Let the Right Blog In

I posted a while ago about my college search, and how stressful it was. Well, the good news is that I've nearly reached the end of the search. I applied to five colleges and was accepted at all five. Now, it comes down to deciding which one I'll go to. Here's a little brief on each college, in no particular order:

-Maryland: One of the two schools I was accepted to in my home state. The Aerospace Engineering program here is really good and I get the benefit of in-state tuition. I was also accepted into the school's Honors college, which I've heard is really good. And let's not forget the $5,000 a year scholarship. The downside is that I want to get a little bit farther away than this. Not to mention that it feels a little crowded.

-UMBC: The other in-state school that I was accepted to. It's smaller than Maryland, but is right nearby Baltimore. I have received a number of scholarships from there that would almost cover the cost. It was also ranked the top up-and-coming college in U.S. News & World Report. My dad has a lot of respect for the university's president. However, like Maryland, it feels too close to home. As well, they don't offer an Aerospace Engineering degree; rather I would have to take Mechanical Engineering.

-West Virginia: I applied to this college more as a last resort than anything else. But with the scholarship offers that I've gotten from them, I'll have to take a second look. I talked to somebody whose son went to West Virginia in the Aerospace program and now works for NASA. Seems like it's a pretty good school and I am familiar with the area. But it is still West Virginia. I'll have to see.

-Virginia Tech: This one is my personal favorite. It's far from home, but I can still drive home if I want (although it'd be a five hour drive). I felt very comfortable on the campus and really liked the people overall. As well, they offer a double major program that is really tempting. I've applied to a number of scholarships and programs already. Still, it's a long drive.

-Georgia Tech: The farthest away, but at the same time, it wouldn't be hard to travel between there and home. A flight from Baltimore to Atlanta usually takes an hour, so it work out fine for me. It also has the highest ranked aerospace program out of all the colleges I'm considering. However, it's location in downtown Atlanta may be a turn off. Not to mention the lack of scholarship offers thus far.

So those are the colleges I'm looking at. Feel free to give some input, especially if you attend one of these schools.

-PH