<p>How would you compare Cornell vs other top engineering programs? Clearly some are better than others. What engineering schools do you think have a stronger/similar/weaker programs and why?</p>
<p>I always thought that most engineering programs are more or less the same...I mean aren't the courses basically the same everywhere?</p>
<p>most engineering programs offer the same curriculum with just about the same degree requirements. But, the tougher schools like cornell make it harder for you to get good grades in the classes. This is done with a bell curve, with very limited number of As and Bs. This fosters a very serious competitive atmosphere. The exams at the better engineering schools are much more difficult in terms of depth, some schools may use the same textbooks, but the exams are much easier and the concepts don't involve much creativity and thinking. </p>
<p>As an engineering student, I can give you some advice:</p>
<p>1) Pick a college with a decent reputation in your field of study.(does not have to be top 20)</p>
<p>2) college with smaller class sizes will be really great in engineering, u will get a lot of personalized attention and help on your homeworks and understand a lot of the concepts better. </p>
<p>3) research opportunity: if u are an engineering student, having some research experience in your undergraduate years is important, many large schools offer tremendous opportunities in research, however, there are smaller schools out there with great opportunities for research as well, ask about them and how easy it is to obtain a position as a research assistant, especially ones in your field of study or the ones that you have the most interest in. </p>
<p>hope this helps.</p>
<p>
[quote]
I always thought that most engineering programs are more or less the same...I mean aren't the courses basically the same everywhere?
[/quote]
Engineering curriculums dont vary much from one engineering school to another because of the need to adhere to the ABET accreditation standards. What can vary greatly is the quality of the faculty and the physical plant. Educating engineering students requires a large investment in both purpose specific lab space (e.g. a high bays) and equipment. The better engineering schools will always have better facilities.</p>
<p>ABET sets a minimum standard, but clearly some schools offer more courses to choose from, better research opportunities and better labs and equipment.</p>
<p>Overall Strong programs (IMHO):
MIT, CMU, Stanford, Berkeley, UIUC, UMich, UT Austin, Georgia Tech, & Caltech</p>
<p>Ditto to Toblin's and Hello's comments. Yes, the basic engineering curriculum is fairly standardized for each particular engineering discipline (civil, mechanical, electrical, etc.) at all schools but there are significant differences in QUALITY. Quality depends on faculty, specialized labs and other building facilities, research & co-op opportunities, available electives, etc. Top undergraduate engineering programs can be found at MIT, CalTech, RPI, CMU. I think Cornell's engineering program is fine but it is certainly not considered in the top tier.</p>
<p>u consider RPI to be in the top tier but not cornell, if i goto cornell, i would cry.</p>
<p>I applied to Cornell engineering as a serious (and top tier) engineering applicant, and the only other schools I applied to were Berkeley, Stanford, and MIT. I attend Cornell, and most of my colleagues are in the same category as far as potential schools/applications. No one considers RPI to be on the same level, and CMU is not a good engineering school at all, just a good computer science school (and EE).</p>
<p>What the hell is wrong with RPI? It's a damned good engineering school and in the top 16 in the United States. Why shouldn't it be compared to Cornell? Yes Cornell is a bit better.. but it's not like you're comparing apples and gorillas. You guys can be such elitists. I have some extremely smart friends going to RPI and I'm thinking about going there myself.</p>
<p>look what matters is what you come out as...</p>
<p>I'm not saying there is anything wrong with RPI. I just said from MY PERSONAL EXPERIENCE, which includes ME and the engineers I know at Cornell, not many, if any that I know, applied to RPI because it has little to no name recognition and worse programs. You can think RPI is good, but ask any international student if they've ever heard of it. Anyways, it's just my own experience, so you can't 'prove me wrong'. I'm not trying to be arrogant, but I am irritated when people who don't know anything start posting things out of their ass. I merely replied with my own experience.</p>
