CMU vs. Cornell vs. Princeton

<p>I am having a really difficult time choosing between these school, and I am hoping that some of you on here can help.</p>

<p>I plan on majoring in ChemE - though I am also interested in Mechanical. What I am really passionate about is sustainable energy. All of the schools have a program that focuses on that, which was actually my main focus for applying to all the schools on my list and what I wrote about in my essays. Princeton has a "certificate" in Sustainable Energy (<a href="http://www.princeton.edu/mae/undergraduate/program-in-sustainable-en/"&gt;http://www.princeton.edu/mae/undergraduate/program-in-sustainable-en/&lt;/a&gt;), and CMU has a minor in Environmental Engineering and Sustainability (<a href="https://coursecatalog-new.web.cmu.edu/carnegieinstituteoftechnology/undergraduatedesignatedminors/"&gt;https://coursecatalog-new.web.cmu.edu/carnegieinstituteoftechnology/undergraduatedesignatedminors/&lt;/a&gt;), Cornell has a minor in Sustainable Energy Systems (<a href="http://www.engineering.cornell.edu/academics/undergraduate/curriculum/handbook/2010/minors/energy.cfm"&gt;http://www.engineering.cornell.edu/academics/undergraduate/curriculum/handbook/2010/minors/energy.cfm&lt;/a&gt;)&lt;/p>

<p>I plan on visiting Princeton again sometime this month, because I haven't really spent a lot of time with students. I might also visit Cornell again, however I don't really like how big it is and it seems like more of a party school than the other two. When I visited last I loved both campuses, however I am absolutely in love with everything CMU. I love all the social aspects of CMU - Tartan, Scottie, The Fence, Carnival, Buggy, Scotch'n'Soda, nerdy people, etc. etc.</p>

<p>However I don't know if this social aspect of CMU outweighs the academic excellence of Princeton or Cornell Engineering. Especially considering that Princeton's strongest engineering discipline is Chemical whereas it is CMU's weakest program. Plus, Princeton is generally strong overall in all other departments like humanities. Whereas CMU is more technically focused (plus business and drama), but it's not exactly known for humanities. Then, Cornell is definitely the strongest overall in Engineering of the Ivys.</p>

<p>Obviously I've already done a lot of thinking about this, but I still can't make a decision. I could really use any other thoughts or opinions on what I should do?</p>