College Preview Page

[Gui Cavalcanti]

Alright man, I'll bite. I've been to three; I warn you, I'm a small-college high-intensity kinda guy, I may be biased

Carnegie Mellon University: Really pretty, sleek campus. It was kind of small, which is neat; 5,000 undergrads, I believe. I felt kind of insignificant, though; they dont really offer any merit scholarships, and I was one of twenty other students in the tour. It didn't help that it felt like I was in a bad college movie in that I wore the exact same thing as five other guys in the admissions waiting room... The robotics institute was kinda neat, kinda hidden. I got the distinct impression that undergraduates were shooed away for the graduates to do the real robot work, but maybe that was just me. Really close to Pittsburgh, I can see how that would help.

Worcester Polytechnic Institute (WPI): Very, very first impression when we drove in was that Worcester feels so... strange. It's a really disjointed city, with a skyline of maybe 3 'scrapers, and it doesn't feel right. So, that impression carried over to WPI until I actually went. They really went all out; I got to go to an interview with two professors (one of which I requested, Ken Stafford the mentor of 190), saw every single building on campus (including the rows upon rows of mills and lathes in the Washburn shops... ::drool:: ), and much more. I even saw the very first 1992-era WPI robot, tucked away in a downstairs machine shop Overall, WPI was very accepting, just the right size (2,800 undergrads a year), and the only complaint I had with it was it's location (Worcester night life? Oye).

Olin College of Engineering: AAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHH! So... beautiful... my eyes... tears of joy... Olin's my dream college. 150 people right now, 225 with my potential class They're brand new, entirely project based. They really are amazing. The campus is striking; not so much pure beauty (trees, flowers, etc) but flowing and very well-put-together. They built everything at once, I'd hope that'd be the case. Everything about the campus just clicked with me; the students are great, the projects are awesome, the campus is beautiful, the dorms are sweet (one dorm building right now, soon to be two; you get to know EVERYONE!)... there's so much more but it's all so deep. There's no describing it.

Who's next?