<p>How do you agree with someone that disagreed with you</p>
<p>Both Cornell and Caltech offer excellent well-respected engineering programs. I have visited both (along with my son who will be starting Cornell in engineering). I'm not sure you could find two schools that are more different in the undergraduate day-to-day living experience each offers (weather aside). Caltech is a beautiful tiny school, with a male-female ratio of probably at least 2 to 1 (not sure right now the exact numbers). [This may not be important to you.] The sheer size difference affects the number and variety of course offerings, the number of extra curricular activities, etc. While kids at any school will have fun and socialize, the kids you would meet at Cornell (with an undergraduate student body of at least 12,000) will have a vastly wider range of academic interests (architecture, arts & sciences, etc.) If you are interested in architecture as well as engineering, then by all means check out Cornell. It has an architecture school. You could always transfer from one to the other or take courses in the other department. If at all possible, you really should look at both schools and try to stay overnight. Good luck!</p>
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Mikemac.... Well, for one thing.. engineering is my second choice after architecture. That's why I know so little about them - if that makes my ignorance a little justifiable.
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Given that, I'd say caltech is the WRONG school for you. And don't get me wrong. Its a GREAT school. If you go there (and graduate) you will be a fantastic engineer; all the people I've met from there are simply top-notch.</p>
<p>BUT... caltech is a school with a very specific focus. Even ignoring the issue of the type of students it attracts (which should be a BIG part of your decision for any school) the fact is that if you're not 100% sure that you want to be in engineering, and you're not going to change your mind even if it means staying up until 3am every nite getting homework done and spending each and every weekend in the library, then its not the school for you. I'm not saying that's what you'll have to do, what I'm trying to tease out is the single-mindedness and determination that makes caltech the right choice.</p>
<p>Since you're considering other careers, pick a school where you have options. That's my advice.</p>
<p>Both are extremely respectable schools. I actually turned down Caltech for Cornell 4 years ago because I didn't like the campus or the nerdiness of the student body. In retrospect, this was a good decision for me because I assuredly would have killed myself. I don't k now if they still have this in Caltech's viewbook, but I remember seeing a 1/4-page picture and accompanying caption insisting that Caltech students know how to have fun and do in fact party. That raised red flags!</p>
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It's Caltech. Big "C", little "t", no space.
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<p>I heard that Caltechers were sensitive about that, and there's a campus newspaper called "little t" or something. Hm. I guess it was true.</p>
<p>However, with Cornell, you must choose to apply to the Engineering school, no? Wouldn't this affect your chances of getting in? I'm not sure this is all that pertinent, but...</p>