I’m considering ED at Cornell, CMU or Vanderbilt engineering. I know CMU and Cornell has a much higher ranked engineering program, but many people told me that both schools are one of the most stressful schools in the nation, which is really making me reluctant to apply to either of the two schools. Vanderbilt, although it might not have the best engineering program, seemed like a more easygoing school with more out-of-school life. On the other hand, many people told me that engineering courses are almost equally stressful no matter what school/program I enroll in. I really want to know if CMU engineering is exceptionally stressful, or if all engineering colleges are stressful in general.
Did you get into these schools yet? If you did, then you should have more faith in your abilities as they would not have selected you if they didn’t think you could handle the college.
I go to Cornell, and yes the engineering program is considered very rough. It’s not uncommon for engineering majors to have lower GPAs than majors in other colleges within Cornell. It’s just a fact that engineering is a VERY tough field, and schools only have 4 years to give you enough engineering information worthy of a degree. You’ll be learning alot of content in a condensed period of time, no matter where you go.
I can speak from personal experience that Cornell has many resources to help you learn and do well. Office hours and TAs help immensely, and most professors hold study hours for students to come and help.