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Ga Tech is a party school? First time I've ever heard that term applied to it. Perhaps you are thinking of the Univ of Georgia which offers a much better social life.
For most students at Ga Tech, getting an engineering or science degree is one long tough grind, their introductory courses in math and physics the first couple of years are known to be especially difficult. It isn't the place to have a good time as far as typical college life is thought to be.
Perhaps I did confuse it. I thought I saw gtech on the Playboy list. But if not, then I guess it really has very little to recommend it.
Perhaps I did confuse it. I thought I saw gtech on the Playboy list. But if not, then I guess it really has very little to recommend it.
Hmmm, not sure what you mean by that. Ga Tech is one of the top engineering colleges in the country. If you are in science or engineering it is outstanding. But it has always been known to be very difficult academically.
And Atlanta itself is a very nice place to be as a student. At least it was in my time.
Hmmm, not sure what you mean by that. Ga Tech is one of the top engineering colleges in the country. If you are in science or engineering it is outstanding. But it has always been known to be very difficult academically.
And Atlanta itself is a very nice place to be as a student. At least it was in my time.
Well, the OP didn't seem to care much about academics, but wanted nice weather and a typical college party scene. Atlanta is OK - definitely way more fun than many other southeastern cities - but if I were a foreigner looking for parties, nice weather, and a great place to live, I don't think it could compete with the California schools.
I am a New Zealand undergraduate student majoring in history and planning on going on an exchange to USA next year. My university has partner universities including:
American University (Washington, DC)
Georgia Institute of Technology (Atlanta, GA)
University of Texas at Austin
Texas A&M (College Station, TX)
University of Oklahoma (Norman, OK)
University of California (Los Angeles, Santa Barbara, Berkeley & San Diego) (If I pick University of California I have to pick 3 campuses in order of what one I would like to go to more, so if you think this university is in the top three also suggest top 3 in order of cities mentioned
So basically I have to pick three Universities in order of preference! I'm working really hard at my university at the moment so that I do not have to work super hard when I'm over there for the year! I'm not too concerned with university rankings etc. What I'm more interested in is out of the universities listed what three, in order, would give me the best college experience (sorta like in the movies/tv shows etc) but also what three would be the best location for weekend road trips and short holidays for spring break etc. Also I would like a place that has nice weather and safe etc. I will be under 21 and although I'm not wanting to drink I would definitely like a place that has good parties/nightlife for people under 21 as the legal age here is 18 and have been used to that kinda thing for a while!
Thanks!
My top three choices for you would be American University in Washington DC.
That's a great place to attend college, and no road trips are needed. Weather is rather moderate. Not as much snow as say, New England or the upper Midwest.
Good night life.
Next I would think about UT Austin. Great college oriented city. Wonderful music scene. More progressive than most of Texas. No road trips needed here, either. Warm weather. Sub tropical climate. Hot. A short road trip will introduce you to a more typical Texas culture. Which would also be different,
I'd also think of UC Berkley. An iconic American state university. Very diverse. Some of the best professors in the country teach there. Beautiful climate.
Georgia Institute of Technology and Texas A and M are not focused on your area of study. GIT is a STEM school. Texas A&M - well "A and M" stands for "Agricultural ad Mechanical". Also a technically oriented college.
Santa Barbara is a beautiful place, but I am not sure if it's a "college town".
It is easier to fly any where out of the coasts. Just a little FYI.
I am a New Zealand undergraduate student majoring in history and planning on going on an exchange to USA next year. My university has partner universities including:
American University (Washington, DC)
Georgia Institute of Technology (Atlanta, GA)
University of Texas at Austin
Texas A&M (College Station, TX)
University of Oklahoma (Norman, OK)
University of California (Los Angeles, Santa Barbara, Berkeley & San Diego) (If I pick University of California I have to pick 3 campuses in order of what one I would like to go to more, so if you think this university is in the top three also suggest top 3 in order of cities mentioned
So basically I have to pick three Universities in order of preference! I'm working really hard at my university at the moment so that I do not have to work super hard when I'm over there for the year! I'm not too concerned with university rankings etc. What I'm more interested in is out of the universities listed what three, in order, would give me the best college experience (sorta like in the movies/tv shows etc) but also what three would be the best location for weekend road trips and short holidays for spring break etc. Also I would like a place that has nice weather and safe etc. I will be under 21 and although I'm not wanting to drink I would definitely like a place that has good parties/nightlife for people under 21 as the legal age here is 18 and have been used to that kinda thing for a while!