<p>"No one considers RPI to be on the same level."</p>
<p>That sounded like it was pulled out of someone's ass. RPI is more known in the North East and by most engineers that are currently working. It's not a name you hear everyday, and it's certainly not Ivy League material... but it should not be thought of as a makeshift engineering school.</p>
<p>what do you guys think of Georgia Tech</p>
<p>hello mentioned GIT with MIT, Stanford, Caltech and so on, but i wonder if it's really up in that top-tier techie schools. (it's a public school and it does nt seem to have that much of reputation.)</p>
<p>Personally, I feel that Georgia Tech is an excellent school. It's no MIT, but the school is known for giving a great well-rounded engineering education. My dad's friend's son is going there and loves it. US News ranked it 5th or 6th I think for engineering.</p>
<p>According to US News this is the top 10 engineering institutions that Offer Ph.d. Programs:
1. MIT
2. Stanford
3. Berkeley
4. Cal Tech
UIUC
6. Ga Tech
UMich-Ann Arbor
CMU
Purdue Univ.--West lafayette
10.Cornell
UT--Austin</p>
<p>Personally I don't agree with the list. I would move Cal Tech and UIUC down to the bottom more. Ga Tech about where it is. Move UMich down. Move CMU up. Leave Purdue where it is. Move Cornell up around top 5 or top 6. Leave UT Austin.</p>
<p>My Rank for engineering schools:
1.MIT
2.Berkeley
3.Stanford
4.Cornell
5.Ga Tech
6.CMU
7.Cal Tech
8.Purdue
9.UIUC
10.UMich
UT</p>
<p>Marines920 RPI may be good, but I think many of the students attending these top schools above have not even considered RPI, or have heard of RPI, or consider RPI their backup. I also feel that for some reason Cornell is severely underrated, and deserves to be in the top 5.</p>
<p>Oh yeah, this is an opinion, my rankings are not fact, if you do not agree that is fine, but don't say I am wrong, b/c it is an opininion, show me I am wrong, by posting your own ranking and why.</p>
<p>I applied to RPI, CMU and UMICH, got in all 3, but i chose UMICH, CMU is not that good in engineering disciplines outside of CS and EE. UIUC is extremely well regarded in the academics in engineering. why u would place CMU above UIUC and Caltech is beyond me. i believe there is a definite ranking system in engineering. UIUC and Caltech should not be below CMU.</p>
<p>Sorry I forgot to mention, CMU is good only for ECE, CS and Mech.</p>
<p>Best all round Engineering Schools: MIT, Stanford, Cornell, Berkeley, UMich, UT Austin</p>
<p>IMO for EE : MIT (duh!!), CMU, Stanford, Berkeley, Cornell, UMich, UIUC, UT Austin, Ga Tech and Purdue</p>
<p>I find Cornells US news rather low too. I always thought of cornell right just below the big ones like MIT Berkley CalTech and Standford. Its interesting to see UIUC, Ga Tech, UMICH, CMU and especially Purdue ranked higher. CMU has great CS but i heard there other feilds are given much less funding and priority, one strong program shouldnt catapult you to the top. I know rankings are just for show anyways but it seems like the common person who doesnt know the inaccuracies in the system are putting way too much empahsis on the rank of the school vs. Co-op Oppertunities, Education Quality,Research oppertunities, and presitge. I personally think people hold Cornell Engineering in higher regard than Purdue, but its weird when people say otherwise going off a flawed single source. And its seems increasingly difficult to discuss colleges with someone without hearing some BS about rankings come up.</p>
<p>In you guys' minds, where do the smaller yet highly-ranked schools like the Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology or Harvey Mudd College fit in? They're hardly ever included with the big boys, yet they have excellent reputations in industry. I was visiting Cornell, and one of the Civ E professors there regarded Rose extremely highly. What do you guys think of schools of that caliber?</p>
<p>The smaller colleges are never included in those rankings, b/c they get a ranking of their own by US news. Here is the ranking:</p>
<p>Institutions that do not offer Ph.d. Programs in Engineering</p>
<p>1.Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology
2.Harvey Mudd College
3.Cooper Union
4.United States Military Academy
United States Naval Academy
6.Cal Poly--San Louis Obispo
United States Air Force Academy
8.Bucknell University
9.Villanova University
10.Embry Riddle Aeronautical University
Lafayette College
Swarthmore College
United States Coast Guard Academy</p>
<p>That is the best I can give you, I don't really know much about them.</p>