<p>A few other possibilities to check out (again, from more to less selective):
Harvey Mudd College
Northwestern
Rice University
Tufts
University of Southern California
Vanderbilt</p>
<p>These are all very selective, but not complete crap shoots like Harvard or Stanford. They are more in line with Cornell. They all have engineering programs. </p>
<p>Many state universities have strong engineering programs. They also are less selective and less expensive than the above private schools. The University of Wisconsin seems to have strong engineering and a nice college town atmosphere.</p>
<p>Harvard, by the way, only offers general engineering (BS in “engineering science”). It does not have ABET-accredited programs in engineering specialties (chemical, civil, electrical, etc.) I believe all the other schools I’ve suggested do (other than Harvey Mudd).</p>