<p>So, where should I go? I am so lost.<br>
I am not sure about my major, but probably study science rather than humanities. But I also want to be well-balanced.
I like Yale, but I fear Yale's curriculum is too humanity-based.
I like cities, and prefer Boston to New Haven. But Princeton's campus is so pretty.
MIT Sloan offers very decent business majors for undergrad, but not sure I want to study business as an undergrad!
And plus, does Yale enjoy a better name than Princeton or MIT?
Help me!</p>
<p>In MIT's defense, students are required to take a quarter of their classes in the humanities, arts, and social sciences. I think that's pretty well-balanced -- it's as well balanced as I'd ever like to be.</p>
<p>Yale does not have a better name than Princeton or MIT.</p>
<p>If you want to study science rather than humanities, by all means MIT is the school. Contrary to popular belief, MIT's humanities programs are top-notch as well.</p>
<p>Princeton does a really good job with undergraduate education.</p>
<p>I know that undergrad chemistry is especially outstanding there.</p>
<p>If you're deciding between MIT and an ivy of the caliber of Princeton or Yale, the determining factor should be whether you feel more comfortable at an ivy league school than a technical school like MIT. MIT's humanities class are very good and they have some great professors, but there is definitely a different feel. And that may determine whether or not you are happy.</p>
<p>Here's my take on this.</p>
<p>You honestly can't go wrong by choosing any of these. They'll each lead you down different paths in life, but in a very broad sense, it won't matter which you choose.</p>
<p>The 'real' question is.. Which would you be happiest at? Even if you are <em>only</em> concerned about academics,your happiness affects your work ethic. Considerably. I visited MIT & Harvard, and it is absolutely astounding how different the feel of the two schools are. I was planning to apply to Harvard, but after visiting, I decided that I'd much rather attend my state school, UW-Madison than to go to Harvard. I'm not saying that Harvard is a bad school at all. It just completely clashed with my personality.</p>
<p>I'm going to MIT and I'm absolutely ecstatic about it! Have you visited Yale, Princeton, or MIT yet? If you have visited one or more, just think about it for each school. Did you enjoy the visit? Could you see yourself as a student there?</p>
<p>If you haven't visited, I'd highly recommend trying to visit before you have to make a decision. Even if it costs $800 to do it.. Think about how much you have to spend on education before you get out of college. That $800 could mean the difference between being happy or depressed for 4 years.</p>
<p>Good luck with the decision. Think very carefully about it, but when you make your decision, be happy & never stop to regret it.</p>
<p>Oh, and lastly. PLEASE don't worry about prestige at this point. Yale, Princeton, and MIT are all outstanding schools. Plus, it's not just the name. An MIT graduate with no research, activities, etc. might very well look much worse to employers and graduate schools than someone who went to a public school, but did lots of research, was involved, etc.</p>
<p>In my earlier post, I meant to say "what is important is whether you feel comfortable at a liberal arts school or a technical school."</p>
<p>Some people, no matter how interested or talented at science, will be turned off by the vibe at a tech school.</p>
<p>danquishen, as a high school student I'm pretty much in the same situation than you are: I'm sure that I want to study a science subject and since I'm currently attending a technical school I'm confronted with a lot of students who are not well-balanced at all. I've already experienced what you and many others fear and I've learned what I want and what I don't want regarding this 'intellectual diversity'.</p>
<p>Having taken all of these great universities into consideration myself, let me share my thoughts with you:</p>
<p>You are right, Yale doesn't seem to be a university where I'd like to study science. I doubt that you'd get a bad education as a science student, but it just seems to be too focused on humanities for me. Princeton, in contrast, appears to be the 'scientific ivy'. Despite offering a broad wide of subjects and a very diverse student body, Princeton's science classes seem to be a choice that you wouldn't regret. Additionally, Princeton's campus is one of the most beautiful in the entire world. Now, the big difference between Princeton and MIT, I think, is that most MIT students decide to study science or engineering while Princeton's students are more diverse (in their choice of study!). However, as Mollie has already mentioned (and she can certainly judge this a lot better than me), students at MIT are as diverse and well-balanced in their interests as elsewhere. This creates a difference in the social life and attitudes of the student body; this is what makes the difference, not the classes. It's up to you which kind of student body appeals more to you. (And don't worry about reputation, their all fantastic.)</p>
<p>PS: These are indeed very subjective points of view, so correct me if you feel to do so.</p>
<p>
[quote]
You are right, Yale doesn't seem to be a university where I'd like to study science. I doubt that you'd get a bad education as a science student, but it just seems to be too focused on humanities for me.
