Help me Decide: CMU vs. Bucknell

afan
Sun, 29 Apr 2007 19:01:08 +0000

I have no expertise in engineering, just a few general comments:

If you go to CMU, are you bound to engineering, or are you free to change majors? Many people start out in engineering and switch to something else.

In general, CMU is very highly regarded for its engineering, but Bucknell is not on that level. Nothing wrong with it, but not one of the top places in the country. I have no idea about Bucknell’s environmental program.

From what you say, you appear to be far more interested in CMU than Bucknell. That should count for a lot.

If you do get a degree in engineering, you will be highly marketable when you graduate, and you will be able to pay off the loans. Yes, less debt is better, but plenty of people graduate with more debt and poorer job prospects than you will have.

Playing varsity sports, even at D3, takes a lot of time. Maybe you can do that, work study, and engineering. If you have time, contact the coach and find out how many engineers there are on the team. If few are on the team, then you may not have time.

You might also consider more loans and less work, at least until you know how you adjust to the workload.

If you can afford CMU, it sounds like where you want to go.