u/New-Language-6515

Hi! I'm an incoming college freshman who was admitted to Tufts, UW Madison, UIUC, and Purdue for engineering. I have a few questions for any engineering students at Tufts!

- I was admitted for comp sci at the engineering school. How easy does it tend to be to transfer to a major like civil engineering?

- Are there lots of opportunities at Tufts for internships and research for civil engineering? I've seen stuff on the department website, obviously, but are these opportunities competitive or relatively easy to access?

- Is there lots of individualized focus Tufts? I've certainly heard that there is, but I just want to confirm because I know that the large state schools I got into have less interest per student.

- If you chose Tufts Engineering over one of these schools, either in-state or OOS, are you happy with your decision?

Thanks for taking the time to read this, and if you have any insight at all please leave a comment! I really have no clue where I'm going to go to school and I'm still on two waitlists (Cornell and Princeton) so I'm really feeling down and conflicted.

Hey! I'm an incoming freshman who was accepted to UW Madison, UIUC, and Purdue (all OOS) for Civil Engineering (FYE technically for Purdue). I'm comparing the three, but I keep going in circles. UIUC has arguably the best reputation for this field, but I'm not set on Civil and I'm worried about the major transfer process. UIUC is also very highly regarded for Electrical and that's my second interest. I want to be involved in research, but I don't have any prior experience so I'm worried that it'll be too competitive at UIUC for me.

Purdue housing is really scaring me away from the school...I don't wanna be stuck in a double with an extra roommate. I've heard that Purdue edges UIUC out a little bit when it comes to job opportunities, but this seems negligible? Also, isn't West Lafayette kinda quiet compared to Madison or Urbana-Champaign area? I'm from a small town in the tri-state area so I'm not really trying to go to another small town for college. Though I guess this doesn't matter too much when comparing engineering programs...

Lastly, there's UW. Their engineering, specifcally Civil, isn't as highly ranked, but there's apparently a nicer city vibe (heard all about it from a grad in my family) and I got a STAR scholarship, which would give me access to special recruiting events for internships and research opportunities. I also like that UW has some cool certificate programs like one in pilates. at the other schools, it seems like engineering would consume my every minute in exchange for a top-tier program. obviously this isn't bad but I'm wondering if the balance will be a bit off

I also got into Tufts, which has a really different vibe than all of these schools. It's also only about 5 hours from my house and I have family in the area. Their engineering department isn't as well-regarded from what I've seen, but I'm wondering if the Tufts name outweighs this? I'm having some doubts about whether or not I'm ready to go to the midwest and live, sleep, and breathe the engineering grind, which is why I'm still considering Tufts

If anyone has insight on comparisons between these schools, please leave a comment! For context, price isn't a make-or-break consideration for me, but Tufts does seem a little pricey when comparing the quality of engineering education I'd be getting. Thanks for reading this if you got to the end of my ramble lol