And explain why it is her top choice from the heart, nothing artificial…
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Is a transfer option to Cornell a possibility?
Can she articulate what she likes so much about Cornell? Maybe others on this forum could help provide overlap or non-overlap info with the remaining options.
She liked everything about Cornell- the curriculum, engineering school, the college of arts and sciences, the students, the location. There was nothing she didn’t like. It was her gut feeling when she visited Cornell that it’s where she wanted to go.
I dont think so. For engineering it’s very hard to transfer because there are so many required courses.
That’s hard to give up. Fingers crossed that she gets off the waitlist.
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Anothet problem… If your daughter got FA from schools that she got accepted to, waitlist with Cornell may not happen.
Very often private schools take from waitlist only full pay students unfortunately. We were OOS full pay for GaTech (public), so we were a milking cow to balance financial worksheets.
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Most engineering curriculums are very rigid, not leaving a ton of room for exploration. Not sure how Brown gets around that. My kid came in to his school with 30+ APs and could only do an alternative minor - due to the strict course sequencing. It’s funny - when you get to top MBA programs, lots of engineers!!! While econ isn’t business, it does seem an area that people find complementary - so maybe a minor.
You can see if you take the deeper Brown major that you then will lose some of the open curriculum flexibility (if you are out in 4 years).
- Specialization: The Sc.B. degrees include a set of six or seven specialized courses in an engineering discipline. At least one of these must be a ‘capstone’ course in which students complete a major realistic design or research project. A.B. degree candidates take at least two specialized courses, and also have the option of completing a capstone course.
The Sc.B. programs in Biomedical Engineering, Chemical Engineering, Computer Engineering, Electrical Engineering, Environmental Engineering, Materials Engineering, and Mechanical Engineering are accredited by the Engineering Accreditation Commission of ABET http://www.abet.org/
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Penn is very urban and a bit larger and has Drexel U as it’s neighbor. . Duke is not - I don’t know if that’s a consideration for her. Or the weather - or big time sports - you can be a Cameron Crazy 
When you first said Cornell and the three other, the first thing I thought of was Duke amongst those three.
But frankly, between Penn and Duke, it’s like picking Ringo vs. George!!! Which Beatle do you like better.
No bad choice.
Good luck.
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I think Brown doesn’t have to worry about Abet certification, so it allows them curriculum flexibility. Its Brown. Brand name gets you certain privileges
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Thank you! Yes, exactly what you said. I keep telling her that her 3 choices are very equivalent and I wouldn’t rank any of the three lower or less than Cornell. She understands this rationally but she has fallen in love with Cornell and is having a hard time moving on and making a decision on the 3 colleges she has offers from.
Depends on the job. Many say write in the description - must attend an ABET accredited program. They would not get considered for those jobs - and it’s many.
But for kids not wanting to be an engineer, but want that general education, it could make sense. After all, multiple surveys show 75% of STEM don’t work in STEM jobs. And an engineering education is great.
You can get that ABET degree at Brown - but that you are taking more courses in that discipline - so that would be where the “open” curriculum for that student might not be as open.
It sounds like OPs student eliminated Brown - and you need to eliminate two - and it seems a reasonable elimination.
I might look at Penn and Cornell - can you double or get a minor with Econ and Engineering and if that doesn’t separate them - then look at the over environment as they are vastly different.
There’s no wrong choice here of course.
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I think it depends a bit on the student, not just the program. One of my engineering kids double majored - Chem E and psychology. And that was a pivot from chemistry and history! It’s not easy, but it’s doable.
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Well Cornell is aesthetically pleasing and rates really high in dining - which would be important to me. And Ithaca is neat - not like downtown Durham and not like nearby Chapel Hill but closer to them then Philly.
Duke, with its stone, is - in my opinion (just mine) the nicest mid size school in America.
But I took my son to Penn (on a day with Swat and Haverford) - and while he didn’t like any of the three, I thought Penn (and Swat) were really nice. I’ve only read great things about the Penn area on the CC but obviously, given its urbanness, it’s likely a bit more “gritty” than Due.
Duke, on the other hand, has an East Campus for residential living for first year and it looks like they take a 7 minute bus. Maybe someone else can add on to that. Some may not love that.
Honestly, she hit the motherload!!! She just doesn’t realize it!!
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Yes that’s why it’s so hard for me to see her moping around. She has no idea how lucky she is to have these choices- I don’t understand it but I guess she has to figure this out for herself. Thanks.
To me it sounds if Engineering Duke is a great option with a lot of flexibility.
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So did my engineer, although her majors were related…bioengineering and biology. And my kid only had two AP courses, and one DE…none of which applied to her degree.
IIRC both George and Ringo had kids who attended…Brown…
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dang - really. OK - Duke and Penn are out. OP - go to Brown!!!
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Brown doesn’t get around that. The engineering program is pretty extensive, and the absence of requirements only applies to the general curriculum – major departments can set whatever requirements they want. So the difference at Brown is that there are almost no requirements beyond the major (save a couple of writing-intensive courses that are required of everyone). The absence of a core curriculum means that there is room for more flexibility outside the major, even if the major is demanding.
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Yes, but an engineering student will be expected to take math and science courses outside the engineering curriculum…whereas a poli sci student might look to avoid them. That said, a STEM student would likely lean that way anyway and a non-STEM against STEM.
And I know it can be done - my student (different school) had a minor in Geography and if he didn’t burn out and lose interest, could have had a 2nd with math - but that would have been in part because of duplication from the required courses for engineering that weren’t a part of the engineering curriculum.
But back to OP…
30 courses or 30 AP credits?