Colorado State University vs University of Oregon vs University of Utah vs Western Washington University

Spic-N-SpaN

Active member
So skiing aside, which of these schools is the best acedemically, and that I will enjoy living at the most? I'm planing on either going into mechanical engineering or biology and then going to med school, lean toward the biology med school route.

So which of these schools will I actually enjoy going to the most?
 
If you can get into it I would actually suggest University of Washington, great pre-med program, great sports, and the skiing around there is not bad either..
 
western sucks, full of hipsters, and it only rains there. the skiing sucks, super wet heavy snow
 
U of U has a great medical program and an okay engineering program. WWU isn't gonna give you much, CSU is okay but far from skiing, UO is a good school but very far from skiing. As someone else said, check out UW, they definitely have a good medical prorgam too.
 
Thats good info but I'm trying to not let skiing define where I want to go,

So if I go to CSU or U of O do either of these have good programs for what I'm looking at? Cause I like the vibe of these places much more then I liked Salt Lake.

I'll have to look into UW, I haven't researched them a whole lot.
 
u of u has one of the best cancer research institutes in the country, uw has good engineering, but if you wanna do biomech and are serious about it you might want to look at other schools than these
 
go to csu. its a pretty good engineering/biomed school but none of the ones you listed are really that amazing. fort collins is an awesome town. great atmosphere, tons of stuff to do, always ranked one of the top places to live.
 
I have a quarter left at WWU as a cell biology major and chemistry minor so, pre-med. I loved my experience there at the school, the city, and it's close to Baker and is between Seattle and Vancouver. Hope you find what you're looking for in a college!
 
thats what id say. none of the schools necessarily stand out academically for what you're looking for specifically, but id say fort collins is probably the most fun/has the most options. atleast from what ive heard/seen/visited
 
you will not be skiing at university of oregon but however it is a very good medical school and there is a good biology program.
 
If you're serious about that academic route I may look elsewhere if you have the grades to get into a better school. Most of the schools you listed will be really fun (it's also college, almost every school you go to will be really fun) but none of those schools are that academically strong and they won't put you in the best place after your undergrad.

Doesn't mean you can't go places and do well after going to school there but I may look for some other schools that are stronger in what you're looking to go into.

Another thing is I would try to decide as soon as you can about which major you're looking to pursue. There are also a lot of schools that make you apply to a certain school within the university during your application process. I'm majoring in Mech Eng right now and if you don't start out with ME as you're major it's REALLY hard to pick it up later without going one or two extra years.

Best of luck man!
 
You may want to look into Biomedical Engineering and then med school.

That combines both of the routes you are thinking of taking. You will

still learn basic principles of engineering and you will be well

prepared for the MCAT. Also, should your thoughts about med school

change in the next few years, you will still have a useful Degree. Not

that a biology degree is not useful, but an engineering degree is the

best thing you can have right now.

I'm going into my final year of ME at the U of U. I know you said you

weren't too excited about Salt Lake, but I enjoy it. Despite what some

say, it is a decent program. The Biomedical Engineering program at the

U is ranked the highest of the engineering department., somewhere

around 25 in the nation. You may want to look into that.

Good luck with your decision though. Choosing right now will save you a year or two of school and a bit of money.
 
IF YOU ARE SERIOUS ABOUT MED SCHOOL...

go wherever the hell you want. unless you need to measure your dick with others, you can get into a good med school from any university. being a good doctor is more than grades (from prestigious colleges), and today more than ever admissions committees are screening for this.

go where you will be happy. I wasn't even in school and my chasing the snow/surf story is priceless for med school admissions.
 
wsucougars.jpg


Nuff Said!
 
So is CSU alright for the programs I wanted? Because it defiantly has the feel I was looking for in a college town, but I know nothing about there academics, I just here from everyone it's just a fun place to be.

 
WWU is good. really chill and Baker is amazing. 1hr away from baker.

UW is a highly ranked school. and the skiing isnt bad. Your close to the city, U-district and the water. Kinda the best well rounded. 1 hr from the summit, 2 hrs from crystal and stevens. 3ish from baker.

