This might also be helpful.
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Stevens not on it, but RPI and WPI are, and the salaries are the same.
(with Stevens potentially historically higher)
Itâs honestly such a function of location etc.
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The College Scorecard also had median earning by major at all these schools. But note that she wonât be the median everywhere.
My son is finishing up his sophomore year in CE/CS at Northeastern. He is on track to finish in 4 years with two coops and possibly a math minor as well. He did come in with quite a few AP credits and did not retake any classes when he had AP credit. He competes in a club sport and is a member of two other clubs, one academic and the other not. Before COVID he was also taking free classes in Chinese and Korean offered through Northeastern. He took Chinese in high school and this was a low stress way to keep up his skills. He really likes exploring Boston and has become comfortable with public transportation and renting the blue bikes around town. He also likes to run on the river trail.
CS is ridiculously employable and for a girl, even more so. Sheâll have a job, a good salary, and sheâll even be able to choose, regardless of major.
CMU would be it if she wants the hardcore academics and prestige.
Northeastern would be it if she wants the co-ops and professional experience + a traditional campus in a great city. 1st year is traditional then it depends on whether you have 2 or 3 co-ops. Good academic combination.
GWU if she wants an urban experience and lots of internship opportunities in the DC area. Less traditional campus than either CMU or Northeastern, less 'hardcore" than CMU and less âpreprofessionalâ than Northeastern, a good mix of majors and lots to do/see in DC.
I would leave Stevens aside, despite the gorgeous views 
Iâd go with Northeastern or GWU, best value (experienceXacademicsXcost), unless sheâs passionnate about ECE and wishes to add an additional major in HCI from CMU and CMU is affordable despite its higher cost.
Thank you everyone for all your responses! It has been very helpful reading everything. We will be trying to visit each of the schools this month (we have already visited Northeastern). Visiting Stevens and perhaps speaking to some students will hopefully give her a feel of the environment. If she feels the fit is just not right, we will eliminate Stevens even though the price is the best. Iâm guessing the decision will be between Northeastern and CMU. It would be helpful if anymore could speak to whether CMU ECE students are actively involved in other activities at the school. My main concern is that although the opportunities exist for getting involved in many areas, are kids really just focusing on their studies in order to maintain their grades? My question at Northeastern would be whether the graduates feel disadvantaged by their degree compared to CMU graduates? Also, do they feel disconnected due to the COOP system?
So someone with, say, a $6,375,000 net worth should take a pass on spending a marginal $140,000 to ensure their childâs undergraduate experience is significantly upgraded in nearly all meaningful and measurable ways? Sheesh.
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Geezus âŠ
I tell you most Parents in Manhattan Private High Schools do well, but not that well âŠ
and yet all are forking out 50k+ per year for something that could be free âŠ
I think your math is way off âŠ
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OK, amend to high 7 figures as well
But my biggest disagreement is with your âsignificantly upgraded in nearly all meaningful and measurable waysâ comment.
âMeaningfulâ is in the eyes of the beholder (I personally think some of these small polytechnics like WPI, Stevens, and RPI are hidden gems but I can see how others may disagree) but we can discuss the measurable part.
From College Scorecard, here are the median earnings for EE majors:
Stevens: 77K
GWU: N/A (less than 10 EE majors in a year)
NEU: 77K
CMU: 114K
Granted, the median student wonât be the same at each school.
That CMU salary figure is higher that I thought.
Still, I stand by my original contention that the choice really should be between Stevens and CMU.
Paying almost as much as CMU for GWU or NEU doesnât make much sense, IMO. If you want a less stressful environment, Stevens is right there and costs a lot less. If you think turning down CMU for Stevens is crazy, I fail to see how turning down CMU for NEU/GWU sounds any better. From my vantage point in the Midwest, engineering at NEU/GWU certainly doesnât sound any better than engineering at Stevens.
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Well, the delta in what you get between a $50K/year NYC private HS and free NYC public (unless you get in to one of the exam schools) is massive. The delta between CMU and Stevens isnât as much, IMO. Stevens isnât the college equivalent of a regular NYC public HS (college equivalent would be an open admissions directional public).
Another reason to go to a good school (slightly with tongue-in-cheek)
(substitute Princeton for CMU 
)
I suppose I might actually be a good person to answer these questions as a Northeastern CS grad working in NYC with close CMU coworkers I kid you not I was discussing some of the social differences not two weeks ago!
The motto is real and from what Iâve seen many people do push themselves pretty hard, but I think part of that push is also people being involved in things! That type of environment is not for all, but it would be wrong to assume itâs only work. The biggest worry Iâd have is burnout, but again, it depends on the person and some people thrive in that âalways busy and heading to the next deadlineâ type of deal. If youâre careful to keep an eye on it as well you can make sure to get some breathing room here and there. I donât think my coworker has any regrets about going to CMU, though they may have avoided some burnout by being a transfer.
With that said, Northeastern CS/Engineering is no walk in the park, itâs just a bit of a better culture around it IMO. But both schools will cause a decent number of late nights finishing up projects.
