Carnegie Mellon VS Swarthmore VS Lafayette (Major: Mechanical Engineering)

College Search & Selection
1

I am very indecisive between these three schools.
Major: Mech. Engineering, Intention to focus on Biomechanics/Bioenginering (definitely want to work with medical devices).

I’m aware of Swarthmore “limited” resources w/engineering compared to the other schools, especially CMU. However, I am more focused on a “fit” aspect. I am worried that CMU might be too big for me and I won’t get as much attention from the professors than the other schools. I’m worried that classes at CMU might have ~300 students in my 1st two years whereas Swarthmore/Lafayette I think that max. would be ~50 students, a HUGE difference to me. I also worry about how rigorous CMU is compared to the others, I’ve read about how CMU’s tutoring services aren’t as helpful. I feel if I do struggle my first-year CMU won’t be as nurturing (like I would be left up a creek w/o a paddle) as Swarthmore/Lafayette.

I have another conflict w/CMU too which is their grading scale they don’t consider +'s/-'s and I was wondering if anyone would consider this a pro or con but I would like to be credited for a B+ vs a B IMO if I worked hard and fell short of an A-. Or a C+ than a C GPA weight.

Anyways I do like CMU for their opportunities w/their labs, EC opportunities, their great range of courses versus the two smaller schools.

I have cons w/ the other two schools, & I’m leaning towards CMU but I have a lot of worries

Financial situations are relatively the same

Swarthmore:
Pros: Very small school, no worries about registration of classes, visited & loved the campus vibes, close to home (1hr drive away)
Cons: Not many courses offered, a general engineering major, just offers one biomechanics class

Lafayette:
Pros: Offers a minor in Biotech/bioeng, have biomechanics lab, close to home
Cons: Engineering program is not as strong as CMU. the curriculum is more inflexible than the other 2, visited but didn’t get a feel of the campus

CMU:
Pros: allows me to pursue a specialized major, great research opportunities, great facilities for my intended interests
Cons: Grading scale (?), rigor of program (unsure if I can handle it)/ranked high of “workaholics”, their motto lol, size of the school (student to faculty ratio), difficulty of registering for classes, location (4 hrs car drive, 1hr plane)

I’m willing to work hard but I don’t want it to consume up my whole college experience. I’m also considering grad. school (not 100% sure don’t want to get ahead of myself), but am thinking of working in the health field (biomedical devices).

Summary: Leaning towards CMU, but worried about course load. I’ll be visiting these 3 schools again and meeting with advisors about my academic plans over the next weeks.

2

I think your summary of Pros and Cons is pretty much spot on regarding Lafayette and Swarthmore. I can’t speak to the Grading issue, but CMU Pros seem reasonable.

As for rigor, I think you may be overstating any differences between the schools. Engineering everywhere is tough, and Swarthmore is notoriously difficult for all subjects.

I can tell you that Swarthmore is an amazingly supportive environment (the program you’ve listed that I have intimate knowledge of). The size of the class means you know everyone, and the professors and staff are amazingly available when help is needed.

Another thing you mentioned was about resources. CMU and Swat have roughly the same endowment, yet Swat has 1/10th the students. Swarthmore has resources, they’re just displayed on a much smaller scale. Lafayette’s engineering building (and campus as a whole) is very nice.

Not having the specific major you’re looking for is more important if you’re not planning to attend graduate school. If you are, then the general degree is less of an issue. I would dig into this area when you visit. Can you design a course of study that focuses on bio-med? What placement success has the school had for grad schools?

At Swat, depending on your early success and time available, you could do an honors program that would integrate Engineering and Biology. Someone has to have already done this…so ask the professors at Swat about how your interests might be supported. I’d suggest you do that for all 3.

Being close to home has major advantages (especially if you’re going to do any extra curriculars that the family might want to attend (sports, theater, music, etc.)). They’re all good schools, so don’t stress over making “a mistake”…there is no wrong answer here. Good luck!

3

@EyeVeee Thanks for helping me! CMU has an extensive amount of courses for Biomechanics/etc., & you’re right engineering is hard everywhere it’s just I’m going crazy over making a decision bc I ran across a lot of students complaining about CMU’s courseload versus the others but that doesn’t mean the other schools are easier.

I’ll ask the professors at Swat about my interests because I love how it’s a small-knit community and the resources at Swat are far more concentrated than at CMU. The placement rate for grad school for all 3 schools seem to be excellent imo, there isn’t a significant difference except Swat has a higher %. CMU has a Grad program and even offers an Integrated BS/MS which is a strength over the other two colleges in which both don’t offer any grad program.

You’re right the gen. degree isn’t a big issue since I’m leaning towards grad. school. I think I’ll come to a more definite decision after visiting CMU this week.

4

One thing that may be of interest to you is that Swarthmore starts this summer on a major construction project to build an Biology, Engineering, and Psychology Building. I was an Engineering major there back when dinosaurs roamed the earth, but my son is there now as a double CS and Engineering major. The Engineering professors he’s had have been top-notch. He went to Swat only intending CS, but took a couple of classes in the more hardware side of computers and really enjoyed them and decided to go for the double major.

Though of course the building will only be completed near the end of your time there

http://www.swarthmore.edu/news-events/board-managers-approves-new-facilities-adopts-sustainability-framework

5

@donnaleighg Thanks for the article though, I like the fact they are opening a new residence hall. I also indirectly found out that they’ve opened a new building called Whittier Place Academic Building. They will temporarily house psychology courses and engineering shops while the Biology, Engineering, and Psychology Building is being constructed so that’s nice, either way I’ll benefit from a new facility. Thanks for the link!

How was the engineering at Swat while you were there? That’s cool how your son combined CS & Engineering, I will consider combining Biology w/Engineering at Swat during these next weeks.

6

I got my engineering degree in 1983, concentration in EE. I went directly to a PhD at Stanford in EE and a long career at IBM Research in Yorktown Heights. So I guess the education was OK :slight_smile:

7

Lafayette is starting construction this summer on its $75 million integrated science building - which will house CS and biology among other programs. DD is neuroscience major so don’t have first hand experience with engineering though heard good things about it, but DD getting an amazing amount of personnel attention from her profs in her first year.
Good luck with your decision- three excellent choices!