Carnegie Mellon VS Swarthmore VS Lafayette (Major: Mechanical Engineering)

CougarCatClan
Sat, 08 Apr 2017 16:47:41 +0000

I am very indecisive between these three schools.
Major: Mech. Engineering, Intention to focus on Biomechanics/Bioenginering (definitely want to work with medical devices).

I’m aware of Swarthmore “limited” resources w/engineering compared to the other schools, especially CMU. However, I am more focused on a “fit” aspect. I am worried that CMU might be too big for me and I won’t get as much attention from the professors than the other schools. I’m worried that classes at CMU might have ~300 students in my 1st two years whereas Swarthmore/Lafayette I think that max. would be ~50 students, a HUGE difference to me. I also worry about how rigorous CMU is compared to the others, I’ve read about how CMU’s tutoring services aren’t as helpful. I feel if I do struggle my first-year CMU won’t be as nurturing (like I would be left up a creek w/o a paddle) as Swarthmore/Lafayette.

I have another conflict w/CMU too which is their grading scale they don’t consider +'s/-'s and I was wondering if anyone would consider this a pro or con but I would like to be credited for a B+ vs a B IMO if I worked hard and fell short of an A-. Or a C+ than a C GPA weight.

Anyways I do like CMU for their opportunities w/their labs, EC opportunities, their great range of courses versus the two smaller schools.

I have cons w/ the other two schools, & I’m leaning towards CMU but I have a lot of worries

Financial situations are relatively the same

Swarthmore:
Pros: Very small school, no worries about registration of classes, visited & loved the campus vibes, close to home (1hr drive away)
Cons: Not many courses offered, a general engineering major, just offers one biomechanics class

Lafayette:
Pros: Offers a minor in Biotech/bioeng, have biomechanics lab, close to home
Cons: Engineering program is not as strong as CMU. the curriculum is more inflexible than the other 2, visited but didn’t get a feel of the campus

CMU:
Pros: allows me to pursue a specialized major, great research opportunities, great facilities for my intended interests
Cons: Grading scale (?), rigor of program (unsure if I can handle it)/ranked high of “workaholics”, their motto lol, size of the school (student to faculty ratio), difficulty of registering for classes, location (4 hrs car drive, 1hr plane)

I’m willing to work hard but I don’t want it to consume up my whole college experience. I’m also considering grad. school (not 100% sure don’t want to get ahead of myself), but am thinking of working in the health field (biomedical devices).

Summary: Leaning towards CMU, but worried about course load. I’ll be visiting these 3 schools again and meeting with advisors about my academic plans over the next weeks.