Engineering with a more "interesting" student body

College Search & Selection
21

<p>“And should the OP decide to head NE after earning an engineering degree from Berkeley, I don’t think he would have a problem getting one, if jobs are available.”</p>

<p>And again, I see no reason why the same would not be said, to the same extent, about a graduate of CMU. It is a highly regarded engineering school with student capabilities clearly overlapping with Berkeley’s engineering undergrads, both are well-known to industry insiders and employers. I would imagine at that extent of 'brand" capability overlap, employers would be looking to the individual.</p>

22

<p>^ again, except that CMU would cost him a lot more than going to Berkeley. And CMU is not worth more than Berkeley. Maybe MIT is. But not CMU Eng’g or even Cornell Eng’g or Columbia Eng’g or Penn Eng’g.</p>

23

<p>But he doesn’t want to go the Berkeley, too close to home, he says, wants the change in scenery, so then the issue would be can he go where he wants, if he can afford it, so long as it is not shooting himself in the foot, career-wise. Whatever the differences may be, to me they are in the noise and I don’t think CMU represents a shot foot, by comparison. YMMV.</p>

<p>On the other hand, I agree that if Berkeley is a thriftier alternative for him, and he can get in, it would be an excellent alternative. If he but wanted to go there.</p>

24

<p>Alright, as to this whole CMU/Berkeley debate:</p>

<p>Financially, my family can pay for four years of private college. We have it worked out, it isn’t an issue.</p>

<p>I don’t particularly want to go to Berkeley because my whole life, I’ve been planning on going somewhere on the east coast. I want to get about as far away from home as I can for these 4 years.</p>

<p>Carnegie Mellon’s program appeals to me not just because of the location and quality of the school, but because I’m also planning on getting a minor in Architecture, and CMU’s program is one of the best in the nation. Also, CMU’s huge arts and theater programs are a draw for more artistic types, and a size 1/5 that of Berkeley keeps them less segregated from the engineers and math/science types.</p>

<p>As for post-college employment, it’s not my primary concern. I don’t want to be an engineer for the money, I want to be an engineer because I love the design and build process. A CMU engineer can find a job, even if it isn’t the absolute highest paying. If I just wanted a good education with a high starting salary, I’d stay here at Lafayette. It ranks number 7 in the nation for starting salary. I’m transferring because I’m not getting the experience that I want, because the people here aren’t “my” people.</p>

<p>As for MIT, I can’t get in there, I’m not kidding myself. My only chance at getting into a school of MIT’s caliber is through a 3/2 program, which doesn’t look likely.</p>

<p>As it stands, here are the schools I’m looking into (I’ve included the 3/2 programs which I will investigate further in the coming days/weeks). Some of these schools are long-shots.</p>

<p>Bard College (3/2 or 4/2 with Columbia)
Brown
Carnegie Mellon University
Case Western Reserve University
Juniata (3+2 with Columbia, haven’t found much info though)
NYU
Oberlin College (3/2 with U. Penn)
Swarthmore
WPI</p>

25

<p>I actually thought about Brown for you, but it’s tough to get in. Ditto Swarthmore.</p>

26

<p>Yeah, I know. I’m not too sure about my chances on either of those, but applying can’t hurt. I’ve got the free time in my day (because despite taking the hardest classes they would let me take, I don’t feel challenged at all, and next semester will be even easier) so I’ll have time to build up some good quality applications.</p>

<p>So, just like last time, I’ll apply to some long-shot schools, and see if there’s an admissions error in my favor.</p>

27

<p>OP, then stick with CMU as it looks like you really like CMU very much. It’s not a bad alternative to Berkeley. NYU is also good, as well as Michigan and Northwestern. I’m not sure what your chances are at these schools. And if you can, try to visit Rice in Texas. Just visit first before you even make a slight decision on attending there.</p>

28

<p>
[quote=]
I was really considering Rice, but I don’t think that Texas and I would agree politically (although I suppose I could give Rice a try). I haven’t looked into UT-Austin.

[/quote]
</p>

<p>Are you concerned your political views are too conservative for Austin?</p>

29

<p>RML -
CMU has always been my favorite school, but I’ve already been rejected once and admissions rate is less for transfers, so I’m not very optimistic about my chances, which is why I’m looking for other schools. NYU looks good, I really can’t say I’m a fan of Mich, but I’ll look into Northwestern as well. Thanks!</p>

<p>JWT86 -
Hah, the city I grew up in legally has the motto “Where the 60’s never died,” both my parents drive hybrids, my sister is at UCSB for a Masters in Environmental Science, my favorite city is San Fransisco, I’m dating a Musical Theater major, my hometown nearly exploded at the whole Prop. 8 thing, and I make fractal art in my free time.</p>

<p>So, maybe.</p>

30

<p>wherever I go as an engineering major next year(as a freshman) I’ve definitely given a new definition to the word unconventional</p>

31

<p>Vassar has a program in conjunction with Dartmouth, if you are open to 3-2 programs. And Wesleyan has one with Columbia and Cal Tech.</p>

