Choosing My University!

Did you ever mention what country you are in, I don't recall?

"Hello everybody,I am Victor Moussalli, 17 years old, just starting grade 12 of high school."

Victor is just a sprout.

He wants the best job he can get.

At 17, I think Victor is too focused on being rich instead of getting a good education.

Then consult a Ouija board.

Oh no!

It's deju vu all over again.

Damn, son. I would've expected you'd have your answer by now.

This is what, the third or fourth time here you've posted this question in its various forms?

How many times do you need the same advice from the same people before it sinks in?

"I need to decide"
"I will then"
"that I visit"
"I am"
Here's the problem↑

Thats not the problem. This is the solution.

HE WILL HAVE TO DO IT!

He doesn't know how.

IMHO you should forget about any "cutting edge" university energy research work and focus instead on a craft that will always be needed like plumbing, sanitation, roadway infra-structure, culinary arts, etc.

Narrowing my answer to only what you've asked, apply to MIT, Stanford, University of California [Berkeley], Oxford, Purdue, Stony Brook, NYU/Polytechnic, Columbia, Carnegie-Mellon, Duke, Ohio State, Harvard, Yale, and any of the many other noteworthy quality engineering universities with your scholastic record. [For those of you from another prestigious program I did not cite, my apology.] Please, do not ask me if any of these fine institutions should consider you a worthy student from your comments here at CR4. You must stand on your own merits.

Good luck.

These and most other top quality institutions have rigid entrance standards which the sprout will find particularly difficult to meet.

Perhaps the family business is more appropriate?

I won't be surprised if you are correct, lyn. I will be pleasantly surprised if energypassion97 gets accepted into any of the programs I proffered. I will be even more pleasantly surprised if they complete one of these programs. I expect that along the way to completion to one of these fine programs (assuming entry) that ep97 will recognize in hindsight their naivete at CR4.

I do believe that it is better to try and fail than to have never tried at all. At the same time, one should not waste people's time on an obviously futile endeavor.

Interestingly, the best software engineer with whom I ever had the pleasure to work was trained as a neurosurgeon at Northwestern Uni in Skokie, IL, so perhaps we could further refine the choice of school to that one.

That correlates well with a Senior Software Engineer who had a degree in Russian.

So can I do freshman in community college then go after freshman in the uni where I will be majoring in mechanical engineering?

Thanks

Below is the same advice I had given my son awhile back... Like you, my son was so hyper confused, aiming so ambitiously applying to be accepted in an Ivy League school even while in 11th grade!

It is very costly to attend such schools even as a part time scholar or on a grant.. It took some persuading w/ arguments on my part for him to just accept a nomination given either from West Point or Annapolis, instead of his first 3 choices of Princeton, Yale, Harvard, which all belong to the so called Ivy League schools. He is now a successful MD and a ranking Army officer..

In about 95% of the time.... It is not the school that really determines, that makes a student good or successful... In actuality, it is the students that make the schools look good and famous!

So my advise to you is to go and attend any good school you can find and afford. To learn, mature and grow! It is not bad to dream and aim high but put it in proper perspective! One should always be firmly grounded!

I know a lot of students who switched majors after the second year of college

In earlier days there were general degrees in engineering like civil,electrical, mechanical, chemical,locomotive etc. But now special fields of studies are there like Pump,Plumbing,HVAC,Lift/Elevators,High voltage,Telecom,Fire protection, Production, Automobile,Boiler and so on. Talk to well experienced engineers who has worked in the field you too like study and get advice.

Compare engineering with medical profession where after studying general medicine, doctors specialise on dental,eye,ENT,diabetes,kidney,heart,bones fractures,brain etc even dieticians are there. Few remain as GP.

What is energy-related job??!!! which energy are you relating yourself to? Solar/Oil/Gas/Wind/Ocean Waves or may be a tornado...

You can be an Accountant/HR/Receptionist in an "energy-related" company!!! so why do engineering?!

95% of the time success comes down to the individual (student)... It what you make of it.

Performance could be enhanced by good teachers & teaching methods in cluding good labs & workshops in developed countries because many or every student who doesn't perform well in third world home countries go west & become good engineers, some(minorities) even stay there for ever,why?..

It's what you make of it.

I had teachers that taught important fundamentals courses that they were horrible. He'd spend a whole class writing how you would come up with a solution to a problem. (Coping Out of his note book he'd been using for years) and 15 minutes before the class ends wondering why his solution did not work. And minutes before class let out, he proclaim... Never mind and forget all of this, will pick up on this next class and never did.

The student would bitch and give up and not even try. I would go to the library or talk to other instructors who was well aware of this instructor, but was very difficult to,do anything about him. But I would find out how to solve it.

Even this POS instructor taught me a very important lesson. And that is, when your out in industry, it's going to be up to you.

That is what I mean, it what you make of it.

It also goes with materials... You make do with resources available. Which is like industry.

Thank you! I will take your advice!:)

For all you people hating, be sure that you are not helping me. All I asked for is if someone know of a good reputable research school in energy where I could then study Mech eng in.

THANKS,YOU DON'T WANT TO HELP, YOU ARE NOT WELCOMED HERE.

RedFred listed several very highly touted universities any of which will challenge your capabilities.

The point is that the degreee of success you attain is dependent entirely on you and your self motivation.