[/quote]
</p>
<p>I don't really know what people mean when they say that Yale is too humanities focused. If you mean that there is a higher percentage of non-science majors than at Princeton, you are probably right, but I wouldn't say that fact would at all affect the quality of your education. There are certainly enough students in the sciences that you will meet plenty of people who share your interests, and you won't be in any way marginalized by majoring in a science. The distribution of science and non-science courses you would take at Yale would be little different from what you would do at Princeton, so I don't understand why the OP would call its curriculum "too humanity-based." Even at MIT, I believe you would have to take a few courses outside the sciences. Yale's distribution requirements are few, and easy to deal with, so unless your goal is to never take a class outside the sciences (which is impossible anywhere), you will have no problems with the curriculum at Yale. </p>
<p>This is not to say that you should go to Yale - you should visit all three and decide which you like better. But, as you consider your choice, do so with the realization that studying a science at Yale will not disadvantage you in any way compared to doing so at Princeton, and that the differences in science education compared to MIT will be more about campus culture and style of education than about quality.</p>
<p>Yeah, but the science majors aren't the stars at yale, the humanities majors are. Science majors have to walk uphill both ways in the cold and snow to go to remote regions of the campus to take their classes. Yeah, technically, the difference would be not drastic between Yale and Princeton, but the morale would be very different. But then again, I haven't lived on the Princeton campus most of my life, so I wouldn't know about that.</p>
<p>The main engineering building at Princeton is also on the edge of campus, but there are so many Princeton engineers that this trek actually creates a sense of community among them (just as those Princetonians who live in a relatively isolated college on campus, Forbes, also enjoy a stronger sense of community among fellow "Forbesians"). The E-Quad, as the engineering building is known, has its own cafe and accommodations. Also, a number of other buildings such as the Frick and Icahn labs are much closer, so the engineers don't always have to go to E-Quad anyway.</p>
<p>Wait, so why arent you just coming to MIT again?</p>
<p>:P</p>
<p>I also am in the same position. Except It's MIT , Princeton, Columbia. I think I want to major in EECS, but I am also very interested in Political Science. </p>
<p>Computer Engineering makes sense, since I like Math, CS , Physics.
I am more passionate about Political Science/IR. But writing papers is not my favorite activity. I have to try to get B's in IB Higher Level English 2</p>
<p>MIT: -Best Engineering in the world
-Its in Boston/Cambridge. So I assume internships would be easier to find and get to
- International name recognition. Unlike other two, tops independent rankings
- I don't like the barely doable culture.</p>
<p>Princeton:
- Undergrad focused environment
- Beautiful Campus
- Happiest students according to Princeton Review
- I dont like that it seems to be far away (1 hour) from major cities. Internships would take time to get to.
- Not much to do outside of campus
- Great Financial aid. No loans
- Engineering department isn't highly ranked
- No double majors, minors only</p>
<p>COlumbia:
- New York: Internships, Night-life, Opportunities
- I would be in the Davis Honors Program
- Connections. Internship placements
- Engineering isn't top ranked
- i dont like that they restrict me to the school I got into SEAS.
- No double majors, minors only</p>
<p>I was hoping financial aid would help me decide. Same EFC for all of them. My mom thinks 25k loan debt isn't too much to worry about. </p>
<p>These are my assumptions. What advice would you give me?</p>
<p>I am also considering RICE and Carnegie Mellon.</p>
<p>The reasons you have for MIT are only rankings and recognition. If that is really so, I don't think you would be happy here. MIT has a lot to offer. It's also really fun here. There's a good chance that you'll enjoy it here too. But I advise choosing the school that suits your passion most. First of all though, I wouldn't worry about the option of double majoring. It's not that big of a deal when considering where you go for college. But you can double major at MIT, and from what I hear the Political Science department at MIT is highly ranked. I can't really speak for it though. The EECS department here can speak for itself. ; )</p>
<p>MIT is highly ranked (number 1 I think?) for EECS. Also, I would be wary of rankings from PR about "Happiest Students." That really doesn't say much about how happy you'll be at Princeton. Academic departments are already hard enough to rank; ranking the subjective aspects of an undergrad education is suspect at best.</p>
<p>From what you've said, it sounds like Yale is out of the question. If you're interested in science and business, I would definitely suggest MIT over Princeton.</p>