<p>I am applying to MIT next year, it is my first choice-dream-high reach for anyone-school. I love science (physics and astrophysics especially) and MIT's atmosphere. So going there would be incredible....If that doesn't happen, I still want to go to a great science school. I am planning on applying to Princeton, second choice, but can anyone give me other sugesstions? A good science school with a good atmosphere would be great, even better if it were in any way comprable to MIT. Thanks.</p>
<p>Caltech, Georgia Tech, RIT, RPI, Harvey Mudd</p>
<p>UIUC
Franklin W Olin School of Engineering</p>
<p>Carnegie Mellon, UC Berkeley</p>
<p>I’ve visited two of the other ‘tech’ schools (Carnegie Mellon, RPI) and I didn’t find the environments to be similar. The students had different attitudes and foci. I’m not sure if I can explain it well, but there was no school-wide love for hacks and other goofiness at Carnegie Mellon. They were both pretty homogeneous in student makeup and interests compared to MIT. Not to disparage either, but it’s a different atmosphere.</p>
<p>Also, IIRC, at Carnegie Mellon you have to apply into a specific college. </p>
<p>Harvey Mudd, on the other hand, was very similar. It’s also part of the Claremont Colleges which are all within walking distance of each other. You can meet a lot of different people, as the other colleges have a more liberal focus.</p>
<p>Keep in mind that I’m probably biased as I have friends in Claremont and I went to Carnegie Mellon with my stuffy uncle. I have two friends at RPI, but they are robots. Well meaning robots, but still. I probably saw very limited parts of both Carnegie Mellon and RPI.</p>
<p>Case Western Reserve University in Ohio</p>
<p>also there are a bunch of threads on this topic, search the forums.</p>
<p>You may want to check out the schools involved in the Lemelson - MIT student prize. MIT awards $30,000 prizes for student inventiveness at MIT itself as well as three other schools. Those schools are Caltech, R.P.I. and UIUC. </p>
<p>[RPI:</a> News & Events - Helping Hydrogen: Student Inventor Tackles Challenge of Hydrogen Storage](<a href=“http://news.rpi.edu/update.do?artcenterkey=2690]RPI:”>Helping Hydrogen: Student Inventor Tackles Challenge of Hydrogen Storage | News & Events)</p>
<p>[Lemelson-MIT</a> Program: Student Prize](<a href=“http://web.mit.edu/invent/a-student.html]Lemelson-MIT”>http://web.mit.edu/invent/a-student.html)</p>
<p>Some other awesome engineering schools are GaTech and Carnegie Mellon.</p>