<p>My S is choosing between Northwestern, USoCal, Tufts and Cornell for engineering. He's interested now in BioMedical but of course, that can change. He likes the idea of NU and Tufts being in acccessible cities. I'd love to get some information from those of you who looked at these options or maybe attend one of them as to what you think makes each special and THE place to study engineering. S is social, loves sports (watching and playing), not a partier. Any wisdom would be appreciated. Also, we're in Colorado - loves to ski and used to nice weather.</p>
<p>USC is the only school with nice weather on here. That being said, I’d take Boston’s cold to Ithaca’s snow any day of the week. I don’t know much about USC, but Northwestern and Cornell are some of the absolute best engineering schools. Tufts’ engineering program is really good too, but ranked lower than the other two schools. </p>
<p>I attend Tufts, and I think it’s a great place to be. Everyone’s really laid-back, everyone’s passionate about something, and the professors are amazing. Tufts isn’t a huge party school, though there is drinking of course. If your son is hoping to play sports for his school and isn’t recruited, Tufts might be a good choice. Our sports teams (most of them) aren’t great, and athletics don’t play a huge role in the culture here, but that can sometimes be good for kids who just want to play at an intramural level, but couldn’t at a D1 school (I don’t know your son’s ability or wishes). There’s also the White Mountains only 1-2 hours away with some great skiing, though probably nothing compared to Colorado. Cornell probably has better access to skiing, though a much more prominent drinking culture, mostly due to the fact that it’s in a rural location and there aren’t as many alternatives. Northwestern sounds like a good fit too (D1 sports, great city, and great academics), but access to ski slopes is limited in Chicago. </p>
<p>There are definitely pros and cons to each of these schools. I think your son needs to look at the options and figure out which things he wants the most, as he’ll likely need to sacrifice something (e.g. good weather for skiing, etc). You really can’t go wrong with any of these schools - they’re all wonderful choices. Congratulations to your son!</p>