Dear Chicks (and Roosters!)

DD #1 is a junior in hs and is getting all sorts of mailings from different colleges and univerisities. It can be really overwhelming to sort through to find the right one, plus I know there are hundreds out there that we might not even be hearing from yet. I know that we are scattered across the US (and the world!) here on 3FC and I wanted to ask if anyone knows of a college or university that meets the following criteria:

1) Has an engineering program. That is what she is leaning to now, though she may change her mind. A school with a liberal arts emphasis but also an engineering program would be perfect.

2) Has women's cross country, but is not super competitive. She wants to run, but I know that at the college level some schools are just way too competitive for her to be able to run. So a school with a small athletics program, NAIA would be fine. She's not looking for a sports scholarship, but does want to continue to run in college if possible.

Other than those two things we are pretty open minded and I'm hoping to hear about a small lovely school somewhere that we might not have heard about yet.

Thanks so much!!

My alma mater, CU-Boulder, has an amazing engineering school as well as a strong arts & sciences school. (My degree is in psychology.) It's a very outdoorsy school and they have a track team and also running clubs and the like. It's very expensive if you're going out of state, but in-state tuition is very reasonable, and she can declare herself emancipated after (I think) a year. While I was there it was a big party school, and I felt out of place, but the students in the engineering program were pretty tight and if she joins a couple of athletic-focused clubs, she should be OK.

the University of Auckland offers engineering programmes and has lots of student groups, im sure there would be a casual cross country one. http://www.engineering.auckland.ac.nz But New Zealand is a long way to send her lol! Good luck finding somewhere that suits her!

I was going to suggest CU Boulder also for their engineering program and focus on athletics. However, my opinion of the school and the student body they have accepted over the past few years has waned a bit.

I also thought about Colorado School of Mines in Golden, which is renowned for their engineering and is competitive to get into (but is a very supportive environment!) and does have an athletics program. I don't know how far away from home she's looking to get though, as with both schools she would be just up 25.

I think that just about does it for my region...

the University of Wisconsin-Madison has a fantastic engineering program. (And I work in the engineering library!)

Here's the cross country team's site. UW-Madison is pretty competitive in some things (like football), but I don't think our CC team is a huge deal. and Madison is a gorgeous city!
I'm currently in the School of Library and Information Studies, getting my master's. If you have any more questions, just ask!

Does she know what type of engineering she wants to do? The UCs (University of California) can generally have a good mix of sciences although they aren't liberal arts focused. I knew someone who did running at UC Irvine and enjoyed it and she was a bioengineering major.

Oh and if you have any questions about universities in So Cal, I may be of use as I've known a variety of people who attended various universities and also I've done some research on my own.

Cal State San Marcos near me has a great Cross Country program run by Steve Scott the USA record holder for most sub 4 minute miles....a great college for earning your teaching credential. NAIA.

Point Loma Nazarene has a Cross Country team and solid kinesiology program...oh! and a great nursing program....just in case you didn't know that already

Both are in beautiful southern California and have a couple of good alumni

Ahhhh, PLNU!! Good times, good times!

Thanks so much you guys!! It's nice to hear about colleges that haven't been on our radars yet. We'll be doing some looking online today.

Our state is in a program with CO and other western universities where she would qualify for 1.5 times the in state tuition, so it would be in between "in state" and "out of state".

She's not entirely sure what kind of engineering she wants to do. One of the best engineering schools in the country is about 80 minutes' drive from here and would be ridiculously cheap, but they don't have cross country. Our other universities here with engineering programs have cross country, but even top high school runners struggle to make those teams. She is pretty interested in leaving the state anyway, which is good for her, right? sniff.....

Thanks guys!!!

Consider the University of Alaska too!

U. of Pennsylvania

UVA - Engineering

Yes, there was just a story on the news about the engineering program, I'll see if I can find it. Although Alaska may be a little further out of state than she wants to go. Besides, as you know, it gets COLD here!

What sort of engineering? Does she want more theoretical or more hands-on? Would a 5 year program (with a year of co-ops or internships) be better, or would she rather be done ASAP?

My college (Rochester Institute of Technology) had good engineering programs, lots of events/programs/groups for women in engineering (the engineering college is named after a woman!), and an OK cross country team. It's VERY career-oriented, and has a lot of programs, including some that you don't find everywhere (microelectronic engineering, computer engineering, industrial & systems engineering). They're all 5-year programs.

I'm not from Alaska - I came up here for school. You adjust very quickly Anchorage has a small town feel, and the school works very hard to not feel overwhelming (once you get used to it it feels a little small-town too). I also was NOT in to ANYTHING outdoorsy at all (going up one flight of stairs and I'm definitely winded) but it's so overwhelmingly beautiful, as soon as I get outside I'm inspired to get fit all over again so I can go play!

Tuition is pretty cheap. Great great engineering programs. They're also pushing to bring a new Architectural program up here within four years.

I, myself, am a pysch major - and love it

Wow you went to RIT? Awesome! I go to MCC ! I was so going to transfer to RIT, until I learned they have no geology program. Which really surprised me with all of the engineering, and how many geology majors also have engineering backgrounds (or the other way around? haha). Now it's U of R or Brockport for me. : ( Too bad cause RIT seemed like such a fit for me, and it's such a great school!