<p>My S has 2 weeks until his decision. Harvey Mudd was also in the mix until we received very little aid. I know, great problem to have, but still a huge decision looms over our head. He is strong in engineering, MIT is best in the nation, possibly the world, Princeton is strong, rated about 11th. Harvard's coming on strong in recent years, up around 27th. He is concerned about attending MIT and then discovering that he wants to pursue a diff degree. We visited all of the schools this past summer prior to his senior year. My take is that Princeton is a great all around school. Hard to get to, and not a lot of things to do in a township of 30k people. Yale, another great school, not strong in the math science, and in a city that has seen it's glory days in it's past. Harvard is as strong academic as the other ivy's but has a vibrant city life. We already eliminated USC,CAL,UCSD,Rice and Georgia tech. He will be attending Havard's Vistas this weekend and Princetons preview day's April 26th -28th. Then it's D-day!
The cost for the Ivy's is about the same, around 25k, the Ivy's have said they will match the lowest, MIT was a lot more 37k, but I have appealed and I'm waiting their reply.
I've done my homework, read student reviews, college reviews, ratings, costs, gone to the campus(during the summer) etc... I'm just looking for something that I may have missed. My Gut feeling is that I really liked the Boston area and accessibility for him. That means it's MIT or Harvard, but then again, it's his decision.
Anything I may have overlooked?</p>
<p>Dad – I’ll give you my view FWIW.</p>
<p>MIT is a very different school than any of the other three. As an “Institute of Technology” vs a “University.” Your child will probably find less academic diversity there. I don’t mean this as a negative. I know many MIT graduates who absolutely loved it there. It’s just a different school. </p>
<p>Among HYP – Putting aside location, for Engineering, Princeton, hands down is the best choice. Overall reputation – other than alumni of these schools, I don’t know that anyone can say that one is better than the others. Engineering is, however a strength at Princeton and not at the other two.</p>
<p>Were I fortunate to have this choice – MIT (if you like the institutional approach), Princeton otherwise.</p>
<p>However, when you get right down to it, your child won’t go wrong with any of these.</p>
<p>Why was Cal eliminated if we are talking engineering? I think depending on cost that could be the BEST option.</p>
<p>What kind of engineering? Would his post-graduation plans involve working as an engineer, or an investment banker?</p>
<p>Note that MIT does have some humanities and social studies departments: anthropology, brain and cognitive science, comparative media studies, economics, foreign languages and literatures (7 non-English languages), history, linguistics and philosophy, literature, management, media arts and sciences, music and theater arts, political science, science technology and society, urban studies and planning, and writing and humanistic studies.
[MIT</a> - Education](<a href=“http://web.mit.edu/education/]MIT”>Education | MIT - Massachusetts Institute of Technology)</p>
<p>There is also a cross registration agreement with other local colleges and universities, including Harvard.</p>
<p>On the other hand, MIT’s higher net price can be a deterrent. (Where do the net prices of Berkeley, USC, and UCSD stand?)</p>
<p>Your list of finalists makes sense if investment banking is the post-graduation goal. If working as an engineer is the goal, Berkeley should be included in the finalists (maybe Georgia Tech also, but Georgia Tech is probably a better example of lack of academic diversity that may not suit a student with wider interests), while Yale and probably Harvard become somewhat less attractive.</p>
<p>
Sakky has covered in many lengthy past posts why choosing Harvard or a similar school is usually a risk-averse option for a would-be engineer, unlike many colleges ranked higher in engineering. A few links:</p>
<p><a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/11507587-post33.html[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/11507587-post33.html</a></p>
<p><a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/6702781-post37.html[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/6702781-post37.html</a></p>
<p><a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/6702878-post38.html[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/6702878-post38.html</a></p>
<p><a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/11017056-post46.html[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/11017056-post46.html</a></p>
<p><a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/9421698-post224.html[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/9421698-post224.html</a></p>
<p>Your son seems to like Harvard best, or at least you do. He won’t be paid a higher salary for choosing MIT or another engineering program over Harvard, and with cross-registration at MIT, it arguably offers the best of all worlds. Should he decide engineering is not for him, as many do, one can hardly go wrong with any of Harvard’s other programs, and it is a universally strong brand name.</p>
<p>Other schools were not in his top four primarily based on cost to attend. Mudd 42K, Berkeley 55K, UCSD 53K, USC with his NMF half tuition 32K. Very little aid in California.
He does well in all subjects, ACT 35, and has put chemical engineering on his college apps.
I can see him as an engineer but not a investment banker.</p>
<p>For the combination of cost, diverse academic strengths, and undergraduate focus, Princeton would be a great choice. I cannot understand turning it down because there are “not a lot of things to do” there. Princeton, NJ isn’t exactly Manhattan, but then, a major university generates a lot of its own activity. If that’s not enough, NYC (or Philadelphia) is only about 50 miles away. Hard to get to? Just take the train to and from either city
([Princeton</a> University - Train Travel](<a href=“http://www.princeton.edu/main/visiting/travel/trains/]Princeton”>Visit Us | Princeton University)).</p>
<p>Another vote for Princeton. It’s perhaps the best well rounded undergrad eduction in the country. You make it sound isolated-it’s an easy shot to NYC or Philly. The undergrad focus is its big advantage over H and Y IMO.</p>
<p>I kid I interviewed this year for H called to ask my opinion on where he should go having gotten into HYP. I love Harvard but I told him to go to Princeton and save Harvard for grad school.</p>
<p>Id probably choose between princeton and harvard if hes not set on engineering.</p>
<p>My S chose Princeton. Very tough decision. Go Tigers!</p>
<p>Good luck to your DS!</p>