Help me narrow my choices...

College Search & Selection
1

<p>I am filling out applications/essys as we speak, but my prospective college list is more expansive than my wallet will allow, as i am paying for the whole ordeal. </p>

<p>i am interested in engineering. at least i think so... :)</p>

<p>here is a sort of current list:</p>

<p>Columbia U Fu Found.
Cornell U
Duke U
Franklin W Olin C En
Harvey Mudd C
MIT
Princeton U
Stanford U
Swarthmore C
Tufts U
U Washington
Washington SU
Yale U </p>

<p>ummm...yeah. i can't afford that many applications. </p>

<p>in general, there are 2 safeties (WSU/UW (i live in washington)), 3 probables (HMC, Swarth, Tufts), and a bunch of reaches for anyone. </p>

<p>related question: how does engingeering compare between swarth and tufts? if i had to eliminate one, which would it be?</p>

<p>and among the many reaches i have up, are there any you think i could take off the list?</p>

<p>if this helps:</p>

<p>SAT: 2300 (CR780, M710, W800), ACT: 34 (Eng 34, M 36, Sci 34, Wri 31)</p>

<p>i mean, i think i am qualified to at least apply to most elite schools. i know i probably won't get in to them but i can always hope...</p>

<p>i am sorry this topic is so long. i just have no idea which colleges to X. any help would be greatly appreciated.</p>

2

<p>No one knows anything about you from this post to discern whether Cornell, Yale, Princeton, Stanford would be most suited to you. Also, I wouldn't necessarily call Swarthmore probable.</p>

3

<p>Yeah I wouldn't necessarily call HMC "probable" either as it's probably the most selective LAC in the country. Depending on your other stats, you might be rejected at every one of those schools beside your safeties.</p>

<p>Cut down on your ivy league schools.</p>

<p>Duke, Princeton, and Yale don't have amazing engineering programs, just a name. And Tufts isn't a perfect choice for an upper match engineering school either.</p>

<p>If you want to be an engineer, make your list:</p>

<p>Columbia U Fu Found.
Cornell U
Franklin W Olin C En
Harvey Mudd C
MIT
Stanford U
Swarthmore C
U Washington
Washington SU</p>

4

<p>Duke/Pratt has less of a reputation for graduate level engineering, but the undergrad program is very strong (especially BME). Princeton excels in engineering, so I wouldn't drop it if you like it. </p>

<p>Between Swat and Tufts, I would personally eliminate Tufts. </p>

<p>What exactly are you looking for? It's hard to narrow down only given stats.</p>

5

<p>I am considereing civil or environmental engineering. </p>

<p>i also did not mean to suggest that HMC was easy...that was poorly worded on my part. </p>

<p>i think it would be fun to go to any of the schools really. I mean, size is not a huge issue. HMC and Olin are tiny, and ideally i would prefer larger, but if i got into either and decided to go, it still would be fine. Living in a metropolis, like Columbia, would be a bit of a change, but not necessarily bad...</p>

<p>The weather in any of the northern schools (aka snow, cold...) isn't an issue. What is the climate of Duke like? I mean, i know it is in NC, but what kind of weather does that entail?</p>

<p>realistically, I will probably attend UW. it is inexpensive and i am a shoe-in. but i would like to try and apply to some of the elite schools as well. I am looking for strong undergraduate engineering (probably civil/ environmental like i said above) programs. </p>

<p>What other information can i provide that would help you ppl help me out?</p>

<p>and if there are any schools i am unaware of, feel free to tell me. </p>

<p>again, thanks for any help.</p>

6

<p>Stanford, MIT, Carnegie Mellon, Cornell, Johns Hopkins, Caltech, and Northwestern are arguably the best private colleges for environmental engineering. UW is definitely a good choice. </p>

<p>
[quote]
What is the climate of Duke like? I mean, i know it is in NC, but what kind of weather does that entail?

[/quote]

Pretty nice, as a whole. A lot of people complain about the humidity in the early fall, but I don't think it's that bad. Winter temperatures dip into the 20s and 30s every so often, but weather is usually very mild. I'd guess an average of ~80F in the late spring and ~40F in winter.</p>

7

<p>is CMU > Swarth then?</p>

<p>i know this sounds like a silly question, but i ahve herad that Stanford is very jock-centered. is there any thruth to this?</p>

8

<p>that was spelled very wrong. sorry about that...</p>

9

<p>
[quote]
HMC and Olin are tiny, and ideally i would prefer larger, but if i got into either and decided to go, it still would be fine.

[/quote]
</p>

<p>Harvey Mudd is just one of 5 schools in a consortium. It's essentially one college at a "university", although the schools aren't as dependent on each other as at an actual university. This means there's around 5,000 students, with plenty of diversity. So technically HMC is "tiny" at around 750 students, but not really, because if you want it's really easy to befriend (and date) people from other schools.</p>

10

<p>Are you hoping for financial aid from these schools? Since your parents are not paying or helping to pay for the apps, it makes me wonder about the financial situation. Cornelll and Columbia Fu sound likely to me with your stats, in addition to your state schools. If you need aid, I might eliminate a couple based on their not giving much aid. If they are all good with aid, then I would borrow money if possible to apply. If you want and are eligible for need-based aid, applying to many schools is an investment. Since Olin has free tuition, I would definitely apply there. On a personal level, I just don't like Stanford, Duke, and Mudd, and would likely cross them off (if you really must eliminate some), but they may be right for you. And, the aid issue may figure in.</p>