Harvard, Princeton and Yale For Engineering.

College Search & Lists
61

<p>“In terms of depth, breadth, and quality of the academic departments, quality of faculty, Stanford and Berkeley are hands down better than Yale”</p>

<p>Datalook, I think you are a genius. Let’s take a closer look at why Berkeley is unequivocally better than Yale.</p>

<h1>1 - If you look at the graduate school rankings… oh wait. Did I just say grad school? This is a problem. Luckily, mathematics will come to the rescue. Let’s start with a simple equation. If e=mc^2, then undergraduate = graduate. Well, thanks to Einstein, we know that the former portion of the statement is true, so it follows that graduate = undergraduate, and we can therefore substitute the terms. But since this line of proof is getting a little complex, let’s begin with an easier comparison.</h1>

<p>Let’s take a quick look at admission rates. I am going to ignore all decimal points, since they make things a little more confusing, so Yale has an admission rate of approx. 75%. Common, how could any school that admits 3/4 of its applicants be any good???
Next, let’s take a look at cross-admit battles. Has anyone seen any threads on CC about Berkeley Yale cross admits, because I sure haven’t. Why is that, I wonder? Because Yale is embarrassed by the results. So they try to compare themselves to other schools, like Princeton and Stanford. Well, sure, Yale actually consistently wins or ties those cross-admit battles, but that is clearly just an indicator of the effects of rampant drug abuse on today’s teenagers.
I could go on and on, but I pity the reader, and as a result I will offer my final piece of evidence: God told me so. That’s right, you heard it! GOD. Straight from His mouth. Well, to be honest, I used an intermediary, but I do hear that the Oracle at Delphi is fairly reliable. So there you have it - from God’s mouth to your ears (and a bunch of people in between, but we’ll ignore that for now): Berkeley >>>>> Yale. In fact, Berkeley is actually the #2 school in the world, after the University of Montana (every single cow admitted to the University of Montana has subsequently enrolled during the past century. That’s a consistent 100% yield rate. Damn! Let’s see Yale beat that! Wait, did I say cows??)
I am, as always, very truly yours,
Eli140</p>

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<p>Sarcasm is lost over the internet. :|</p>

<p>Yale FTW!!! This video alone, can make you go gaga over the college. That’s why I chose Yale!! [Yale</a> >> Berkeley](<a href=“http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tGn3-RW8Ajk]Yale”>http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tGn3-RW8Ajk)</p>

63

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Seems very true. What sort of liberal arts courses do people who find themselves in I-banking, take?</p>

64

<p>"What sort of liberal arts courses do people who find themselves in I-banking, take? "</p>

<p>I can’t really recall the specific majors of my former colleagues just now.I’m only remembering my best analyst, who was an archeology major. I’m sure it runs a wide gamut. In that group one needed to write effortlessly and excellently, on a deadline, speak well in front of groups, reason verbally, persuasively and extemporaneously, be extremely quick and facile with simple math. You have to be very quick-witted, both verbally and quantitatively. And have exceptional interpersonal skills, leadership skills, nerve and drive. Your critical reading skills also need to be excellent, you will be reviewing and guiding development of a ton of detailed legal documents. Anything that helps develop these traits will be a benefit.</p>

<p>It’s also important to be well rounded, both educationally and otherwise. As a schmoozer you have to have a lot to talk about, and do, with strangers you are wining and dining. For this purpose a broad education in a variety of areas, both academic and social, is useful.</p>

65

<p>where I worked, MBAs with liberal arts backgrounds far outnumbered the ex-engineers, and the liberal arts types pretty much ran the place,</p>

<p>That’s what I saw, but I didn’t see or know everything.</p>

66

<p>An engineering major with an MBA>>a liberal arts major along with an MBA?
… In Investment Banking, that is.</p>

67

<p>Cornell would be a better choice for engineering than Princeton. The engineering program at Cornell is the best in the Ivy League. </p>

<p>What is all this talk about banking? I don’t think the OP is interested in banking, or did I miss something? Engineering careers pay very well and can be very satisfying.</p>

<p>Engineers who go into banking are wasting their engineering education. If you love engineering, stay with it. </p>

<p>Engineering is a much higher calling than banking which is an activity essentially motivated by greed and personal gain. Engineers have done much more to make the world a better place than bankers. Engineers actually create things. Banking, politics, and law are more parasitic. Sorry if that sounds harsh. I think it is true.</p>

68

<p>Engineers don’t get to design anything unless it has been, or can be, economically viable.
Bankers help get the money to get the projects built.</p>

