I have finally narrowed my college list down to 7 schools

[GregGreen]

Visited Cornell and RPI. RPI's campus was just bland as hell and it was immediately removed from my list of options. Cornell was a super nice campus, imo. It is the butt of jokes amongst the other Ivy league schools, but I don't think this correlates to a disadvantage in the real world. Just jokes...

I had two friends who went to Lehigh. They both loved it (were both in the same frat actually). Both have some pretty good jobs after graduation. The couple times I went up there the campus seemed alright. I only spent much time near the frats and sororities though -- my friends' frat house looked like a damn castle. Cool architecture and an awesome look to the house

I was sort of looking at CS when I was looking at colleges. Decided before decision time that I wanted to do something more in the liberal arts. Ended up at Villanova, went to my local CC, and transfered to St Bonaventure and will be graduated in Sociology in May. So take my words with a grain of salt...

 

[thepd7]

Originally posted by: RESmonkey
7 schools = a lot. I applied to 2, got in 1, waiting for the other.

No 7 is about right if you talk to any adviser before applying.

2-3 you know you will get in and most likely get a good scholarship to (state schools, etc)

2-3 you probably won't get into but would like to shoot for (MIT, CalTech, Stanford, etc)

2-3 that you are likely but not guaranteeed to get into and should get a decent scholarship to at least of of those.


Mine out of high school (EE Major):

Knew I would get into: UT Dallas, UNT, UTA, TAMU, UT Austin

Knew I would get into worried more about scholarships: Baylor, GWU in DC, Georgia Tech

High end: Stanford

Didn't get into Stanford because they didn't get my best SAT score since it was 1 month past their deadline (oh well). Got great scholarships to Baylor and UTD, so so to UT Austin but I don't like being downtown since I am a suburbs kid. Came down to Baylor and UTD, I went with UTD since they paid me $4k a year on top of covering tuition and fees. Graduated in may, just got 2 offers from great companies, I am moving to hippietown (Austin) in January.

Make sure you get an internship, don't be a typical socially inept engineer and you are good to go.

 

[Reel]

Look at Cooper Union in NYC if you are ok with the city. I remember reading about them and finding their approach interesting. Also don't let the Cornell jokes get you down on the school. Those are "kid" jokes. Once you get out of high school and college, it is a respected school and the reality is that many of the people making that joke couldn't get in there to even form their own opinion.

 

[Nerva]

Originally posted by: Special K

Originally posted by: 3cho

Originally posted by: MrDudeMan

Originally posted by: 3cho

Originally posted by: BradT
In no particular order:
1.) Olin College of Engineering
2.) RPI
3.) Bucknell
4.) MIT
5.) Lehigh
6.) University of Rochester
7.) Cornell

As you may have already guessed, I plan to attend an engineering school. Originally RPI was my top pick, but a tour of their school showed how terrible of a campus city Troy, NY is. Right now I have my heart set on Olin. It just seems to be a perfect match for me. Of course MIT is my dream school, but I will give it a try.

Are there any grads from these schools on here that would care to tell me a little about their experiences at these schools?

I will be finishing my tours of all these schools within the next month or two, but hearing about these schools from a student's perspective will certainly help in my decision.

Thanks!

the only school that should be ahead of cornell is MIT. you obviously suck at the picking.

cornell has an awesome engineering program too. the new nano tech lab cost like 700 million to built, or something. ithaca is a bit cold, so what. everywhere is cold on that list. unless you get into MIT, i would choose cornell, the name will open numerous doors later on as well. you will be in a very special club.

plus, ithaca has one of my all time favorite bars, Stella's!

None of the job interviews I've had were effected by where I went to college. Not a single one. As a matter of fact, most of them didn't even ask. I'm curious what this special club will do for someone other than giving them a reason to pat each other on the back more frequently? You are obviously biased for some reason, but 5 years after graduation no one gives a shit where you went to school. They care if you can do your job, not what school is printed on your degree.

Go to school where you feel like you fit in and have a lot of opportunity. You are kidding yourself if you think, as an engineer, that your school title will make a difference after you get your first job, and most likely not even then. No one will care where you went to school as it makes zero difference as long as you applied yourself. I went to a no-name school instead of going to Georgia Tech and I got a job at Intel doing exactly what I wanted to do. If you know your stuff you will get a good job - it's that easy.

like it or not, it does make a difference. also, it's better to go to a top school because you never know what you will do when you graduate. why pigeonholing yourself now and go to more or less pure play engineering school? the advantage with a school like MIT and Cornell is that companies in all industries will recruit there. so if you don't want to go engineering related job after graduating, you still have all the other companies who are recruiting there to consider. plenty of my friends who got their degrees in EE and CS became bankers. I would like to see that happening at RIT or RPI.

All I am saying is that a more prestigious school, you have better exit opportunities. there is no down side to attending a top school. So if you get into MIT, no questions. go there!

