Case Western would be match for you and fits the criteria in terms of size and being in a city.
For reaches, JHU is super strong in biomed engineering if you decided to go that route, or CMU if you go CS/EE.
Sometimes the tippy toppy colleges actually have bad engineering programs. Most hiring engineers would respect a degree from Iowa State, Oregon State or Utah far more than one from Harvard, Yale or Dartmouth (unless you want to be a banker). The only Ivy I’d remotely consider for UG engineering is Cornell, and it’s not without its issues. It is isolated, very cold, has large classes, with heavy reliance on TAs, and is well known as a grind.
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@coolweather, that appears like Yale’s complete employment report, not the engineering report.
@eyemgh You are faster than me.
“I am interested in either going into either Computer Engineering, Electrical Engineering, or Biomedical Engineering”
In the northeast Carnegie Mellon, Case Western Reserve, MIT, RPI, Johns Hopkins and WPI are well established, non-Ivy, STEM universities which focus in your areas of interest and have student body populations which may fit your requirements.
You will also find lively music programs at many STEM universities because of high correlation with math interest. Universities with music majors may not offer the performance opportunities of some other universities as the slots are taken by music majors so check out the opportunities for your other interests.
I am a WPI alumnus. The university is very focused on diversity and women in the STEM fields. Biomedical research is a big thing in the City of Worcester because of massive investment in this area of studies by Massachusetts. The average, unweighted GPA of the last entering class was 3.86. About 45% of the class were women. The male/female ratio is slanted toward men in the STEM fields, but about 60% of the majors in BME and Biology are female.
See https://www.wpi.edu/academics/departments/biology-biotechnology and https://www.wpi.edu/academics/departments/biomedical-engineering. Check out the teaching faculty.
Both the RPI and WPI presidents are respected female STEM scientists.
In order of difficulty for admission: MIT, Carnegie Mellon, Johns Hopkins, Case Western, RPI and WPI with the last three very close.
Rice is a very fine choice. Admission difficulty would fall between MIT and CM.
I would second WPI and Case, both respected, undergraduate-centric institutions, but both on the smaller side. You really need to visit to know for sure. Neither have very big time athletics if being part of a fan base is important to you (and there’s absolutely nothing wrong with that). My similar stats son applied and was accepted to both, along with RPI, with good money at all of them. RPI didn’t impress any of us as much as WPI and Case, although it is probably the most respected of those three.
try some safety schools
@yamwhatyam, in the OP’s original post, she specifically asked for suggestions for matches and safeties to go along with the chance at the big name schools. #TL;DR
@eyemgh truth lol idek what I was doing sorry
@eyemgh to respond to your earlier comment I don’t really have a preferred climate or region for the school. My hobbies involve going into town, hanging out with friends, and adventures I guess. I don’t like when a lot of classes are taught by TAs in schools. I’ve looked at job placements at some of th schools on the list, and they’re all jobs I would be interested in and these schools have good career services. I will look into WPI and Case.
@lookingforward I forgot to mention that I am part of my schools Mathematica Math Modeling Challenge Team. I know it’s not a big or flashy extracurricular, but I guess it does use the application of STEM. At my school only juniors and seniors are allowed to take APs and there is a limit of 3 APS a year. I have no AP scores as this is the first year I am allowed to take APs.
The APs I’m taking are AP Computer Science, AP Biology, AP Physics 1, AP French Language, AP Calc BC, and AP Government. What do you mean by what can I add to my activities section ASAP? Do you have any recommendations?
@momofsenior1 thanks for the recommendations!
@retiredfarmer I’ll look into WPI. Is the area around Worcester a city/urban environment or is it more rural? Thanks
University of Pittsburgh
Worcester is a city, roughly an hour from Boston and Providence. Google should be your friend in this process.
@eyemgh I did google it and I know it is a city but I was wondering more about the vibe of the are around the school which was hard for me to find on Google as some cities have more of a laidback rural vibe.
