<p>People have already mentioned them, but, Carnegie Mellon and Harvey Mudd.</p>
<p>(I am an MIT alum, and those two and Caltech are the ones that I normally heard people describe as being both very strong engineering schools and similar culturally to us.)</p>
<p>Hopkins students once stole “Testudo”, the University of Maryland’s mascot (a huge and heavy statue of a terrapin turtle) before a lacrosse game and, when it appeared at Hopkins, a riot ensued. Testudo is now fully embedded in concrete at College Park.</p>
<p>The MIT sodium drop is controversial, particularly after last year, when it may have caused some serious burns to cleanup crews. Goggle ‘MIT sodium drop’ for more info. Generally, it is tossed into the Charles in modest quantities from a bridge. Quanties vary from year to year - up to a pound, I’ve heard.</p>
<p>For the sake of your pocketbook, you might investigate Cooper Union (in NYC) and Olin (in Boston). I can’t speak to their “geek” culture, but they are selective, techy, and potentially tuition-free.</p>