luck man. (If you do math...DO NOT GO TO BINGHAMTON, one of the worst math programs...ive gone to community colleges with better math programs)

 

[kcyanks1]

Thanks a lot. I might ask you later about getting in touch with them, once I get some more knowledge of those schools so that I'll actually have some good questions to ask them.

So about physics. What do you do now? What are the possible jobs that come out of being a physics major? How hard is it to get physics related jobs once you get out of college(not including be a teacher)

Well, you are going to laugh, but I'm just about to graduate law school. I plan to go into patent/IP law, so I'm still sticking to my "sciencey" roots, but not quite the normal path. Though to be honest it is becoming fairly popular now. I have a handful of friends in college with science or engineering backgrounds, and a know a few people graduating college this year with engineering degrees going to law school in the fall.

Otherwise my impression is that the standard route would be to get a PhD and do research, whether for a university or a company. I actually applied to grad schools at the same time as law school since I really wasn't certain what I wanted to do (and may always wonder what things would be like if I did that), but in the end decided to do law school. I think I would've enjoyed the teaching aspect of academia, actually, but didn't feel that I wanted to make my career based on doing research, and also wasn't fond of the idea that getting jobs in the geographical location you want can be very tough for academia (but not so much for law firms).

Feel free to ask any more questions that you think I might be able to answer.

 

[awf170]

Bump...
I think(atleast for now) that I going into Physics. 80% sure. So the question is: What college in Northern New England, upstate NY, and even sourthern quebec have good physics programs.

 

[skibum1321]

Bump...
I think(atleast for now) that I going into Physics. 80% sure. So the question is: What college in Northern New England, upstate NY, and even sourthern quebec have good physics programs.

Well at this point you would probably want to rule out SMC unless you're looking for a really small department. They probably have 2-3 students every year - I'm not sure about the quality of the program, though.

FWIW I was in the CS program, which is also really small at SMC but I thought it was good and I liked the small classes.

 

[nelsapbm]

Re: Southern Quebec - McGill in Montreal is a fantastic school. Very competitive though. Awesome location right in the city.
I am a UVM grad, so feel free to PM or email me with any specific questions you may have about the school, Burlington, etc.

 

[kbroderick]

Well at this point you would probably want to rule out SMC unless you're looking for a really small department. They probably have 2-3 students every year - I'm not sure about the quality of the program, though.

FWIW I was in the CS program, which is also really small at SMC but I thought it was good and I liked the small classes.

Wow. I went there and never realized the physics department was that small--the faculty outnumber the majors (according to the website, at least).

The math department is pretty decent, IMO; I had a fair amount of interaction with Prof. Simons, amongst others, and did enjoy calculus from time to time. Unfortunately, LinAlg never quite fit into my schedule and I didn't manage to pull off the math minor that I was considering.

I'd definitely encourage you to visit any schools under consideration and preferably to sit in on classes. That's one of the better ways to get a feel for the school; the best, of course, is to do an unofficial overnight visit. If you've got a friend at a particular school under consideration, drop him/her a line and see if you can drop in for Friday classes, crash on the floor Friday night, and hang out Saturday before heading home. That should get you a good feel for the school without the official sugarcoating admissions may put on it.

If you're really interested in mapping, you might try looking at geography programs. SMC has a decent minor (I highly recommend Prof. Kujawa). I can put you in touch with my brother if you want to get feedback on UMF's programs in that regard; I know that the stuff he worked on that I heard about was interesting, but I'm grossly underinformed to make any sort of overall assessment of the program (PM me if interested).

 

[skibum1321]

Wow. I went there and never realized the physics department was that small--the faculty outnumber the majors (according to the website, at least).

Maybe it wasn't that small, but it sure seems that way. The faculty could outnumber students because a lot of people take the intro class or there may be more students...

 

[kbroderick]

Maybe it wasn't that small, but it sure seems that way. The faculty could outnumber students because a lot of people take the intro class or there may be more students...

What I meant by "according to the website" is that the Physics dept. lists students at http://academics.smcvt.edu/physics/students.htm and faculty at http://www.smcvt.edu/academics/physics/faculty.asp; the former lists five students and the latter seven instructors (four professor types, one instructor-type, and two professor emeriti).

You're probably right in speculating that the intro classes get a lot more students than the upper-level classes, and there may also be some classes that are required as part of the 3+2 engineering program with UVM.

 

[ski_resort_observer]

My son is 17 and a couple of weekends ago my wife took him and a friend for interviews at Lyndon State and Johnson State. Surpisingly he liked JS over Lyndon. I think it's because JSC has a halfpipe right on campus...:lol:

Obviously the cheapest is going to be in Mass. Have you checked out North Adams State. Nice area, skiing nearby and all those cute girls with rich parents over at Williams.

Someone mentioned McGill U. up in Montreal, great school. I went to U. of Wyoming, very very cheap for out of staters, about 1.5 hours to Steamboat, 7 hours to Jackson Hole...lol