Hey everyone,
I apologize in advance for how long this post will probably be, but to be fair there’s a lot of details with 4 schools involved. I’m incredibly excited to have been accepted to all, truthfully I didn’t expect all 4. I’m interested in environmental topics, which of course is related to civil, but I’m also still interested in electrical and how that could relate. While I’m pretty confident that I want to be an engineer, I’m not definitely set on any one branch, and truthfully I wouldn’t be extremely surprised should I end up in a pure science like physics, engineering physics, or even math. I do have a lot of other interests, such as linguistics and foreign language, that would be great to continue in college as well.
I guess what I’m looking for is some insight from some people on the pros and cons of each school regarding my ambitions. I’m notoriously indecisive, so it’s been quite a time trying to wrap my head around this. I’ll try to explain currently why I applied to each school and what I liked about it.
Brown- Brown appeals to my indecisiveness and interests outside of engineering through the open curriculum. I love the attitude on campus and the flexibility and cohesiveness of all the students on campus, regardless of major. It’s in a city, which I also appreciate. My reservations about Brown include the small size of the engineering school and its reputation as a whole. While Brown itself clearly has a great reputation, I’m not sure if the engineering department really lives up to the others. Although I’m confident I would have a great time at Brown, I’m still pondering whether or not ultimately it would be the best use of my options in engineering, since larger departments do have lots of resources to throw around.
Cornell- Cornell appeals to me because of the size, strength, and reputation of its program, as well as having pretty much every major I could see myself ending up in. The location is a major drawback (not being in a city) and I’ve heard some rumors of depression and general lack of things to do, which is a bit concerning, but considering how large it is I’m sure I can find groups. Additionally, the program seems a little more rigid than the others, which is a bit scary to me as an indecisive person who has a lot of other interests. I’m worried it might end up being too stressful and rigid, although obviously this is more of a me-problem than any systematic flaw with the school.
Northwestern- I still haven’t visited Northwestern, I’m going in a few days, but I applied largely for the same reason that I applied to Cornell- the strength of the program and its inclusion of all my possible majors. The added perk here is that it is in a city, and the trimester system gives a little more flexibility. Coming from eastern Pennsylvania, I’m not entirely sure of its nationwide reputation, and there is a part of me that says “go Ivy” because it’s the Ivy League, so I’m still not sure about Northwestern.
Penn- Coming from Pennsylvania, this school’s been on my mind for a while. I love Philly and the atmosphere of the school, and the opportunity to have other great programs like Wharton right there. My main reservation is the lack of either a civil or environmental program. I’d have to major in electrical or chem/bio molecular, which isn’t bad, but I’m not sure if it’s worth it to make that commitment. If they had a civil or environmental department, I’d almost definitely go to Penn, but because they don’t it’s a harder decision.
Thanks for reading all of this, I know it’s a lot and obviously a lot of this comes down to me and what I want, but I’d really appreciate if anyone from any of these schools or anyone with knowledge in general about these schools, or EnvE, had any input
Thank You!