U of U is kind of like UW, its basicallly in the city. Their education is like UW's. They have an awesome bus system so you really don't need a car if you want to save money. 25 mins to 7 different resorts. and the buses pick you up from your dorms and take you up there.

Im trying to decide between WWU, U of U and Weber too. haha

 
oregon is tight. you gotta drive to shred but if you find the right people im sure they will be down. plus their music scene is awesome.

i go to utah and while i love it and dont want to be anywhere else in the winter, i fucking hate it during the warm months.
 
thats because friday nights suck in salt lake, thursdays and saturdays are where its at...and lets face it utah parties blow. maybe not to you but i am in san fran right now and partying here>salt lake.
 
OMG ALEXG partying in san fran obviously is way cooler. I dunno man, i went to a fucking poppin party tonight that raged til 2am, i dunno what else you need in your life, but us who actually go out and try to party have a great time. Ask jwenz, he the ultimate go out and party anywhere and he loves it. if you hate utah so much then leave.
 
im in LA as of august 20th till the winter so i am leaving for the warm months...Winning

and yes JW goes hard we all know this...the fact of the matter is, i can't treat my liver like he treats his. if anybody kept up with his drinking pace they would most likely be hospitalized...he literally passes out on the bathroom floor almost every time he gets wasted which for him is awesome but is not something i would find amusing. seriously though ask him tim or khai, i used to set up his pillow and blanket on the bathroom floor so he could sleep next to the toilet more conventionally back when i lived in the apartment.

and dude i need good music and loose sexy women and salt lake does not deliver as often as i would want with either of those...although you guys are getting Furthur in september which i am not stoked on missing.
 
If you are looking at schools in colorado for pre med/ enginerding. check out Mines (colorado school of mines) complete dude school but if you can get a 3.5 there you are sure to get into med school if you got all the other stuff like volunteer work/ ECs / good MCAT. Also in Colorado is CU boulder. Good engineering school you can double major there in Bio/ integrated physiology/ or biochem. Lots of great research at both schools. Mines is 2000 person campus and well boulder is 25K and has the college atmosphere. CSU isn't a bad school but if you are posting this on a NS you might like to be closer to the mtns than 3 hours away. The UO is 3 hours away from any decent resort.
 
based upon the schools originally listed, he is looking at a list of schools that agree to in-state tuition for possibly out of state students of the west ( members of WICHE ) therefore University of Washington, CU Boulder , etc. are not options. I have been looking at the same list and none of the schools stand out academically but the U of U I have heard has a good science ( premed) program. To the OP you might be forgetting Washington State University. CSU really isn't great academically and imo far from skiing. Look at private colleges because they might have money to throw at you.Overall I would say U of U but in the end I am in the same boat as you and trying to make the same college decisions.
 
Hmmm I am reconsidering what I said according to US News College rankings of "National Universities"

#111-U of O

#111- Washington STATE ( not originally listed but should be considered )

#124-CSU

#129 -U of U
 
I don't know anything about Oregon, but I can recommend CSU for a chill college town with great academics. That's what you seem to be looking for, and remember that basically no one studies what they thought they would when they entered college. Look for overall experience as much as you can when you are choosing.
 
i live in fort collins and the farthest ive had to drive was 2 hours. and I passed 7 resorts on the way...the extra 30-45min drive living in fort collins instead of boulder is so worth it for me and others I know that were considering CU. you get a pass for $650 with no limitations and 5 CO mountains, as well as 3 in CA. Jackson and Utah are about 6 hours away.

IMO choose an undergrad school that suits you, where you fit in well and can see yourself having a lot of fun. When it comes down to it if you end up going for your masters/med school, it really doesn't matter where you went before as long as its a reputable school/degree. You're gonna be studying your ass off as a postgrad, so I'd worry less about the academics as an undergrad unless you're specifically trying to get a bachelors in premed/bio from a top school, but its more passing tests and just having a degree and good gpa to get in, rather than where it was (unless your a 4.0 from the top premed school in the country).
 
gosh what are you doing! if you are considering mechanical engineering why not do biomed and take it at the U? Youll get great research and a good program that will set you up to get into schools like stanford/cals.
 
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