<p>I have been looking at both Liberal Arts colleges as well as smaller colleges. I am looking to go into engineering, and most of the small liberal arts colleges have a 3-2 program, of which I do not wish to go in to.</p>
<p>So my question to you is: Which colleges are similar to small liberal arts colleges, with engineering? I am looking for colleges similar to Bucknell, UVM, Lehigh. I am not brilliant enough to be accepted to the Ivy League; but I may just throw in Dartmouth as a high reach. I also am not interested in schools of over 15,000 undergrads. </p>
<p>Well, I don’t want to attend a school of that size. I would like to edit it and I really don’t want to attend a school over the size of UVM, which is close to 10k.</p>
<p>Rice University, Washington University, Carnegie Mellon, Rennselaer Polytechnic Institute, etc are all good to great engineering schools that are small. Rice and WashU would arguably be the most well-rounded of the list there, though CMU is arguably the best engineering school.</p>
<p>If you want smaller, LAC-like colleges, some ideas might be Harvey Mudd (w/the consortium), Swarthmore, Tufts, Tulsa, Calvin College, Gonzaga, Butler, Hofstra, Dayton, Bradley, Valparaiso, Evansville, and Alabama-Huntsville. Differing levels of engineering quality and “LAC-ness”, but all could fit the right person. The three schools you mention are all good choices in and of themselves.</p>
<p>The advice given already is pretty good. I don’t think 3-2 programs are actually that useful because the focus of engineering is very different from the liberal arts and the courses don’t usually align too well. Even if you get into a school that has a 3-2 program, it is very tough to get into Caltech or HMC for your last two years. The 3-2 is more useful if you are already studying liberal arts and want to move into engineering midway. </p>
<p>Or you can try Stevens Institute of Technology, Illinois Institute of Technology or New Jersey Institute of Technology, which all seem to be solid second-tier programs which could get you into a big name grad school if you excel.</p>
<p>I would also add WPI to the list of small engineering schools (I go there and it is quite rigorous) although it is not as well known as Caltech or Harvey Mudd and the student body isn’t as strong. It is like a smaller RPI. Both WPI and RPI give out good merit scholarships to students who are probably Ivy league caliber but are unhooked or whatever. Also try Olin College, with only 300 people. It is very tough to get into though and doesn’t give out doctorates. UVM engineering is average. Unless it is your state school, it isn’t probably the best option. It is as expensive as a first tier private out of state and is still expensive in state.</p>
<p>Cal Poly SLO - first class engeering, more well rounded than some tech only schools, superb location, but tough to get into for OOS, no merit (that I know of)</p>
<p>Cal Poly - SLO came to mind for me, too, but it’s too big (besides the whole admissions thing). Also, my impression was the OP was looking for a school which HAS engineering, but that wasn’t the emphasis. Rather, I thought the OP wants colleges that are similar to LACs. While WPI, RPI, NJIT, SIT, IIT, CMU, and Rose-Hulman are all good engineering schools, they don’t seem to fit the question. Rice and WashU do, though they’re pretty selective.</p>
<p>For someone from PA, Bucknell and Lehigh are both close and seem to fit the criteria. If $$ is a question, it’s too bad that the in-state public engineering options don’t seem to fit, either, which is why I think UVM is on the list. Perhaps others can add to our previous suggestions, keeping in mind the original question.</p>