Carnegie Mellon vs. Princeton

College Majors Engineering Majors
1

<p>I am having a really difficult time choosing between these two school, and I am hoping that some of you on here can help. I should also mention that I got into Cornell engineering who also has a program. I have effectively ruled them out though in favor of Princeton - but I could still theoretically consider them.</p>

<p>I plan on majoring in ChemE - though I am also interested in Mechanical. What I am really passionate about is sustainable energy. Both schools have a program that focuses on that, which was actually my main focus for applying to all the schools on my list and what I wrote about in my essays. Princeton has a "certificate" in Sustainable Energy (<a href="http://www.princeton.edu/mae/undergraduate/program-in-sustainable-en/"&gt;http://www.princeton.edu/mae/undergraduate/program-in-sustainable-en/&lt;/a&gt;), and CMU has a minor in Environmental Engineering and Sustainability (<a href="https://coursecatalog-new.web.cmu.edu/carnegieinstituteoftechnology/undergraduatedesignatedminors/"&gt;https://coursecatalog-new.web.cmu.edu/carnegieinstituteoftechnology/undergraduatedesignatedminors/&lt;/a&gt;)&lt;/p>

<p>I plan on visiting Princeton again sometime this month, because I haven't really spent a lot of time with students. When I visited last I did really like it, however I am absolutely in love with CMU. I love everything about the social aspects of CMU - Tartan, Scottie, The Fence, Carnival, Buggy, Scotch'n'Soda, etc. etc.</p>

<p>However I don't know if this social aspect of CMU outweighs the academic excellence of Princeton. Especially considering that Princeton's strongest engineering discipline is Chemical whereas it is CMU's weakest program. Plus, Princeton is generally strong overall in all other departments like humanities. Whereas CMU is more technically focused (plus business and drama), but it's not exactly known for humanities.</p>

<p>Obviously I've already done a lot of thinking about this, but I still can't make a decision. I could really use any other thoughts or opinions on what I should do?
Thanks!</p>

2

<p>CMU is famous for computer engineering, so I think you should go to Princeton because it’s top 3 Ivy and a strong engineering school. Probably at Princeton you could meet/network/befriend with people going into more diverse fields (banking, government, health careers, etc.)
I think all large schools have fun social environment and you just need to discover it!.
Though not denying CMU is a great school though.</p>

3

<p>I’m sure Princeton has own unique activities just like CMU. I believe the sustainability program at CMU falls under thr civil & environmental engineering department anyway.</p>

<p>If you also want to start getting public policy exposure I would also see if Princeton has something similar to CMU’s EPP program. That said, just having an ivy league on your CV will go some distance with typical policy makers.</p>