Thanks!
Great question!
Weather: It will be cold in D.C. over the winter. It will be less cold, but still cold, at Oklahoma over the winter. The others will have generally warmer climates, though Atlanta and College Station are likely to be very hot and humid in the summer. Austin will be hot in the summer, but drier. The California schools will mostly have mild climates, with UCLA tending to be a bit warmer than the others.
College Experience: The closest you'll find the movie version of the US college experience will be, in rough order: U. Okla.->UCSB->UT->UCSD->UCLA->Berkeley->A&M->GIT->Am. U. Basically, there is the first seven, then a huge gap, then the last two.
Weekend Road Trips/short holidays: A ranking in my opinion, for a college student who seems inclined to party a bit:
UCSD--easy drive to Baja Mexico & Tijuana, where you will be able to drink. Easy drive to L.A. Could drive to Vegas for a long weekend.
Am. U.--Reasonable drive to Philadelphia, longer drives to NY & Boston (but doable).
UCLA--San Diego is not far, nor is Vegas, Palm Springs, and some great stretches of the Pacific Coast Highway.
Berkeley--road trip to Tahoe, Yosemite, or Santa Cruz (plus weekend days in San Francisco just a 20 minute rail ride away).
UCSB--good access to L.A. Centrally located to some of the best stretches of the Pacific Coast Highway.
UT/A&M--very similar locations, good access to Houston, San Antonio, and the Gulf Coast
GIT--meh
Okla.--very isolated. Dallas is fairly close, but not much else.
Safety: You will find that safety has a pretty different meaning in the US than it does in NZ. Most of these locations are likely less safe than anywhere in NZ. This is how I would order them from most safe to least safe:
UCSB
A&M
UCSD
Am. U.
Berkeley
UT
Okla.
UCLA
GIT
That said, I would not personally feel unsafe at any of these schools.
Partying: All schools will have partying, but styles will differ. Look at the college experience list for a ranking of the stereotypical college party scenes.
Really? You're trying to compare flying from DC to LA (2,643 miles) with flying from Oklahoma to LA (1,300 miles) ?? Yep, it probably is cheaper from Oklahoma - it's 1,300 miles closer. I give up.
OP, I apologize for side-tracking your thread. We have a lot of good Colleges in the US and you have some terrific choices. I always hoped that one of my kids would do a study abroad in New Zealand so we would have an excuse to visit! Good luck wherever you end up!
You proved my point w/o realizing it. OK is in the middle of the country. Yes, it will be less expensive to fly from there to a lot of places.
Quote:
Originally Posted by sheena12
My top three choices for you would be American University in Washington DC.
That's a great place to attend college, and no road trips are needed. Weather is rather moderate. Not as much snow as say, New England or the upper Midwest.
Good night life.
Next I would think about UT Austin. Great college oriented city. Wonderful music scene. More progressive than most of Texas. No road trips needed here, either. Warm weather. Sub tropical climate. Hot. A short road trip will introduce you to a more typical Texas culture. Which would also be different,
I'd also think of UC Berkley. An iconic American state university. Very diverse. Some of the best professors in the country teach there. Beautiful climate.
Georgia Institute of Technology and Texas A and M are not focused on your area of study. GIT is a STEM school. Texas A&M - well "A and M" stands for "Agricultural ad Mechanical". Also a technically oriented college.
Santa Barbara is a beautiful place, but I am not sure if it's a "college town".
It is easier to fly any where out of the coasts. Just a little FYI.
What do you mean "no road trips needed"? The OP is from New Zealand. Of course she's going to want to see some of the US! (Now I know that in some cities, there are people who feel it's so perfect they don't need to go anywhere else, e.g. Chicago, NYC, Minneapolis. Never heard that about DC or Austin.)
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