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Originally posted by punjabi I like how you're American, yet used the term "Unis" to appear European and hip. Kudos.

Sure. I have said "uni" for 10 years. So this "to appear European and hip" is bullshit. Good job on assuming and making an ass out of yourself. Kudos.

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Originally posted by elFreak Ben, you need to do your research better. You also can not assume you will be guaranteed admission to Stanford. Never think any degree will allow you to work anywhere in the world. As someone who knows a little bit about professional recruiting, American citizens getting work abroad has been on a severe decline for the last few years. This is steady regardless of the reputation of the institution a degree has been obtained from.

I don't think I have guaranteed admission anywhere. Never did, and never will. Getting into any prestigious university is not an easy task. Nor will it ever be.

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Do not think because you go to the "600$ jean" universities that you will have a leg up on the rest. Yes, there are some advantages to prestige...but they tend to also have a lot to do with what friends you have among the alumni and what contacts you get with the people in the profession of your choice.

lol I am aware of the "It's not so much what you know, but who you know" thought. I have seen it myself many times. Idiots getting jobs they aren't qualified for.

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Knowledge is very important in life, but often professional progression is more reliant on who you know than what you know. What happens if you spend 150k on an education, only to find out that you do not end up working in the field of your choice? Don't discount this fact, as a large majority of people (this is a Canadian problem as well) do not end up in their field of choice, especially in very specialized fields.

I am thoroughly aware of this. It is a worldwide problem in the western cultures.

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if you can - be paid up in full 5 years after graduation.

I was ironically thinking about that yesterday and I hope to be paid off by then.

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-put a feeler out with companies related to your interest before you start studying in your field to accomplish a realistic perspective and not one given to you by greedy admissions officers. If their insight is positive, then take that to the bank more, and it is a good way to make contacts and show initiative even years before graduating.

My uncle actually made a suggestion similar to this at my sisters wedding two months ago. I never thought about it before that, but I took it as it is very sound advice.

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-be sure there will be 0 regrets with choosing a field with such a huge financial commitment. If anything were to fuck up (never say never) that is a big bag of debt to be holding for failure.

I don't regret anything in life. Shit happens and I deal with it. I wouldn't change anything in my life for the world.

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-make sure you can even get a loan that big with a bank. They are not giving it away to just anyone these days. then you should CONSIDER Stanford.

I have considered this problem. Also, I am not set on any school at this point, just considering my potential options in the future.

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keep in mind that Cinderella stories where people with lower income backgrounds go to the big uni and hit it big are by far outnumbered by those that get nailed by debt that can be a crippling obstacle for many years.

Very aware that the "rags to riches" stories that people cling to, are so few and far between that they aren't even an inspiration.

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knowledge is knowledge no matter where you learn it, contacts are a trickier story. People that go to these schools usually can afford to. Ask yourself if you can, especially considering that it might be a decision made during one of your country's worse financial periods.

A former coworker said this exact thing. The whole thing about going to college is partially to get your education, but the most important thing for him was the contacts and connections he made. Again, never thought of this, but it rings true.

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also...do better research, i scanned quickly and your numbers are off.

Yeah as pointed out, I was off. The cost difference is significant in Stanford v UCLA.

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be careful and good luck. dreams unfortunatly sometimes only remain dreams. Reality is always there.

Thanks. And yeah I am aware that not all dreams can or will become reality. Sometimes they are best left as dreams.

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Originally posted by Lebezniatnikov Jay gives some good advice. There has been a lot of difficulty in the student loan business here in the States over the past two years or so, and some banks are beginning to be more cautious about granting loans. I work at the school with the highest tuition in the country, and I can tell you that finances are increasingly a problem for many of our students. A couple of things that you're going to want to think about : - Reputation of the university in the field. As Jay says, it's not all about reputation, but it is a substantial leg up on the competition. The unfortunate thing for you is that engineering is not cheap anywhere, so you're going to be looking at an expensive institution any way you cut it. Be sure you're looking at schools with a large alumni base in the field.

This is something I am already quite aware of. Name is only part of the overall real equation. Known and harbored this view for years.

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- Cost of living v. tuition - what is the breakdown in costs of the school? The price quoted is typically Tuition + Room & Board - this could potentially be reduced by commuting from home or living off campus.

With most, with the exception of probably Berkeley, they are all in larger cities and are therefore similar in cost of living.

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- Part-time options. Not ideal, but the opportunity to work while going to school can be financially attractive.

I expect to work in some capacity while I am at school. Not sure what capacity, how much, etc as it is 2-3 years away, but I know I will.

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- Regional/national. Think about where you want to work. If you're going to stay in California for your first job, then you may want to think about a regional or local school. Stanford is a national powerhouse, but when compared to UCLA in California it might not be a difference-maker. However, if you're thinking about the East Coast... San Luis Obispo may not be a huge help.

Well this is also dependent on the field, size of company, etc, but otherwise I agree. Never looked at it that way.

