[SoundsAndScience]

This is my first post here, and I have to say that this is a pretty cool/useful site. I'll just get right to it. I was born in Michigan, but I've been living in Florida for 3/4 of my life (I am 20). I have decided to go to college in Michigan because I miss REAL winters/it is much for rural that Florida, plus so many people here in Florida are self-centered/into lame stuff like rap music etc. lol

Anyway, I got accepted to a handful of universities in Michigan. I actually already have my Associate's degree (I'll have it this December) from a Florida college. I want to pursue chemical engineering/biochemistry, both of which are offered at MTU. I want to attend MTU, but I had some questions about the school/ of course the area.

1. I hear mixed opinions of the quality of MTU. I don't care that there isn't a lot of stuff to do/ 4:1 male/female ratio. I am trying to get away from all of that mess to just focus on finishing my under-grad work for a few years. Is MTU a good school? The most important thing to me is the quality of the education. I want to learn AS MUCH AS POSSIBLE.

2. What is the area of Houghton like? I know that it's primarily white, but I am used to/prefer a very diverse population (I'm white if it is relevant). Are the people there friendly/ not racist/ not generic, as in are they open to deep intellectual conversation? Or at least MTU students?

I have some more specific questions but I'll ask them after I get some generalized answers for what I have above.

Thank you.

[heartwd]

I can't speak to MTU, but have you looked at other schools in MI like Lake Superior State University? They have an excellent engineering program, and no grad students to clog up the labs. In my opinion, they are a better fit for someone transferring to the UP to finish a bachelor degree. (BTW, I am not a LSSU grad, just a fan) Florida to Houghton is about as opposite as you can get. Either way, good luck!!!

[skyl4rk]

I have worked with a number of MTU grads and all have been top notch.

[SoundsAndScience]

I got accepted to LSSU as well, but they don't have the specific degree that I am going for. I think that LSSU's location is better, considering that it is only 4 hours away from my mom's house (my mom lives in Michigan, and I can stay with her for X-mas break etc.) and LSSU is like 10 minutes from Canada/better night life etc.

But when it comes down to it, MTU is ranked much, much higher in terms of the quality of education. Plus they have the exact degree that I want. And lol yeah you are right about it being completely opposite, but I think that I would really like that. I'm tired of everything in Florida and I know that the UP is very remote. I know that it will be pretty crazy to get used to the temperature change, from low of 85 to low of -10 lol. I'll just have to wear layers.

I read on some review site that a lot of people up there (specifically in houghton) aren't "cultured" or open to deep convo's/original thinking. Is this at all true? I heard the exact same thing, and even worse about U of M too so who knows.

All I need from the 3 years I'll be spending there is a good education and hopefully some new friends.

[MTUCache]

MTU is definitely a great school. Of course, I'm biased having gone there, but I can tell you that I've heard dozens of people in the engineering industry talk about how much they value their employees who graduated from Tech. I certainly wouldn't put it into the realms of the MITs of the world in terms of research or education, but I do think that it is a very strong program with a very good reputation (especially among the midwest and great lakes area).

Just like any college town, you'll get the complete spectrum of culture there. There's plenty of foreign students, plenty of downstate (suburban) students, and lots of locals as well. You'll find most of them are extremely friendly and open-minded, and most were likely in the top end of their math/science classes in high school, so you'll have plenty of opportunity for educated debate on all subjects. Likewise, you'll find plenty of complete idiots who can be extremely annoying and insulting. You'll also see most of them gravitating away from the engineering programs as they find they can't hack it in the advanced level classes. The off-roadin', huntin', spittin', good-ol-boys are around, but unless you go looking for them you probably won't even notice them around campus. They're typically out on forestry labs, muddin' in their trucks, or comatose for the majority of the week.

If you like winters, you like small towns, and you like learning, I think Houghton is a very good choice.

Word of caution though, make sure you do your homework regarding transferring of credit hours. I personally did all my undergraduate work at MTU so I never had to deal with this, but I have heard many horror stories of people's credits not transferring well (particularly in math and physics classes) and having to re-take many credit hours.

[Sparrow_temp]

Another MTU grad here... It's a good school and I liked the area. You've already done the most important thing -- get your associates degree elsewhere. Make sure your credits transfer as previously stated. I had a full scholarship up there or there's no way I would have taken the lower level undergraduate classes there. You end up paying a lot of money for classes taught by foreign grad students. You can get a better education at the local community college for these classes for a lot less money.

When I was up there, they were on a quarter system rather than semesters. I believe this has changed but it really created a condensed schedule in most cases. I was in the Computer Science program so this really showed in programming projects. Best advice I can give when scheduling classes -- don't schedule over 15 credits a semester. I always tried to do 18 and some class always got short changed.

MTU is a research school so a lot of your profs will know their stuff but some of them may be better at writing papers than actually teaching. There are excellent profs there though.

The students are of a high caliber. This is an engineering school and not a party school and is relatively remote so you get some really intelligent people who want to be there. They are what give the school such a good reputation.

[MTUCache]

Originally Posted by Sparrow_temp

This is an engineering school and not a party school...

Erm... eh... well.... let's just say you can get out of it whatever you'd like (maybe not MSU-style riots). I'd definitely say the bar-scene is a bit more tolerable than the frat-scene, but that's almost entirely a matter of personal taste. If neither of those suit you, you'll have no trouble whatsoever avoiding downtown and College Ave. on Thursday, Friday, and Saturday nights.

I agree with the previous poster about the early undergrad classes. I had a scholarship for my first two years there, otherwise it would have been preferable to get my lower level classes done before I got there... but like I said, I've heard of a lot of people in your position who have had difficulties getting credits to transfer from schools with "lesser" reputations (community colleges and the like).

If you go in expecting to enjoy it, I can't think of any reason why you wouldn't. The only people miserable around there are those who go in assuming that they're going to be.