Worcester is not in any way “rural.” That said, it isn’t NYC, Philadelphia or Boston either.
Believe it or not, I find Google Images quite useful, not only for getting the feel of a city, but for getting a feel for campuses.
What state are you from? What is the highest math you’ll have taken by the time you graduate?
@eyemgh I never thought of using Google Images, thanks.
I’m from Oregon and the highest math I will have taken will be AP Calculus BC
Both my engineering students looked at most of the east coast schools on your list and those suggested.
Both NYC and Philly have unlimited options to explore. Center City is the most student friendly and affordable truly urban environment. Cornell is very rural outside of Ithaca. WPI is in a city but not comparable to even Boston which is 1/10 of NYC. Troy, NY does not have much to offer.
You are focusing on the entire student body without determining the size of the overall engineering class and the class size of your specific major. That will have a bigger impact on your day to day life than the number of students enrolled in other colleges at the university. A major with only 20 students can get stifling junior and senior year.
Spend your HS junior year researching touring departments, talking to students, department professors at engineering college and narrowing your major options. BE can combine your EE interest for imaging. GT is a good option if you are still undecided, all strong depts.
Do you want a hands on program with labs and projects like GT, WPI, Penn or classic lecture based like Cornell?
Don’t let the engineering rankings sway you if there are many research labs and $$ invested in the fields you are passionate about. A top tier university will have an outstanding science core (step one). Add research labs, recognized professors in your field, access to collaborate across disciplines and unlimited funding and your undergraduate experience will be wonderful.
@KLSD has a lot of great points. I’d take exception though to one, recognized professors in their field. This MAY be useful, but it can be just as likely unhelpful. National and international recognition comes from research. Some professors with major research programs teach begrudgingly. Personally, I’d put very little emphasis on that. Plus, with all the lower hanging fruit for a high school student to vet, that will be the most challenging.
You need to expand on what is city enough for you. Worcester for example, is about 1/3 the size of Portland. Cities come with strengths like good restaurants and entertainment, but weaknesses like more traffic and crime. You can have the advantages if you are close enough (which will be something you need to define). If you can say more, posters can help you narrow.
Why the emphasis on the East when there are so many good options out West?
First, let’s talk safety, a school that is guaranteed to be affordable and a slam dunk admit. It is nice if your safety school(s) are in the hunt for your top choice, but their main purpose is to avoid walking away empty handed.
The obvious choice is Oregon State. Corvallis does not scream city, but it is close to Portland, and you’d certainly get in with money to boot. The downside is it is a pre-engineering program where you don’t get your major until you’re a third year. That can be helpful for undeclared students. The upside is that it has the best honors program for engineers among the MANY programs our son looked at.
Next, expand to WUE schools, schools where you’d pay 150% of their in state tuition. Look at Cal Poly Pomona and Utah.
Now, the obvious West Coast options, Washington, UCLA and UCB. I’d add UCSB and UCSD. They are all very good schools, but they will be expensive from out of state and have big lectures and heavy reliance on TAs. The ones that probably best meets your needs though are USC and Stanford.
Lastly, on the East Coast, I’d add Tufts.
Remember, in vetting schools, YOU set the criteria. Our son, also from Oregon, with similar stats, ended up at a school I’m not even recommending you consider, Cal Poly (the original, not Pomona). It is a great undergraduate program, but in a small town, fairly isolated on the central California coast. Outdoorsy kids love it, but students looking for big city experiences can find it boring. What is important isn’t rankings, or the prestige of the bumper sticker, but how close the experience will match to your ideal. Know there is no “perfect” school. All have flaws.
Good luck!
In defense of the city of Worcester as a university location, check this out this Boston Magazine article. This city of 180,000 plus is developing big time, but a much less expensive place to do business that Boston. See https://www.bostonmagazine.com/property/2018/04/17/worcester-development/