Dartmouth engineering or Cornell engineering?

[suixzh]

My child got in Dartmouth engineering and Cornell engineering. We can not decide where she should go.

We visited Cornell before we like it's engineering program. We never visit Dartmouth. We know it is beautiful college, but we worry the child can not find job after graduate form it.

Is Dartmouth similar as Williams College? We do not like Williams College when we visited it last year. We feel Williams College is far from today life.

My English is terrible. Hope I make everything clear. Please give us some suggestion.

Another thing Dartmouth give more money for her.

[JHS]

1. Dartmouth is somewhere in between Williams and Cornell, but in all honesty probably more similar to Williams than to Cornell. My son's reaction when he visited it was "Tell me how this is different from Williams."

2. Cornell isn't exactly next door to today's life, either. All three schools are pretty remote. Dartmouth and Williams are both closer to a major city (Boston, and NYC too in Williams' case) than Cornell is. But, yes, Ithaca is much bigger than Hanover or Williamstown, and there is more going on there.

3. I wouldn't worry about your daughter getting a job after graduating from Dartmouth. It certainly isn't going to be harder than it would be from Cornell.

4. Both are wonderful schools. There are important differences between them, but most of them are fairly subtle, and the vast majority of students who would be happy and successful at one could be happy and successful at the other. Traditionally, more students who applied to Dartmouth in the first place would choose it over Cornell, although probably not by an overwhelming margin. If Dartmouth offered your daughter a lot more money, it is certainly worth considering seriously.

[jmmom]

She certainly has two good choices. I would suggest that you/she do some research and checking on job placement of the two schools. There may well be some information on the web sites, either in the Engineering pages or Career Services.

It would also be perfectly appropriate to make calls to the department and/or Career Services of the schools to ask for information on this, letting them know that it is part of her decision process.

Good luck.

[Mudder's_Mudder]

Big differences in engineering education between Dartmouth and Cornell.

Dartmouth:
Engineering at Dartmouth - Engineering Studies

The Dartmouth degree which is ABET-accredited is in general engineering.

Cornell:
Cornell Engineering : Majors

Cornell offers 13 different specialized engineering majors.

A lot depends on the kind of educational environment your daughter wants or how likely she might be to change her major out of engineering in the future. It's safe to say that Cornell is one of the great engineering powerhouses among American colleges and universities, but Dartmouth may offer her a more personalized experience.

I agree with jmmom's suggestion about getting more information. Also, you might post on the Cornell and Dartmouth forums here, asking for feedback specific to the engineering curriculum at each and research/internship opportunities for undergraduates at each.

[suixzh]

thanks

She will visit most of college and make decision by herself.

[twinmom]

You may want to consider having your daughter bring a copy of her financial aid offer from Dartmouth with her to Cornell when she visits. She might be able to make an appointment with a counselor at the financial aid office who may possibly be able to work with her after seeing Dartmouth's offer. Of course she should only do this if she likes Cornell and decides that it is her first choice.