<p>I find nothing dishonorable about what I did as an investment banker. I helped finance a number of facilities that provided employment for numerous engineers. They were able to “make the world a better place”, and “create things”, in part because of what I first did to help make that possible by raising the needed capital for those projects.</p>

<p>We live in an integrated society. We need both people who are best suited for designing projects, and also people who are best suited at helping raise funds for those projects.
Without all of these measures the projects will not come into existence. The best thing each of us can do is try to figure out where we best fit within the grand scheme of things, given our individual capabilities and the nature of the jobs.</p>

69

<p>^ Well said. I hope itsmylife99 stays with engineering if that is the best career for him/her.</p>

70

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not to bust your chops or anything… well, yes, to bust your chops, inasmuch as you indicate you chose Princeton for a broader education, I suggest you not neglect English syntax along the way, in particular, the Subjunctive tense. To correct your sentence: </p>

<p>" If I WERE really dedicated to engineering… would have included: MIT, Caltech …"</p>

71

<p>Agree with the poster who said MIT is not lacking in liberal arts course offerings. It seems to occupy a space in technical education at a midpoint between Caltech and Harvey Mudd (and Cooper Union and Rose Hullman) on one hand, and Stanford or Berkeley on the other.</p>

72

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Actually, that was me. In fact, I wanted to give an example of why the idea of MIT as not having “humanities” is nonsense. It has arguably one of the best economics, political science, and linguistics departments in the country. However, you might want to take one or two literature courses. Here is the list of classes (these are only the full credit classes; I left off the 2/3 credit classes) in literature from the current course catalog. Does this seem enough?</p>

<p>You can find similar depth in the standard humanities/social sciences.</p>

<p>Introductory Subjects
21L.000J Writing About Literature
21L.001 Foundations of Western Culture: Homer to Dante
21L.002 Foundations of Western Culture: The Making of the Modern World
21L.003 Reading Fiction
21L.004 Reading Poetry
21L.005 Introduction to Drama
21L.006 American Literature
21L.007 World Literatures
21L.008J Black Matters: Introduction to Black Studies
21L.009 Shakespeare
21L.010 Writing with Shakespeare
21L.011 The Film Experience
21L.012 Forms of Western Narrative
21L.013J The Supernatural in Music, Literature and Culture
21L.014J Empire: Introduction to Ancient and Medieval Studies
21L.016 Learning from the Past: Drama, Science, Performance
21L.017 The Art of the Probable
21L.220 Literary Studies: The Legacy of England
21L.285 Modern Fiction
21L.286 Modern Drama </p>

<p>Intermediate Subjects
Genres and Themes
21L.420 Literary Studies: The Legacy of England
21L.421 Comedy
21L.422 Tragedy
21L.423J Folk Music of the British Isles and North America
21L.430 Popular Culture and Narrative
21L.432 Understanding Television
21L.433 Film Styles and Genres
21L.434 Science Fiction and Fantasy
21L.435 Literature and Film
21L.448J Darwin and Design
21L.449 Literature and the Environment
21L.450 The Ethics of Leadership
21L.451 Introduction to Literary Theory
21L.455 Classical Literature
21L.458 The Bible
Periods of World Literature
21L.460 Medieval Literature
21L.463 Renaissance Literature
21L.470 Eighteenth-Century Literature
21L.471 Major English Novels
21L.472 Major European Novels
21L.473J Jane Austen
21L.476 Romantic Poetry
21L.481 Victorian Literature and Culture
21L.485 Modern Fiction
21L.486 Modern Drama
21L.487 Modern Poetry
21L.488 Contemporary Literature
21L.489J Interactive and Non-Linear Narrative: Theory and Practice
American Literature
21L.501 The American Novel
21L.504J Race and Identity in American Literature
21L.512 American Authors </p>

<p>Seminars
21L.701 Literary Interpretation
21L.702 Studies in Fiction
21L.703 Studies in Drama
21L.704 Studies in Poetry
21L.705 Major Authors
21L.706 Studies in Film
21L.707 Problems in Cultural Interpretation
21L.708 Literature and Technology
21L.709 Studies in Literary History
21L.715 Media in Cultural Context
21L.992 Special Topics in Literature
21L.993 Special Topics: Studies in Poetry - Latin
21L.994 IAP Special Topics in Literature
21L.995 IAP Special Topics in Literature
21L.996 Topics in Film and Media
21L.997 Topics in Film and Media
21L.998 Special Topics in Literature
21L.999 Special Topics in Literature
21L.ThT Literature Pre-Thesis Tutorial
21L.ThU Literature Thesis
21L.UR Undergraduate Research</p>

73

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<p>What is the OP is a confused blob of mass and doesn’t know squat about which engineering major to do?</p>