32

<p>BordomBeThyName – Thought about getting involved with the new robotics club at Lafayette? From what I’ve heard from my daughter their are a fair number of quirky engineering students involved in it. Sounds like you have ended up in a dorm with a high percentage of athletes, as the actual percentage of student-athletes at Lafayette is around 25%. It seems a little early to be thinking of transferring.</p>

33

<p>Can you define “interesting”? You pretty much want to surround yourself with theater geeks in college, correct? And engineers? WPI comes to mind. But honestly, it’s really hard to get the best of both worlds in one. I think you need to set your priorities straight, to be honest…lol, no offense. Maybe it’s because I’m starting to look at careers, but just make sure you stay somewhat serious in college too. Seriously :stuck_out_tongue: because if all you really have to show for after four years of colleges is a b.s.-ed resume and n arsenal of multiple, hil-ar-i-ous facebook albums, you’ll need luck to land a good career/future, you know? :S</p>

<p>I.e. have fun in college, but don’t choose a college based on how much fun and coolness you hope to find there. It isn’t all about fun and coolness, sadly. well, it is for a bit and it’ll always be there, but maybe not as conspicuously as “quirky.” :/</p>

34

<p>Check into Franklin W. Olin … look at its mission and type of students it attracts.</p>

35

<p>^Okay, Olin is a REALLY good one. Totally and completely agree.</p>

36

<p>twomules,
Dartmouth really kind of strikes me as a more selective version of the place I am already, but I’ve looked into the Wesleyan program, and kind of like it.</p>

<p>hudsonvalley51,
You know, I saw one poster for them at the beginning of the year but haven’t seen a thing from them since. My dorm <em>does</em> have a lot of athletes, but even outside my dorm, I’ve met roughly four people who don’t spend all of their free time playing sports, and I haven’t met a single person with an interest in art (although that will presumably change next semester when I get to take some arts classes). I haven’t given up on this school yet, and I plan on giving it every chance I can. So far though, it doesn’t look promising, and if school keeps being like this then I want to have a good chance of getting out to somewhere I like.</p>

<p>static75,
Not particularly theater geeks, I just want there to be some sort of active arts culture. I do like theater people, but that’s just because they tend to be extroverted artists. Don’t think that I’m ignoring my future though. I’ve already started looking into internships for this summer, and the engineering schools that I’m looking into transferring to aren’t exactly B.S. institutions (Brown, CMU, Columbia, Swarthmore, Case Western Reserve, NYU, Penn, WPI). I know that college is about the education primarily, but that doesn’t mean it shouldn’t be enjoyed.</p>

<p>momomom,
Honestly, Olin was really underwhelming when I visited. I know that the education is incredible but the school’s culture seemed completely… nonexistant. The entire humanities curriculum consists of 20 classes, and the reason I went to a liberal arts college is so that I wouldn’t be stuck in an infinite expanse of engineering, science and math.</p>

37

<p>Have you ever looked at Harvey Mudd? They have some hard core engineering going on but also have the 4 other colleges right there in the consortium.</p>

38

<p>hey, fair enough, didn’t mean to attack you. sorry! CMU actually doesn’t really let you take Liberal Arts classes, well, at least if you’re in CS. I think. Check it out. I got into that program and was pretty disappointed. :confused: Also, only the theater/art kids there are artsy. I.e. the engineering students are relatively depressing lol. In my opinion. Maybe you should visit some of these soon! :)</p>

39

<p>Although this has already been mentioned, you really do need to take a serious look at Rice University in Houston, TX. Our motto is: “Unconventional Wisdom.” All the students here are “quirky” or “eccentric” to some degree, although there are some “normal” people here too. There are TONS of research opportunities here for undergrad, plus it is ranked #1 for Best Quality of Life and #8 for Happiest Students. </p>

<p>Rice is not your stereotypical Texas school… just because it is in Texas, it does not mean everyone has guns and is Republican. Houston is a very diverse, cosmopolitan, modern city… it is the FOURTH LARGEST city in America! Politically, Rice is split between liberals and conservatives, although it tends to lean to the left (as almost all universities do). People need to stop hating on Texas… I’m from the north myself, and a lot of what people say about Texas is exaggerated. However, do check it out if you do get in… Rice is not for everyone, and you don’t want to transfer again later.</p>

<p>By the way, we are a peer school of CMU, WashU, Northwestern, Tufts, Vanderbilt, Berkeley, Stanford, and Duke (along with most of the other top 20 schools).</p>

40

<p>twomules,
Harvey Mudd is an excellent school, but once again, it’s on the west coast (barely 2 hours from home), and I’m trying to stay away from there.</p>

<p>static75,
I’m definitely going to try and visit sometime. I’ve got some friends who got in who I can stay with, I just need to work on transportation and timing.</p>

<p>slik nik,
Rice is a fantastic school, and I’ve heard good things about the city. Something just doesn’t… feel right… about it. I’ll definitely be looking into it seriously though. It was on my list of schools to apply to last year as well, but I had to get rid of it due to time restraints.</p>