Engineering Schools... where to go!?!?

zephyr15
Wed, 04 Apr 2012 10:11:21 +0000

My two cents for what it’s worth.

Among those four schools – not considering finances (much.

Cornell is far and away the best school (full disclosure – I’m a Cornell Alum). It is what I would strongly recommend. With regard to your negatives:

Weather – if that’s a consideration, I guess you go to Maryland. The other three are comparable.

Competitive atmosphere/graduation rate – If Cornell has accepted you, I am fully confident that you will be able to do the work there. The graduation rate for engineering is in the 92-93% range. Rochester reports 85% graduation rate. Though the Rochester/Cornell data may not be an apples to apples comparison, Cornell’s rate is certainly comparable or better. Lack of social scene – in a word – untrue. Cornell is not as big a party school as some, but there are parties and social life. To be honest I’m not sure engineering and party school is a good idea anywhere. However your social life will be what you make f it anyway.


http://dpb.cornell.edu/documents/1000454.pdf#zoom=100

I also think that Cornell has incredible academic diversity with its seven colleges. This, I think is a major plus.

Rochester – This is an excellent school, especially for engineering. Though I don’t think it is in the same caliber or in the same league (either figuratively or literally) as Cornell, I don’t have a bad thing to say about it. It is a smaller school. Bottom line, if the money were much better or you absolutely loved the school, you should go there. Otherwise, I Cornell is a better choice.

Maryland – Well ranked engineering school. But the University in General is less prestigious than either Cornell or Rochester, and by a pretty wide margin. Unless weather is the deciding factor, I wouldn’t recommend this school over the other two academically. Financial factors always can make a difference.

Northeastern – What this school has going for it is the cost and the fact that it may have the best co-op program in the nation. It’s engineering school is not on the caliber of the other three. I also think that diversity in engineering programs is very important. Speaking from family experience, My D enterred her school as a Chem-E major and will likely change to Computer Sciences. Changing one’s mind is common at your age, and if possible, I would recommend keeping your options opened. FWIW – I had a few friends who were choosing between Northeastern and Maryland engineering (with similar packages) all chose Maryland. However, YMMV.