2015/16 College Help Thread

[popnbrown]

Originally Posted by jajabinx124

Anybody have any info for Purdue, U of Wisconsin- Madison, U of IL- Urbana/Champaign, Iowa State, or Rose Hulman?

I graduated in 2013 with a B.S in Computer Science from University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. Ended up doing tons of FIRST stuff in College, and now live in Chicago. I'm pretty sure the CS program has changed slightly (as far as requirements/courses) but feel free to ask and I'll do my best answering or at least directing you to good sources.

There's a robotics centered RSO that competed in CARD (FIRST College demo), and competes in Battlebots, VEX, JSDC, and others. It's called iRobotics they also volunteer in FIRST things....

For FIRST-y things, there's a FRC team that loves college mentors Ctrl-Z, FLL Qualifier, and FLL State Champ. Plus numerous FLL teams (including a class at UIUC you can take to mentor teams), and a rookie 2015 FTC team.

Ask questions if you've got any specifics.


Also for Purdue FIRST-y things (since I was there this weekend), they have one of the most well-established FIRST college orgs I've ever seen that we tried hard to emulate called Purdue FIRST

[jajabinx124]

Thanks for the responses everyone!

Originally Posted by tindleroot

Although I am a CS student, I know quite a lot about Purdue's Engineering program from friends in the program. PM me for any more info about their program - I can tell you that the First Year Engineering program is tough (but nothing an FRC alum can't handle).

I've looked into Purdue's FYE program.. I've also heard their Engineering program is rigorous, but that's one of the reasons I'm applying there- it's no wonder why they produce so many great engineers.

Originally Posted by popnbrown

Ask questions if you've got any specifics.

Also for Purdue FIRST-y things (since I was there this weekend), they have one of the most well-established FIRST college orgs I've ever seen that we tried hard to emulate called Purdue FIRST

I knew Purdue had a FIRST presence, but I didn't know University of IL - UC had one, so thanks for informing me! It seems like almost all of the schools I'm applying to has a FIRST presence.

[cadandcookies]

I'm a sophomore CS student at University of Minnesota - Twin Cities, which is one of the largest research universities in the country. Just about all of our engineering or technical programs are highly ranked, and we have a very large FIRST presence here-- both with GOFIRST (which both builds robots of our own and does a lot of outreach to local teams) and the many on-campus FIRST related events held here (two regionals, kickoffs for FRC and FTC, volunteer trainings and team workshops).

We're also very affordable, whether you're from in state or out of state, and the Twin Cities are fantastic, even if it is cold here for a decent chunk of the year. Definitely take a look at us and feel free to PM me with any questions.

[Canon reeves]

Is there anyone who as attended the Colorado School for Mines? I visited their campus this summer and was pretty impressed with its robotics lab as well as location.

[EricH]

Originally Posted by Canon reeves

Is there anyone who as attended the Colorado School for Mines? I visited their campus this summer and was pretty impressed with its robotics lab as well as location.

Some free advice (worth everything you paid for it): It really helps to use the correct name for a college you're interested in. In this case, that's Colorado School of Mines. Yeah, I know, nitpicking--but it does help when doing, say, an internet search.

I don't know anything about that college, other than the name, and I know the name because of the rivalry football game between the South Dakota School of Mines and Technology (my alma mater) and CSM, which is nicknamed "The Battle of the Miners" for somewhat obvious reasons.

And if anybody is interested in SDSM&T, feel free to ask me.

[Lij2015]

I'm a Freshman Music Composition Major, computer science minor at James Madison University in Harrisonburg, Virginia. I know it's not typically regarded as an "Engineering school" but that's simply because it's a liberal arts university.

Since we aren't a research school, our professors are focused on teaching as their primary goal. Beautiful campus, good food and a good social life. JMU hosts the State FLL competitions and the local high school has a team that'd be happy to have some excited mentors.

[alecmuller]

I went to Caltech for undergrad and had a great experience. The courses were hard, but the school funneled a lot of resources into helping students get through them to minimize the number who fell through the cracks. It wasn't a meat-grinder like (I've heard but don't know first-hand) some places are.

Regardless of which school you go to they probably have programs to help you when you're struggling - be sure to look for them! Engineering school is hard, but if you can pass your classes, line up interesting co-ops or internships, graduate, and land your first job, then Engineering is a fun and lucrative profession.

Another thing to consider is that you'll want to balance your hands-on training (which FRC is great for) with your heavy-duty analysis training. Caltech went a little overboard on the analysis in my opinion, but their Mechanical Engineering department does have a hands-on FIRST-like competition every year for undergrads. You'll have far better job options in the working world if you're strong in both theory & practice.