<p>Just another 'this versus that' question that I hope can help more people than myself. I cant decide between cornell and tufts (big and small). I realize cornell is ranked much higher, but I cant help weighing the benefits of a smaller, more focused institution. just wondering what everyone thinks about the benefits of the larger, prestigious engineering education, or the smaller, intimate one.</p>
<p>I go to a small school and the focus of the engineering program is teaching the fundamentals of engineering. My school lacks the funding and influence to do many types of advanced research. Cornell's focus is on research and not necessarily undergraduate teaching. I went to Cornell for two years and I basically had to teach myself how to do a lot of things. Most of my lectures were worthless, meaning that professors took notes directly from the book. However, I can't comment on the quality of teaching past the two year mark in the curriculum since that is when I transferred.</p>
<p>In summary, Cornell's engineering program is focused on research and not necessarily providing good teachers for undergraduates (good research professors does not equal good teachers), while smaller schools with less research resources may focus on teaching fundamentals that can be used out in the real world. </p>
<p>Personally, I would have loved to stay at Cornell because the program is very challenging and you are well prepared for challenges when you graduate. However, I needed good teachers to clear up the confusion that I had with various engineering courses. The textbooks can also make a huge difference. Sometimes it seems that rigorous schools use textbooks that present material in the most confusing way possible.</p>
<p>justinmeche said a lot of things I agree with. I got my Masters and PhD at a big school and I teach at a small one. I can tell you that the educational experience is much better at a small one- particularly one where the professors are more into teaching. At my school the professors are told to teach first and be researchers second. All of us professors love to teach and it makes a real difference in the classroom. Read other threads where I have commented on this.</p>
<p>Tufts is also a research institution so you should talk to current Tufts students to get an idea of what it's like to be there.</p>
<p>thanks for the input, ill definitely have to keep researching the decision.. oh, and would you guys recommend AP exemption, thats another thing on my list of issues for the future, hehe</p>
<p>AP exemption from what? Eng and history: fine. Science and math . . . no idea. Depends on how confident you feel with the material. I like the myriad opportunities I have to research at U of I (VERY BIG). I feel the profs try to get and know the ones who get to know them. There are some that are like, "Research first and teaching second." (which was actually said to us by one of our three chem profs [zumdahl had just left and they were trying to fill the immense gap]) I feel I know the fundamentals extremely well.</p>
<p>It is all about what you put into the course. U of I doesn't pamper it's students. They don't all deserve As because they got there. I think that it makes you more independent and knowing how to ask for help. That is an important skill to learn. I don't know much about small universities but it always seems like people are coming down on the big guys b/c they didn't get enough attention (not bashing because some people just can't handle big universities but that seems to be a common stance for the argument)</p>
<p>Just because you may have a harder time being a smaller fish in a big sea doesn't mean it's not possible to succeed. I love U of I. I know if I succeed there I can succeed almost anywhere. I always feel wanted and that they need me. Class sizes do shrink after the first two years. Also I learn what I need to know that I understand how to ask for the help required to do better. It just takes longer without someone there to hold your hand but you'll get used to it, if it is the right environment for you.</p>