You had friends in EE/CS become bankers? Don't you need some financial background for that? I recall that GS and a few others were recruiting on my schools' engineering career fair, although it was for IT and software development, not banking positions.

they are quants. once they get their phds and work their modeling magic, they would be pulling 18-20mm a year. they still look like dorks, but they dont care, because they make more in a year than a person makes in a life time.

honestly though. cornell is a pretty damn school. but make no mistake about it, it's an easy school to get in, but a tough school to get out. most people you encounter are pretty fucking smart, and they will give you a run for your money. especially the engineering school, good luck with that.

the arts school is fairly easy, but a lot of the people i know did two majors. plus it's an ivy league. your circle of friends will be completely different from say if you attended a mid-tier school. sounds snobbish, yes, but that's how the world works.

 

[jman19]

Originally posted by: zinfamous
lol...MIT 4th.

NC State is a huge engineering school. cheap as hell too. The campus kinda blows, but seems like a lotta yankees love living in the area (one of the reasons I moved away )

He said in no particular order, brainiac.

 

[Gibson486]

saying the worst ivy is like comparing a a cold day in FL to a hot day in New England. What about boston university? Umass Lowell? Northeastern? If you cannot get free tuition, Umass Lowell is the next best thing.

 

[jaybert]

Originally posted by: MotF Bane

Originally posted by: Special K

AMD and Nvidia, for example, only actively recruit from a select few schools. As I said in my post, being able to network with these companies face to face through career fairs and company-sponsored contests made it much easier to land interviews than simply submitting a resume to their websites. You just don't get those opportunities at other schools, as I found out for myself.

Do you happen to know what schools that they recruit from?

both intel and AMD recruit at Cornell. (I had an offer from AMD for a co-op, and a fulltime offer from Intel. Turned both down to work for IBM (software development for co-op, consulting for FT)

 

[StevenYoo]

apply to Cooper Union!

<---- Cooper alum, 2003

 

[dud]

Who is going to pay for all of this?

 

[alkemyst]

Originally posted by: MrDudeMan
None of the job interviews I've had were effected by where I went to college. Not a single one. As a matter of fact, most of them didn't even ask. I'm curious what this special club will do for someone other than giving them a reason to pat each other on the back more frequently? You are obviously biased for some reason, but 5 years after graduation no one gives a shit where you went to school. They care if you can do your job, not what school is printed on your degree.

Go to school where you feel like you fit in and have a lot of opportunity. You are kidding yourself if you think, as an engineer, that your school title will make a difference after you get your first job, and most likely not even then. No one will care where you went to school as it makes zero difference as long as you applied yourself. I went to a no-name school instead of going to Georgia Tech and I got a job at Intel doing exactly what I wanted to do. If you know your stuff you will get a good job - it's that easy.

Where did you graduate from and were you even truly a candidate for a top league school (top for your major)?

People like to assume graduating from MIT, Harvard, Yale, Oxford doesn't pay off...but it really does esp if you have a graduate degree from them as well.

To the OP, what is your basis for picking these schools?

I pretty much applied to many of the schools I wanted too and then had some requests for interview from others.

I interviewed with MIT and Georgia Tech. I had changed my mind about engineering though after interning.

Are all these schools potentials as far as you as a candidate go? GPA is usually not a main criteria of any top school and a perfect GPA may even hinder you somewhat.

 

[DrPizza]

Nothing says you can only apply to one... apply to several, then take a look at how much it's going to cost at each school. All are excellent schools (MIT and Cornell moreso than the others.)

 

[oiprocs]

All those schools are fine for engineering. Don't be a prick and fret over which school will give you more status when you graduate. Pick the one that has the best department for your specific engineering field if you want some top job when you leave school, or if that doesn't matter, pick the one that appeals the most to you in terms of social life and environment.

 

[kalster]

consider caltech , its a great school

 

[BradT]

I have fallen in love. Cornell is absolutely the most perfect college. I LOVED the campus, the people, their engineering program, and just the whole vibe. I just got back from Ithaca (which is about 5 hours from where I live). Cornell is definitely my number one school. I would apply for early decision if I had already taken my subject tests. Unfortunately, I won't be taking my subject tests until after the deadline.

 

[NoShangriLa]

Originally posted by: MrDudeMan

Originally posted by: 3cho

Originally posted by: BradT
In no particular order:
1.) Olin College of Engineering
2.) RPI
3.) Bucknell
4.) MIT
5.) Lehigh
6.) University of Rochester
7.) Cornell

As you may have already guessed, I plan to attend an engineering school. Originally RPI was my top pick, but a tour of their school showed how terrible of a campus city Troy, NY is. Right now I have my heart set on Olin. It just seems to be a perfect match for me. Of course MIT is my dream school, but I will give it a try.

Are there any grads from these schools on here that would care to tell me a little about their experiences at these schools?

