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<p>You will have to do a bit more HASS at MIT, but I’m almost certain that engineering at MIT is not more rigorous. We’re talking about the top 2 engineering schools in the country (or the world, according to most rankings), and both are going to offer you an excellent education. I’m finishing at Stanford now and probably starting at MIT for PhD soon, and my impression is that the whole “IHTFP” (where P =/= paradise) is rather prevalent. On the other hand, I’ve never seen that attitude among STEM people at Stanford, so that might indicate that MIT is more rigorous, but I think that the annoyance that people feel toward the difficulty in STEM fields manifests differently at Stanford. They express more frustration with the classes or the material than with the place itself. The quarter system engenders this; while most students love the quarter system (you get to take more classes, etc.), there’s at least once each term where you think “I hate the quarter system!!11” but that’s always temporary–around midterms and finals. The quarter system makes it tough by squashing 15 weeks into 10 weeks, constantly bombarding you with assignments, projects, quizzes, exams, etc. so it keeps you on your toes. </p>
<p>At the same time, Stanford has more grade inflation, so in the end students are happier with how they do; but during the quarter, Stanford pushes students pretty hard, in terms of the material, the class structure, and the speed of the quarter system. It seems Stanford’s philosophy is to push you past your limits, make you think you’re probably not going to do well, and then inflate the grades in the end. Students work hard because they have no idea just how much it’s going to be inflated, or where they stand relative to others; so students err on the side of caution and work harder, possibly thinking they’re not doing as well as they should, then ending up with a B or an A (though C’s can and do happen). This was something I realized in CS freshman year, and friends in other majors agree–the grades may be inflated (though less so in engineering than in HASS), but nobody gets off easy. The material, class structure, and quarter system just don’t allow you to. In the end, you get a really rigorous education and strong grades to get into grad school or to get good jobs. (There’s a reason that Stanford isn’t cracking down on inflation–students do better post-grad and they get an excellent, rigorous education in the meantime.)</p>
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<p>What do you mean by “broadest”? Are you saying you might want a non-specific engineering degree (a la Harvard or Harvey Mudd engineering degrees)?</p>