74

<p>^
edit: What if the OP is a confused blob of mass and doesn’t know squat about which engineering major to study?</p>

75

<p>Then go to a school that offers good breadth across all the disciplines of engineering, and a curriculum featuring introductory courses and course sequences that provide exposure to same.</p>

<p>One way to start getting a handle on this is to go to each school’s Registrar’s pages and, and simply count the # engineering courses actually being offered this semester. Then go to the school’s catalog and look up the # engineering fields offered, the # engineering majors offered. At least some of the colleges mentioned on this thread have huge gaps in their engineering offerings, one I specifically remember, as of a few years ago when I looked, didn’t seem to offer Civil engineeering (a huge field) altogether.</p>

<p>Then look at the actual curriculum, the nature of the introductory courses (read the course descriptions)and sophomore year course sequences, to see if they provide for broad exposure to the field. Make sure you do not have to enter a major field within engineering until Junior year, this will give you time to sort things out, but still enough time to acquire the appropriate/expected level of expertise within your chosen area.</p>

76

<p>Regarding post #74:
Cornell and Princeton both have great engineering programs. Cornell edges out Princeton in most engineering disciplines and Cornell offers programs in several disciplines lacking at Princeton, e.g. material science and engineering physics. Cornell’s engineering program is more than 3 times the size of Princeton’s and has advantages in terms of breadth and diversity of courses, research opportunities, resources.</p>

<p>Princeton’s ChemE program seems to edge out Cornell’s but Cornell’s ChemE program is not far behind. Cornell aerospace undergrads actually get degrees in mechanical with an aerospace minor.</p>

<p>Electrical and Computer are separate departments at Princeton but are in the same department at Cornell.</p>

<p>What surprised me is that Cornell engineering had not received a mention in this thread despite its superiority.</p>

<p>By the way, the large majority of Cornell engineering grads actually go into engineering. Of my 10 housemates on Eddy Street only one went into banking (my roommate works for Bank Suisse…using his computer engineering and programming skills) and 2 went into medicine.</p>

77

<p>Very interesting thread. But my point is (it has been brought up by someone above), if you want to go to investment banking, why choose an engineering major? As far as I know, there isn’t a real advantage (if not a disadvantage) being an engineering student in terms of getting into IB or consulting? </p>

<p>So why? Is it because it’s easier to get into those schools if you choose engineering (I konw that’s definitely true for Columbia, not sure for Harvard or Yale)? Or some people’s courses and ECs clearly point to science/engineering and they will have a hard time getting into those presitigious schools if they go for a econ/finace major? </p>

<p>And why do more people in Harvard Yale Columbia science/engieering (I’m not counting financial engineering) switch to finance/consulting? Is it really because they change their mind in their four years in undergrad or they already have that plan in mind before they even applied? I don’t think they said “I wanted to go to xxx engineering school so that I can go to investment bank after I graduate” in their well-polished essays.</p>

<p>I believe there are more hypocrites in Harvard Yale Columbia science/engineering than we think. I know I’m cynical and really really rude and please correct me on this if you can. I really hope I’m wrong about this. I just saw too many of my friends switch to econ/finace after they got into engineering school. I’m a bit disappointed.</p>

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<p>I think it is a combination of factors, with the largest being that no high school student really has a deep understanding and experience with an engineering curriculum and research. You can study economics in high school. You can study history. You can’t really take a Biomolecular Engineering course before college. Thus, these students don’t really know what they’re getting into it. Some find it too difficult or dry and transfer out of engineering (somewhere in the 35% range) entirely. Some realize it’s okay to study and intellectually stimulating and rewarding, but they don’t see their lifelong calling as an engineer, so look at other industries upon graduation wherein their skills are heavily valued. I’d say that’s the majority of engineers turned consultants/bankers fall into this category. Another group sees career/salary potential as more lucrative in the business world of consulting and finance than engineering and thus decides to pursue that when they start looking for job. Finally, the last group truly does plan to go into finance/consulting and astutely realizes (as a high school senior, no way I was even thinking about that) that firms covet individuals who possess and can demonstrate great analytical and problem-solving abilities in a tough curriculum.</p>

<p>In other words, I think it’s misconstrued to call these people hypocrites. In your second paragraph you talk about switching majors. I’d think a vast majority of these are for reasons stated above (didn’t really know what engineering was like, was too difficult, etc.). A small percentage uses engineering as a slightly easier route to acceptance.</p>

79

<p>I heard many engineering grads from these schools don’t end up working in engineering companies, so why bother, especially that they all have excellent rep. I’d choose based on fit, if I were you.</p>