Never let anyone dictate to you that you cannot succeed as the naysayers will destroy your life.

Your completed high school curriculum and grade attainment level will dictate which college will accept you, so make sure you focus on these items.

Your high school should have a career counciling person on staff that can help guide you through this.

Another good place to start is by entering a DECA program wherein local industries fund and promote high school student involvement and exposure to various aspects of industry.

If your high school does not have any of these support programs or people, you are pretty much on your own and will have to research the internet to find your answers.

One thing to keep in mind is that in today's business world your college alma mater is key to your success and promotion.

Example: If you graduate from UCLA then you would be wise to pursue employment with any company that is saturated with UCLA alumni as it will open doors that otherwise would not be opened.

Good luck and do not ever give up.

Great advice, thank you:)

Better change your attitude or your chances of success in any field will be slim to none. How do you know now what the experience of higher learning will have given you after you experienced it? Attitude is 90% of the success of learning. Doesn't depend on the school, depends on the student's decisions and desire to learn. Also at the 12th grade you have not experienced college so how do you know so much about it? You know nothing about the future. Do yourself a favor and get the basic courses out of the way with 2 years at a liberal arts school or community college and then transfer to an engineering program. The possible extra year allows you to know more about you and more of the world than just engineering. There is a lot more to life than engineering. Who knows, you may find something you like more. The degree is just a foot in the door, it is up to you to make the best of your education. One of the best packaging engineers I ever knew was a former machinist with a GED. He could run rings around those "youngsters" and held several patents for it.

Good Luck, Old Salt

Do not be convinced that what you start out in is the only major for you. More often than not, you will find some area that is more attractive to you.

I'm sure others have experienced it but-

I started college at a liberal arts school with an excellent engineering program. The first day for freshmen, we all sat in an auditorium and listened to the standard boring welcome speeches. The smartest prof there was an associate prof from the geology dept that said 'Look to your left, Look to your right, only one of you will be here in four years for graduation'. When asked later for details on that statement he said one would transfer out, one would flunk out and one would graduate.

He was wrong. After four years, out of the six friends sitting together at the original "greetings" there was only one of us left. I was still there but had transferred to another school with a 3 + 2 program where I got degrees from both schools after 5 years. Neither degree was what I started for!

Good Luck, Old Salt

You can choose a school but getting accepted to that school may not be possible. Select a few that have the courses you might be interested in and apply to all of them. If you are qualified you may be accepted. After you have completed two years of general study, select a major that sounds good to you at that time. After you graduate you may find jobs in completely different fields that appeal to you! Good luck!

Very good you have a plan, but a couple of facts of life needed here:

1. Even a middle grade engineering school has a "weeding out" semester. (there were 10 close friends and myself that started the sophomore year in electrical engineering at my college, and only 3 were still in any form of engineering after that year) So be ready to be flexible.

2. The Dean of Engineering at my college told us the truth - 3 out of 4 engineering graduates will end up in a technical, but non-engineering position. Engineers have a reputation for analytical thinking and many fields want them as well. So be ready to be flexible.

I have to ago with you there..... A small college I went to, out of 36 students I started with, 5 graduated, of which, in my opinion, one should not have.

They had a sense that since it was a small technical college, it was going to be a push over.

A lot of good advice in the thread, but I think your answer is in which of the universities will accept you, based on your "qualifications". Don't limit yourself to one institution, apply to several, see which ones are interested in you, and then do some more serious research as to which one you will choose. Even the "ivy-league" schools do not always produce the most outstanding graduates.

I know this fella...

He attended to several very good schools. He has had quite an academic career, several degrees and honors decorate the wall of his home. He can speak and write six (IIRC) foreign languages (Croatian, Serbian, Tajiki Persian...). Very interesting man.

Last I heard, he is the night-time dogcatcher in a medium sized city in Montana.

[edit] I responded before reading the thread. As an aside, I will tell you that my friend the dogcatcher is rather thin skinned when it comes to criticism, is sort of impatient, and he has a short temper. These character traits have not served him well.

"my friend the dogcatcher is rather thin skinned when it comes to criticism, "

I bet you tell him, he's the best dog-gone, dog catcher in town.

Indeed!

Of course, that's akin to being the best li'l ol' ballerina in Albuquerque.

Naw... most of my ballerina friends live in Fargo.

The prestige universities are fine for your Ph.D. For undergrad, you need to find a place where you can take a variety of courses and learn more about your strengths & weaknesses and your likes & dislikes. Hopefully, you will run across a course or professor that knocks your socks off. If/when that happens, don't ignore it. I have been an engineer for 40+ years. The best and brightest scientists and engineers I have worked with went to places like Cleveland State, Youngstown State and Akron U. Some started at community colleges.

Your question is very timely as this tells the top 20 engineering schools.

http://www.designnews.com/author.asp?section_id=1386&doc_id=274588&cid=nl.dn14.20140902

Good luck, you will need it.

RL Hurd

Only took me 32 yrs to get a 4 yr degree. I must have been slow, but determined.

Google it, the best way to learn is have it for free. If you have good scholastic performance, you will have a better chance of finding scholarships and study grants from world class institution.

Stay healthy and be on top if you can, but do not lose the sense of being a human.

Respect, mingle, drink, fuck, eat, enjoy...life as there is.

Good luck.

"if you're good at doing something, never do it for free" - Joker, The Dark Knight