santacata

I have a kid who is pretty much off the charts in GPA and SAT; probably wants an engineering major, but has broad interests and extra curriculars. She's looking at the Ivies. Which one(s) would be best in engineering? Any to steer clear of?

sulf040

I'm no expert, so please take this with a grain of salt.

Really, it shouldn't matter when ONLY looking at the ivies. They're all great schools, that's not to argue. They're all basically the same when it comes to engineering. However...looking purely at rankings of the past 20-some-odd years, the Ivy League simply does not have the best engineering programs when looking at all US universities. MIT, Stanford, UC-Berkeley, Georgia Tech, etc..., they're the engineering powerhouses. This may, however, be balanced by the fact that one may get more connections at Ivies, which may or may not be true (and I add that in SOLELY because that is what most people would argue is a reason for doing an Ivy League engineering program.)

singh2010

Cornell and Princeton are by far the best Ivies for engineering.

The others are okay, but not really anything to write home about, compared to the engineering powerhouses that sulf040 mentioned. For example, Harvard doesn't even offer my major (chemical engineering).

ucbalumnus

Two possible reasons to go to an Ivy League school for engineering:

1. You may have gotten into one of the very generous with financial aid Ivy League schools (but did not get into Stanford and did not get a big merit scholarship at one of the top state universities for engineering), and it is the most affordable out of all of your acceptances.

2. Your actual career goal is something like investment banking or management consulting where being at an Ivy League school (assuming that you did not get into MIT) is advantageous compared to a state university that has better engineering (and likely more attraction to engineering job recruiters).

Assuming a career goal of engineering, if she applies to super selective schools, she should consider MIT, Stanford, and Caltech. She should also consider her in-state state universities, depending on which state she is a resident of. She should also consider trying for large merit scholarships at those out-of-state state universities that have them, or which have low enough out-of-state list prices to be affordable. Check the net price calculators at each school to get an idea of financial aid.

EngiWanaB

I think cornell is the best ivy for engineering. It has a great reputation for engineering. But try non-ivy's too, like MIT, stanford, carnegie mellon, etc.

terenc

You need to be more specific about WHICH engineering field. Harvard, for example, pretty much sucks for engineering, EXCEPT if you want to do computer science - they have a fairly good program in that.

santacata

My kid is not sure about the engineering major, let alone which sort--also interested in math, physics, computer science . . . and theater. I like the idea of Harvard or Yale for the all-aroundness, but worry that it will be a second-string (or third) engineering education--and I do suspect that when all is said and done, she's going to end up wanting to be an engineer. Decision will be much easier if she gets rejected from Harvard and Yale (she's not interested in Princeton).

Ghastn

Well I believe Princeton might be the best Ivy for Engineering(ranked 3rd in the world by the THE) the only reason why it isn't as highly ranked by other agencies is the SIZE !
Anyway, Ivy Schools offer a flexibility unmatched by other programs and well-roundness not to mention the generous finaid!!! The reputation of a school may count towards once employment upon graduation ! After all many engineering students who even start their career as engineers change their path to Consultancy and investment banking !

boneh3ad

Overgeneralization.

Patently false. An appreciable number do, but the overall percentage of engineers who go that route is still tiny. Most engineers, believe it or not, become engineers and stay that way, moving into management more often than consulting or investment banking.

Montegut

Goodness, I could never see my son going into investment banking, or even consulting, much less management. He's a Build With Legos type of guy, but really likes being around people and getting his hands dirty, so can't ever see him being a Suit.

As for Ivy engineering, what about Penn? I've heard it has engineering as well.

Boondocks

30 years after graduating from Princeton, I would guess that less than half of my classmates who graduated with engineering degrees stayed on a technical track, or in the careers that stem from engineering jobs (such as engineering management, production management, sales management, CEO of a tech company, etc.). More seem to have wound up in private equity, venture capital or Wall Street. The money seems to attract them.

Those who did stay on technical tracks did well, however (off-hand, I can think of one whose equity enabled him to retire in his early 40’s to sheep farm in New Zealand, and another, also retired, who owns a 25% share in a major league baseball team; there are many others).

Kids change significantly from what they (and you) think they’ll like doing. Your son may appear to be an engineer now, but he’s awfully young, and so many change their minds (my mother told me that she thought I would wind up as an engineer, and I wound up never taking any courses on that track and graduated with a psychology degree).

Most people consider Ivy schools because they offer broader programs and have a very diverse student mix (as well as the overall prestige, the financial resources, the culture and activities that come with an Ivy school). I can’t imagine that any of the Ivy schools provide a 3rd rate engineering education.

That being said, I don’t think I’ve ever run into anyone with an engineering degree from Harvard or Brown, so their programs must be small (to me, there are big advantages in small programs – that much more individual attention).

terenc

I agree with Boondocks.

Most engineers from the Ivy League schools end up in finance or consulting. And it's not because they couldn't find engineering jobs or received a second-rate engineering education. It is simply because unless you go to work for Facebook/Google, finance/consulting jobs simply pay much, much, much better.

Ghastn

That is exactly What I meant "Boondocks". Thank you for elaborating. As for the size, it is true that with Ivy schools, the smaller the program is the higher is the amount of funiding that can be allocated to research and even funding the unpaid summer internships(internationally) + studying abroad. PRINCETON, for instance, has the LARGEST endowment per CAPITA in the whole world.(Endowment per student: $2,198,381 in 2011).
FInaaly, that management side of the Tech-companies do indeed stem for engineering jobs and keep using the skills that your son uses, as only few would like to work in a cubicle with a level-entry salary for the rest of their life (I guess so, NO ?)

lake42ks

Here on CC find girls similar to her interests, stats, race, family income and parental education level and ECs, and see where they went last year.

TaciturnType

If you're applying for an engineering major, gender matters.