I will be finishing my tours of all these schools within the next month or two, but hearing about these schools from a student's perspective will certainly help in my decision.

Thanks!

the only school that should be ahead of cornell is MIT. you obviously suck at the picking.

cornell has an awesome engineering program too. the new nano tech lab cost like 700 million to built, or something. ithaca is a bit cold, so what. everywhere is cold on that list. unless you get into MIT, i would choose cornell, the name will open numerous doors later on as well. you will be in a very special club.

plus, ithaca has one of my all time favorite bars, Stella's!

None of the job interviews I've had were effected by where I went to college. Not a single one. As a matter of fact, most of them didn't even ask. I'm curious what this special club will do for someone other than giving them a reason to pat each other on the back more frequently? You are obviously biased for some reason, but 5 years after graduation no one gives a shit where you went to school. They care if you can do your job, not what school is printed on your degree.

Go to school where you feel like you fit in and have a lot of opportunity. You are kidding yourself if you think, as an engineer, that your school title will make a difference after you get your first job, and most likely not even then. No one will care where you went to school as it makes zero difference as long as you applied yourself. I went to a no-name school instead of going to Georgia Tech and I got a job at Intel doing exactly what I wanted to do. If you know your stuff you will get a good job - it's that easy.

Agree, however the well connected school tend to have better co-op/intern program.

Who you know is important.

 

[alkemyst]

Originally posted by: NoShangriLa
Agree, however the well connected school tend to have better co-op/intern program.

Who you know is important.

Definitely...Also there is no debate that a MIT, Yale, Havard Grad has a freaking hell of a lot easier time post graduation. There is a level where school does make a different and it's not going to a State Univ.

While in 5-10 years the proof of your work begins to shine more...those ivy league grads can continue to work it hard and keep ahead of the pack.

What happens alot those is many Ivy/regular college wiz's get out of school get a great first job and now are burned out and only do mediocre.

 

[moshquerade]

Originally posted by: BradT
I have fallen in love. Cornell is absolutely the most perfect college. I LOVED the campus, the people, their engineering program, and just the whole vibe. I just got back from Ithaca (which is about 5 hours from where I live). Cornell is definitely my number one school. I would apply for early decision if I had already taken my subject tests. Unfortunately, I won't be taking my subject tests until after the deadline.

i was just there Friday :thumbsup:

too bad you can't do an early decision app. i think it would really help your chances. i read somewhere that Cornell's acceptance rate is 21%... so good luck!

 

[FoBoT]

RPI
Troy NY rocks!

 

[theeedude]

You can go to College of Engineering based in Olin Hall at Cornell University
Of those, I would only entertain going to MIT over Cornell. Cornell is the best of Ivies when it comes to engineering. Especially for undergraduate study. Between MIT and Cornell it would be a tossup, mostly based on big city vs small town preference.

 

[Eeezee]

By now you should already be filling out your applications. The time for deciding which schools to apply to has nearly passed. Get those recommendations going too! The earlier you ask for a recommendation letter, the better.

 

[theeedude]

Originally posted by: BradT
I have fallen in love. Cornell is absolutely the most perfect college. I LOVED the campus, the people, their engineering program, and just the whole vibe. I just got back from Ithaca (which is about 5 hours from where I live). Cornell is definitely my number one school. I would apply for early decision if I had already taken my subject tests. Unfortunately, I won't be taking my subject tests until after the deadline.

I felt the same way you did, which is fortunate, because I decided to go to Cornell instead of Berkeley from across the country without ever visiting the campus, so it would suck big time if I didn't like it. I loved it. The small town atmosphere means it's all about the students in Ithaca, we run the show. No rich property owners complaining that students are having too much fun. Also, for engineering, they really don't make undergrads wait to take graduate level courses, and they really focus on undergrad education. Some schools are not like that, they assume you are going to go to grad school, so they don't make you a complete engineer in undergrad. Not Cornell. Even undergrads are on top of their game when they leave. My company generally just hires Masters degree candidates, but they made an exception for me, as an experiment, and they came away very impressed. Now they are asking me if I can bring some more Cornell people on board.
Another good thing is that Cornell has semesters instead of quarters. That really allows for some deeper understanding and more involved projects before the class ends. I think that is key for undergrad engineering. The pace is much better suited to absorbing the information and developing solid skills.

 

[Hubris]

Originally posted by: BradT
I have fallen in love. Cornell is absolutely the most perfect college. I LOVED the campus, the people, their engineering program, and just the whole vibe. I just got back from Ithaca (which is about 5 hours from where I live). Cornell is definitely my number one school. I would apply for early decision if I had already taken my subject tests. Unfortunately, I won't be taking my subject tests until after the deadline.

Good to hear you liked it, dude. I graduated last December. Should you decide to work at the Helpdesk, let me know and I'll put in a good word for you.