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- First job v. career. What kind of job do you want right out of college? This is really the only time what college you went to is a huge help. Landing your first job is difficult, and this is where a big-name school can help, but after you've worked in the field for a few years nobody will care where you went to school. They'll care about your job performance. You may still be paying off loans at this point, so it's something to take into consideration.

Known this for a while, but as you said, landing that first job is hard. Having a good name behind you helps, but I am also aware it is about how you sell yourself in an interview.

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- Specialization. Every school has a different set of professors known for different things. When looking for a grad school students are encouraged to take a look at the faculty and their relevant research interests. Since you're thinking this will be a terminal degree, it might not be a bad idea here either. What professors teach at Stanford? Berkeley? UCLA? What are their interests, and how compatible are they with your own? Do they offer the opportunity for students to help with research? Working with a professor on their own projects can be the most fundamental way of getting a leg up on the competition coming out of college. Saying you went to Stanford is helpful, but saying you went to UC-Davis and worked with Dr. So-and-so, the leading expert in the field of Quantum Mechanics, can be much more impressive. /2 cents

Totally aware of that, but that is most important when I do my graduate studies.

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edit: I'll only add that the main difference between public and private is funding. Public schools are typically more research-based. Tuition is low and public grants are high. Private schools are going to be more class-based. Tuition is high, but the number of instructors is high as well, driving class sizes lower. So weigh the chance to do research at a big state school vs. the opportunity to actually have contact with professors rather than TAs at smaller private institutions.

So funding aside, private.

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Originally posted by Nostalgic UCLA 36kish a year? LMAO. It's about 21K. UC Santa Cruz is the most expensive UC in the state and its still only about 25K. Like the previous posters were saying, if you can't even do proper research, don't even bother wasting your money.

So I looked at 1 wrong page. How does that make the fundamentals of anything totally skewed or fucked?

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Originally posted by bas Dual exhaust tips on dual exhaust = QUAD EXHAUST = 300 gain in horsepower. Duh

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Originally posted by bas Undies with a dickhole aren't good for guys. Your balls can get caught in them. That's why I prefer to go over the gate instead of through the fence.

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Originally posted by Fpcookie what do you think you will be doing as a nuclear mechanical engineering? ive never heard of that before and i have no idea what it would entail. if the US job market is the same as here or England you will have no problem getting a job in any type of mech eng field

Nuclear power plant design is what it mostly deals with.

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Originally posted by chimera66 i've gone to private high school, college and grad school and all i gotta say is i owe a lot of money. i got a great education but if one is so determined they can get a great education anywhere...

I don't disagree. I know that the quality of the education is pretty similar overall when considering all things.

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Originally posted by CranberryJuice Good advices jay! well i think u should consider carefully about borrowing all this amount of money u want to go into the nuclear field did u inform yourself about the real opportunities and needs in the US? and if it would be later why not possible to work abroad? i think that like jay wrote what matters a lot is the connections u can get through universities. like this year i chose to go in a tiny university which is pretty unknown here but on the other hand ive seen the network and the partnerhips offered by the master i chose on. here at least if education is about the same, same courses at the end what is important to keep an eye is the contacts u can get from.(at least one the last year here) good luck ben

It is interesting, but I don't know if that will end up being my specialty. I could go Aeronautical, oil and gas, who knows. I am still open to things. I have a couple years to decide too.

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Originally posted by nchs09 I know for the top 2 schools here in georgia, instate students dont pay that much. I think for in-state, Georgia Tech and Univeristy of Georgia charge 5k a semeester. And tech is one of the top technical schools in the country behind those like drexel and wtvr.

Georgia Tech is one of the top rated in MechEng.

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Originally posted by bas Dual exhaust tips on dual exhaust = QUAD EXHAUST = 300 gain in horsepower. Duh

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Originally posted by bas Undies with a dickhole aren't good for guys. Your balls can get caught in them. That's why I prefer to go over the gate instead of through the fence.

maybe i missed this but what is the defined path for a nuceal mechanical engineer? obviously mechanical engineering but what do you need to do additionally to get that specialization?

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Originally posted by Ygrene I once saw Swamper peel off 4 or 5 $100 bills from a fat roll and say this to Donald Trump: "Go clean yourself up; you look like a bum.". And then he threw the bills right in Trump's face/hair! Then Swamper and his entourage of 30, who were all wearing TA monogramed Rolexes, left the room and flew to Hawaii for a few hours because Del wanted fresh coconut. To his defense, Trump didn't even really look like a bum.

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Originally posted by chimera66 maybe i missed this but what is the defined path for a nuceal mechanical engineer? obviously mechanical engineering but what do you need to do additionally to get that specialization?

I was looking at transfer requirements, etc the other day and it was a lot more stuff than other specialties.

As I said, that is not a concern right now as I am just starting the general ed.

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Originally posted by bas Dual exhaust tips on dual exhaust = QUAD EXHAUST = 300 gain in horsepower. Duh

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Originally posted by bas Undies with a dickhole aren't good for guys. Your balls can get caught in them. That's why I prefer to go over the gate instead of through the fence.

