<p>Heya,
I have recently been accepted to both CMU (CIT, ECE) and GaTech (Electrical Engineering.)
I'm debating about where I should go. Here is what I'm considering:</p>
<ol>
<li><p>Academics. Georgia Tech is more highly ranked in engineering than Carnegie, however Carnegie does have a higher SAT and GPA standards. I also hear that professors at Gatech can be so-so, as in "you have to choose your teachers carefully." How do classes and professors in CMU compare to Gatech? And also, what makes Gatech so highly ranked in engineering? I don't really understand how the ranking systems in the US work, but wouldn't the college with higher SAT and GPA standards be better ranked? And that's not all...</p></li>
<li><p>Recruitment - as in where would you get better jobs upon graduating. I hear that CMU has the better recruitment. I've read it in several places, is this true?</p></li>
<li><p>Status for graduates. Shallow, perhaps, but which school gives its students higher status in the respective industries they go into? Which school is more prestigious, and has the "better name" or whatever you would call it. It's sort of hard to explain but you get the idea.</p></li>
<li><p>Campus. I tend to lean towards CMU here, because it's smaller and I like that. I don't mind the cold weather, it'll be a nice change, and I also don't mind a moderate student life. As long as there are choices of things to do if I want to go out, that's ok with me. How are the dorms in the two universities? Which university has better resources? Where would I have the better 4-6 years of study?</p></li>
<li><p>I've always had a dream of coming out of college with a startup on the way. You know how Stanford is known for the type of stories where people there make Google-type-successful companies? Where does that happen more often, CMU or Gatech? I guess this also counts towards prestige, maybe...</p></li>
</ol>
<p>So to sum:
-I'm very confused about how the ranking works. Why is Gatech ranked higher than CMU, in what aspects is it better?
-Recruitment
-Professors, Classes, and Resources
-Campus, dorms?...</p>
<p>Right now, I'm leaving the cost of attendance out of the equation.</p>
<p>Thanks for all of you who will answer!
Have a great day!</p>
<p>Another thing to consider - if I’m looking to go to a place like Stanford for grad school after I graduate and (or maybe not) get some experience in my field, where would places like that look more preferably at? CMU or Gatech?</p>
<p>I think CMU is way better. I’ve heard that graduation from georgia tech is generally referred to as ‘Getting Out’. Anyway, you might want to look at which engineering program you’re really interested in. If its ECE then definately go for CMU. Its ranked 3rd by US news after MIT & Stanford.</p>
<p>Would the career options after taking ECE be more limited than those after taking EE?
I’ve been reading around the difference between the two majors, and I understand that EE is much broader. However, some people said that the courses are very similar, with ECE having more classes that deal with programming, and thus ECE is not more limiting, but gives you additional focus on a particular field within EE. Additional is the key word here, is this true?</p>
<p>CMU doesn’t offer straight EE or CE. AFAIK, the difference between most schools EE and CE program on the undergrad level is digital vs analogue circuits.</p>
<p>My older son, Stanford CS undergrad, and his Stanford CS friends have highest regard and respect for CMU. They will probably apply to CMU for grad school. Younger son just accepted to CMU ECE! Very happy.</p>
<p>afaik, EE consists of stuff like analogue circuits, applied physics, and signals analysis. CE consists of digital circuits, embedded systems, and computer software/hardware. CMU offers both, hence you get a degree in ECE. However, you probably will end up taking a lot more classes on one side than the other.</p>
<p>Yes, the side you take is really up to you. I’ll see what I can do about your original questions:</p>
<ol>
<li><p>CMU is rated higher in CE than Georgia Tech, but Georgia Tech is higher than CMU at EE. I don’t think I’ve found a CMU ECE student who likes analogue circuits though…</p></li>
<li><p>Status - I come from silicon valley, CA, where all the great tech companies (bar microsoft) are found. Every time I talk to an engineer there, they instantly know about CMU and are impressed. However, anyone who is not an engineer probably will first ask you where CMU is. (I can’t say anything about GaTech, but at least everyone knows which state it is located in )</p></li>
<li><p>Startup way - While I would argue that Sergey and Larry were getting their masters, and not their bachelors, when google was conceived, CMU has had some entrepreneurs. The one that comes to mind are the founders of Red Hat Linux.</p></li>
</ol>
<p>Thank you, this is very helpful.
Do you know what are the rankings based on? What is taken into consideration, and by who?</p>
<p>I’ve been told to take these rankings with a grain of salt by the “counsellors” (ha) at my school, as lists tend to be sponsored by specific universities and they “tweak the criteria to make their uni appear higher on the lists”…?</p>
<p>Well, since we’re on this topic…Emoticons were first invented in CMU
TomBor…You can pro’lly check US News for the rankings. I doubt that the rankings on there are sponsored.</p>
)</p></li>