100% no. CMU is an incredibly strong research school, but Iâm sitting at the same job as a bunch of them along with other people from Northeastern, and no one can tell the difference based on skill. The academic material for CS is the same, and Northeastern is quite strong there as well. Similar things hold for engineering.
Thereâs no doubt co-op has a social effect, but there are pros and cons. While you may go away from friends to do a co-op elsewhere, you also can meet new people on co-op and expand your social circle. Itâs very nontraditional but to refrain, depends on the person. For me, it was a great fit and I would 100% do it over again.
To address this quickly, whatâs the negative of the 5 years or summer classes for you? I find people often have an initial negative reaction to it, but sometimes itâs good to zoom out and ask why itâs necessary to rush through the college years. It doesnât tend to lead to a faster retirement, larger salary, or any social differences in isolation.
Based on everything here, I think one of the key things is that your daughter isnât decided about if they want CS and transferring at CMU is going to be a big barrier. Northeastern offers a very easy way to basically get to anything in Engineering/CS/Data Science/AI/Cybersecurity without a major hassle or competitive re-admission. To add a larger cost on top of that really doesnât help either.
GWU seems like the obvious elimination here. Itâs a clear notch below the others for CS/Engineering and has other mentioned cons.
Stevens is a tough case. It sounds like itâs not a great fit, but the cost is hard to ignore when paired with its quality academics. But if you can afford the others, I think it makes sense to eliminate it.
Between CMU and Northeastern, the key questions here IMO:
- How likely is it your daughter wants to do CS?
- If you had to pick one between CMUâs workload balance and the nontraditional experience + co-op social difference, what wins out?
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I donât think that would be crazy at all, although it would give me pause to realize the reason behind why a low-endowment, highly tuition-dependent school like Stevens is offering such a big coupon here.
I do think itâs crazy to say that a parent needs to be sitting on ten million dollars to responsibly choose CMU in this scenario.
Stevens is known to give out full scholarships.
All of these comments have been very helpful. I think hearing from some CMU students would be VERY helpful for my daughter in terms of assessing the workload/social life balance. Does anyone know any current engineering students at CMU (preferably ECE major) that might be willing to talk with my daughter? Please respond directly to this comment.
OK, thatâs fair. Maybe I should word it better: If it feels like youâre stretching financially to make it happen, thatâs a warning sign.
As for scholarships, nearly all schools below the Ivy/equivalent/near-Ivy level (which you can argue CMU is in) gives some scholarships these days, some of them big. For pretty much all privates these days, the average net tuition isnât close to the list price (including the Ivies/equivalents though in their case, itâs because they dole out generous fin aid while schools like Stevens uses big merit money to attract students they really want). And a stellar prospective engineering student who is also female is very attractive to a school like Stevens that has a gender imbalance.
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CMU also has world class fine arts programs. I seem to remember some posts on CC that their CS/EE kids were involved with some fine arts programs. It seems like it was encouraged.
I went to Pitt many years ago but had friends at CMU. They studied. A lot. Not sure that has changed.
Pick the school where sheâll thrive. Northeastern might be the compromise. Good school, Boston, and co-op. The kids we saw there when we toured a few years ago seemed happy.
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This is an interesting question - with a wide swath of schools. Without reading the rest and without being a CS person - let me say:
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GW is far from a normal campus experience. I mean, they donât even have dining halls. You eat all your meals from area restaurants, etc. We actually left the tour - itâs for some - but not for all.
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CMU is the clear leader - but at what expense.
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I live in Nashville- but I believe schools like Stevens, Rose Hulman, have great reps.
I see several issues - itâs $$ vs. prestige. But itâs also campus life (CMU, Neastern) vs. a different life - and then Stevens male vs. female.
If you are getting need based aid, then obviously you are budget restricted. Stevens seems like such a great deal but I can see where youâd lack otherwise. Northeastern is a fine school - and from what I read on the CC from everyone - the degree is going to get you a job even if itâs from a no-name school.
I say go for the money. But maybe talk to females at Stevens and find out if itâs inclusive, if they are comfortable, does the overall campus vibe work.
After that, if youâre spending $42K on Neastern, whatâs another $8K for CMU - itâs a lot but the prestige is probably worth it.
Good luck.
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Thank you for your response. I agree with the thought that the extra few thousand between CMU and Northeastern should not be a factor in our decision. I think the primary hesitation is the stress level she may have at CMU as well as the limitation in switching her major, especially to CS. Hopefully, once my daughter speaks to a few students at each school (and visits) she will feel more confident in her decision.
Does she want to work in ECE or in CS?
Those are two different fields, with different jobs. Both will be very employable but theyâre not the same. Perhaps look into the 4-year plan for each major - the classes will be different.
What sounds interesting to her? What electives does she want to choose from the list?
Thereâs no wrong choice, but theyâre not the same.
(Donât expect to be able to get into SCS from ECE at CMU. However she could either have an additional major in HCI or a minor in CS. Combining another major or minor with Engineering is tough, though - Engineering everywhere is tough, CMU is tough, so Engineering at CMU with a minor or additional major would not be for the faint hearted. It can be done but I donât know how much itâd cut into everything else.)