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Originally posted by gehzumteufel I was looking at transfer requirements, etc the other day and it was a lot more stuff than other specialties. As I said, that is not a concern right now as I am just starting the general ed.

makes sense but imo it is worth it to get involved in stuff now that will help you later. extra work like joining a lab at the bottom level or something of that nature...

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Originally posted by Ygrene I once saw Swamper peel off 4 or 5 $100 bills from a fat roll and say this to Donald Trump: "Go clean yourself up; you look like a bum.". And then he threw the bills right in Trump's face/hair! Then Swamper and his entourage of 30, who were all wearing TA monogramed Rolexes, left the room and flew to Hawaii for a few hours because Del wanted fresh coconut. To his defense, Trump didn't even really look like a bum.

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Originally posted by chimera66 makes sense but imo it is worth it to get involved in stuff now that will help you later. extra work like joining a lab at the bottom level or something of that nature...

I don't doubt it, but it all depends on where I specialize, that will determine where I should be any sort of lab rat.

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Originally posted by bas Dual exhaust tips on dual exhaust = QUAD EXHAUST = 300 gain in horsepower. Duh

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Originally posted by bas Undies with a dickhole aren't good for guys. Your balls can get caught in them. That's why I prefer to go over the gate instead of through the fence.

Ben, i'm glad you're very interested in pushing your education to the next level. as corny as it sounds, education is one of the best investments an individual can take on. It is a durable good, it will improve your reasoning skills, time management and give you the expertise to compete well in your field of study.

However, the cost of a 'good education' in the US has escalated over the years and it's not going to level out in the future either.

What to do? well, start reading what some experts have to say about the matter. You'll be surprised at how 'universities' present themselves as 'products', money making education mills.

I think you might find this article helpful:

http://money.cnn.com/2008/08/20/pf/...sion=2008082214

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Money Magazine) -- In May, more than 20,000 spectators gathered under blue skies at Wesleyan University in Middletown, Conn. to hear Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama deliver the commencement address. After recalling his days as a low-paid community organizer, Obama urged the graduates to consider careers in public service. "I ask you to seek these opportunities when you leave here," Obama declared. "The future of this country - your future - depends on it." His message was received with enthusiastic applause. Calls to "give back" always seem to resonate at elite schools like Wesleyan, a picture postcard of academic abundance on its 360-acre wooded campus, complete with state-of-the-art film center, 7,500-square-foot fitness facility, skating rink, 11-building arts complex and a new $47 million student center offering everything from Mongolian grill entrées to organically grown coffee.

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As for actually entering a career in public service, Graduate, good luck with that. Given the steep price tag for a Wesleyan degree ($200,000 for four years) and the substantial amount you may have borrowed to pay those bills ($21,500 for the average student, with some families carrying loans of $50,000 or more), choosing a profession that often pays less than $30,000 a year might be, well, let's just say a bit of a financial challenge. For more than two decades, colleges and universities across the country have been jacking up tuition at a faster rate than costs have risen on any other major product or service - four times faster than the overall inflation rate and faster even than increases in the price of gasoline or health care (see the chart to the right). The result: After adjusting for financial aid, the amount families pay for college has skyrocketed 439% since 1982.

if you have the means and are looking for a more personalized education (smaller classes, a more favorable teacher/student ratio) go private! if you can't, there are alot of great schools out there such as UT Austin.

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Originally posted by diggerz if you have the means and are looking for a more personalized education (smaller classes, a more favorable teacher/student ratio) go private! if you can't, there are alot of great schools out there such as UT Austin.

Interesting read thanks!

Also, I know that there are great public schools, and since they are only 10-12k/yr they are much more attractive from a cost analysis perspective.

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Originally posted by bas Dual exhaust tips on dual exhaust = QUAD EXHAUST = 300 gain in horsepower. Duh

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Originally posted by bas Undies with a dickhole aren't good for guys. Your balls can get caught in them. That's why I prefer to go over the gate instead of through the fence.

i love my private school! you pay more but you get more too. i think

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philippe - In MEXICO says: ur the most clever pothead i know philippe - In MEXICO says: u deserve a fucking medal

one of my best friends did his undergrad in mechanical engineering at two state schools in NY and then got his graduate degree at Columbia University.

i think it might be beneficial to do something like that if you're interested in doing grad school as well.

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Originally posted by lücid one of my best friends did his undergrad in mechanical engineering at two state schools in NY and then got his graduate degree at Columbia University. i think it might be beneficial to do something like that if you're interested in doing grad school as well.

I already have plans to do grad school.

What did your friend specify in?

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Originally posted by bas Dual exhaust tips on dual exhaust = QUAD EXHAUST = 300 gain in horsepower. Duh

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Originally posted by bas Undies with a dickhole aren't good for guys. Your balls can get caught in them. That's why I prefer to go over the gate instead of through the fence.