May 9, 2003
A: FROM MENTOR DIANA DIONISIO IN CA
I attend UC San Diego. I was interested in that school because I heard they had a good biology program but I didn't make my decision until I visited the campus and liked the people and atmosphere. I come from a small town in central Cali and wanted to have better weather, location by the beach, and a bigger city. In addition, I kept in mind the size of the campus population (I didn't want a school that was too big) and I fell in love with the awesome suite style dorms that I got. Oh ya, also think about the student services available because it can be a way to feel like a part of your campus. At the Office of Academic Support and Instructional Services, I get help with difficult classes, got an internship position, and work as a math and science tutor.
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A: FROM MENTOR SUZANNE FRANKS IN KS
I am sure you can find a lot of this information on the GEM SET web
page by reading biographical sketches of the mentors. At least, there you can
learn about the different higher ed institutions mentors have attended. As for
why...well, I initially went to Pennsylvania State University, which is a public university and
the land-grant university for the state of Pennsylvania. I went because it was close to
home, but still far enough away to get away from home a little; because my
family could afford the tuition; because it had a reputation as a very
fine university; and because I knew a lot of people who had gone to it. I had a great
experience there and since then I have come to believe that you can get a very fine
education at state university without having to shell out all the big bucks that people
who go to elite private institutions do. You can become well educated and able
to compete with anyone, and spend less money on your degree at the same time!
As a graduate student, I attended both MIT and Duke University. In both
of those cases, I was looking for a university that offered the kind of graduate
program I was interested in, and the opportunity to do research with good
professors. In graduate school in engineering, you usually get your tuition paid and get a monthly stipend to live on, so I was not as concerned with the cost of the university (though
the cost of living in the community that the university is situated in is another
story. It was much cheaper to live in Durham, NC when I was going to Duke, than it had been to live in Boston when I was going to MIT!)

To narrow your choice of field: if you don't know for sure exactly what
you want to do, and most people don't at age 18, look for a school that offers you a
variety of options, so that you can try different things and have a lot of choices. It's
mostly personal preference. How far away from home do you want to go? How much money do you and your family want to spend, how much debt are you willing to take on to pay for an education? Do you want a small school or a large one? Located in a rural setting or a large city or a small town? In my opinion, you cannot realy make a bad choice of college, as long as you go somewhere that is accredited and that offers you options. Look for the best financial deal. Sometimes what looks like an expensive university ends up not being so expensive because you get scholarships and grants. In the grand scheme of your
entire life, it won't make so much diference where you went to college as long as you do go and get a degree. Visit colleges you are interested in and see if the campus is the kind of
place you'd like to spend time. Meet with some students and ask them what they do for
fun in their spare time. What kinds of clubs and activities are there on campus for
you to get involved in? I am sure others will give you much good advice as well, so I'll stop
here.
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A: FROM MENTOR WANDA RITCHIE IN MA
Kelsey, I attended Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland, Ohio.
There were three primary factors that influenced my decision:

1. I have a broad range of interests and enjoy interacting with diverse
people. The University environment (versus an engineering school) appealed
to me. Case Western provided a mix of undergraduate and graduate students
with interests ranging from chemical engineering, polymer science to art
history and anthropology.

2. I was undecided between three engineering disciplines at the time. Case
Western provided strong programs in each discipline and used a "core"
engineering curriculum approach which allowed me time to make my decision
while I built my general math, science and engineering skills.

3. I was interested in a smaller university setting with a balance of
undergraduate and graduate students (Case Western had strong graduate
schools of medicine, law, business, nursing, engineering, etc) located in a
city with excellent cultural activities (Cleveland Symphony, Cleveland
Museum of Art, theater, ballet are all within walking distance of the
campus)

In order to narrow the field, I would suggest that you first identify the
type of environment you prefer (large vs small campus, urban vs rural
setting, university vs technical school, commuter vs on-campus housing,
close to home vs away from home) then look for a match with your academic
interests. I feel that the environment around you must match your desires
and needs, because if you are unhappy or uncomfortable, you won't thrive
even with excellent professors and courses.