<p>Hi everyone! I was accepted into the schools in the title, but have no idea where I want to go.
I want to major in Materials Science and Engineering, with a minor or something in Business (I want to later get an MBA and eventually be a CEO of a tech company :). I want to get a great engineering foundation but also enjoy my college experience.</p>
<p>I'm also a very social person, like going to parties, and am a girl, which is what makes me wary about Caltech. I really like living near cities, so I might be unhappy at Cornell. However, I'm a Presidential Research Scholar at Cornell so I could have money to do my own research. Duke seems so perfect except I would have to major in MechE/Materials Science and it has a low-ranked Engineering school. I live 30mins outside of Berkeley so I really don't want to stay that close to home, but it is such a great school. CMU seems just kind of "meh" at this point.</p>
<p>Clearly, I'm very stressed out and really need a lot of help deciding! Any advice would be very helpful. Thank you so much.</p>
<p>You want to go to an engineering school to get a good analytical foundation for a MBA later correct? Duke Engineering would be perfect for that since it doesn’t have an undergraduate business school and therefore engineers are highly sought after by the investment banks, trading firms,management consulting firms on campus in addition to the traditional engineering firms.</p>
<p>Duke has the best party atmosphere of all these schools and if you are the type of girl who happens to be brilliant but party with a lot of other social people, then Duke would be a better fit with the majority of its students majoring in liberal arts than places like Caltech or CMU where the majority of the students will be studying science or engineering.</p>
<p>I’ll leave Michigan out since you’ll be OOS there. Of the ones left, only Caltech is the only real peer of Berkeley for engineering. Cornell is close behind. If you think Duke is perfect for you, then go fir it. Otherwise, Caltech is it, since you don’t like to live in Berkeley. </p>
<p>Michigan is ranked 20 spots lower than pretty much all these schools including Duke. While it is impossible to rank subjects at the undergraduate level, it is possible to rank universities and UMich far trails the rest.</p>
<p>“While it is impossible to rank subjects at the undergraduate level, it is possible to rank universities and UMich far trails the rest.”</p>
<p>Is it? There is a ranking for undergraduate engineering goldenennisthemenaceboy. You must have seen it. It’s the one where Duke trails dozens of schools in its overall academic ranking for this important area of study. </p>
<p>The undergraduate engineering ranking is based on faculty research and not academic opportunities at the undergraduate level. Duke engineers have a 60% participation rate in undergraduate research trailing only Caltech in that regard. UMich simply does not compare in teaching quality and mentoring.</p>
<p>It seems like you would not enjoy Caltech. It is even more hardcore “nerdy” than MIT, and I think you would have to really go out of your way to find the lifestyle you are looking for there. I know that Cornell, although isolated, has more variety in terms of extracurriculars and social groups. I have a friend who is doing law/business there, and it seems to have a pretty good business program. Berkeley is also great, maybe being close to home is not such a bad thing. Good luck! </p>
<p>Michigan seems to tick the most boxes; strong in your chosen major(s), excellent overall, very highly recruited by tech firms, great location, fun campus life, ample opportunities for research etc…Michigan now also offers a minor in Business (the only school in your list that does). Cornell would be good too, but it is slightly rural, so you should take this into account. Cal is also a good option, but you seem to want to get away, so perhaps not. </p>
<p>If you are doubting Caltech, then you should not go. You either love or hate Caltech.</p>
<p>CMU is an interesting option, somewhere between Caltech and Michigan. Academically, it is definitely down your alley, but socially, I think you may find it lacking.</p>
<p>Duke is excellent, but not in Engineering. As an Engineer, I would ask myself the following questions:
Will the resources (faculty, course selection, labs and research) be adequate
How actively do tech companies recruit Duke students</p>
<p>At all the other universities on your list the answer is a definite yes. At Duke, I am not so sure.</p>
Alexandre, I am surprised that a veteran poster such as yourself would make such outlandish commentary. Duke is ranked #19 for Undergraduate Engineering as well as #2 in BME, #18 in ECE, and #17 in Environmental Engineering (CEE). Duke doesn’t even offer ChemE, Materials, Nuclear, Industrial, or Aerospace so I’m guessing the OP wouldn’t have even applied to Duke if he/she were interested in those areas.</p>
<p><a href=“Undergraduate Student Outcomes | Duke Pratt School of Engineering”>Page Not Found | Duke Pratt School of Engineering;
Duke had only 294 graduates receiving engineering degrees in 2013 so there is very little competition for research opportunities, labs, and faculty members in any area. Duke had a total research budget of $980,000 in 2012 (#4 in the country) even though it has only about ~15,000 students so the research budget per student is simply mindboggling.</p>
<p>As far as recruiting goes, Duke engineers are recruited just as highly by tech firms as the rest of these schools when you consider the size of the engineering program, not to mention student interest spilling over to finance/consulting/trading like it does at MIT.</p>
<p>What sets Duke apart from these other great engineering programs is the access to financial firms, trading firms and management consulting firms as well. Cornel engineers can break into Finance and Michigan engineers do ok in consulting recruitment but CMU and Caltech don’t compare in this regard.</p>
<p>Duke is a great school and even for engineering. However, when it is compared to UCB, Caltech, or even UMich, their engineering is not as strong. UMich has almost all engineering programs within top 10 (except #11 for ChemE).and ranked #7 over all. So Duke not only offer less engineering programs, but also less competitive except for BME. Also, research budget has little to do with undergraduates. It is more important to relate that number to the number of faculties and grad students.</p>
<p>I agree with your assessment here. I would add that the smaller class sizes and the location in the Research Triangle are also of benefit to students studying engineering at Duke.</p>