<p>I have a kid at Bucknell and a kid who graduated from Cornell-neither in engineering. Cornell grad D’s boyfriend is getting his PhD in engineering from Cornell. He attended a much smaller school as an undergraduate. ( A 4.0 in engineering from Clarkson)</p>
<p>Bucknell is a top 10 ranked engineering program for a small school, in this case a small LA school. Bucknell always ranks on USNEWS top 50 LA schools. But it also ranks in top schools, that do not grant a graduate degree,on many of its engineering program and overall, in the top ten. So you get the best of both worlds.</p>
<p>Cornell, on the other hand, is a top ranked engineering (again top 10 in most of its programs) program from a school that awards PhDs. It is also, obviously, a top ranked school overall.</p>
<p>I think any engineering program allows some, but restricted, electives. So your choice of school really depends on the size of school and classes you want-small vs larger. </p>
<p>Some would say that you get better research opportunities at the larger schools. I would say, different opportunities. But they are there for both-Bucknell and Cornell. </p>
<p>Both are great school and have great engineering programs. Obviously Cornell has the Ivy name. Bucknell is smaller, more people get to know each other, professors know students, etc. Cornell is more diverse, more class choices and more diverse social opportunities (although both have a strong greek presence).</p>
<p>Both of my D’s had/ are having, great educations, experiences outside of the classroom and opportunities to take advantage of.</p>