<p>First of all, I understand that there have been similar posts; it's just that they're either old or not as helpful for me as I would like.</p>
<p>Basically, I am applying to several top engineering schools without regard for major, as I only know that my future interest is in renewable energy and that I want to study some type of engineering. However, I am also very diverse in my intellectual interests and want the opportunity to learn in various non-technical areas at a high level. </p>
<p>It is my understanding that Cornell is generally viewed as having the best Ivy League engineering program. I also know that many of the other Ivies graduate engineering majors who don't actually go into engineering fields, but I'm not really sure how to differentiate between Princeton, Columbia, Yale, and Harvard, specifically. And it's also my understanding that Brown, UPenn, and Dartmouth are perhaps a bit less renowned on the engineering side of things (?).</p>
<p>In anticipation of the points people will bring up: YES, I am applying to non-Ivies as well as safeties. YES, I understand that there are other excellent all-around schools (Stanford, MIT, etc.). And YES, I know we're talking about schools that are all very difficult to get into.</p>
<p>So: can someone help me out here in terms of differentiating between all 8 schools? Undergrad. research opportunities? Job prospects/how students are viewed by recruiters? Entrepreneurial culture (another eventual goal of mine)? Any other notable points?</p>
<p>Thanks a lot, your help is much appreciated.</p>
<p>Is your goal to work as an engineer, or as an investment banker or management consultant?</p>
<p>I’d say out of those two options, definitely to work as an engineer. Ultimately, entrepreneurship in the clean energy sector is what intrigues me at the moment.</p>
<p>Cornell and Penn have <a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/internships-careers-employment/1121619-university-graduate-career-surveys-5.html#post16559971[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/internships-careers-employment/1121619-university-graduate-career-surveys-5.html#post16559971</a> . Of course, there are plenty of other schools that have them as well. But many do not appear to have anything that comes up when you search for “career survey”.</p>
<p>In terms of recruiting, if you were making recruiting trips out of your local area to hire engineers, which is likely to yield more candidates with mutual interest?</p>
<ul>
<li>Yale, with about 65 engineering seniors, whom you will have to compete against investment banks and consulting companies for many of them.</li>
<li>UConn, with about 415 engineering seniors, with no investment bank or consulting competition for them.</li>
</ul>
<p>You want to be an engineer, you "want the opportunity to learn in various non-technical areas at a high level,” and you believe you’re a competitive candidate for Ivy League schools . . . but you are unwilling or unable to go to the schools’ websites and do the research necessary to enable you to differentiate between their engineering programs?</p>
<p>At least one of these schools offers a five-year, rather than four-year, engineering degree; at least one of these schools offers operations research and financial engineering; at least one of these schools has an exchange program with MIT; and at least one of these schools allows students to pursue a less demanding Bachelor of Arts in engineering, which would be particularly conducive to the pursuit of higher level learning in non-technical areas.</p>
<p>Want to know which is which? Go to the school websites and do some research!!!</p>
<p>Dodgersmom, maybe he’s too busy trying to maintain the grades to get in. You COULD just tell him instead of being so juvenile. </p>
<p>In terms of producing engineers,
Columbia and Penn produce some engineers. Princeton has a very good engineering school.</p>
<p>Princeton seems to be very into renewable energy. Other than that, I don’t know much else, sorry.</p>
<p>I think it’s reasonable to say that Cornell engineering is among the best in the U.S., just a bit below the level of Illinois, Michigan or RPI. Cornell is very good, along with U Pennsylvania. You will get a very different engineering experience at Columbia, solid but different nevertheless.</p>
<p>It’s a fair point, dodgersmom, and I already am aware of some of the schools you’re referring to. I guess I just wanted to see what some of the CCers had to say independent of any bias I might have to sort through on college sites. But I’m not saying I’m lazy, as I am definitely going to those websites, too.</p>
<p>Thank you to the others for responding as well.</p>
<p>LakeWashington, do you mind expounding on this “different engineering experience” at Columbia that you speak of?</p>
<p>Dartmouth has a smaller school than Cornell, but I think it tends to attract a fairly entrepreneurial crowd, rather than a more tech-y group. Dartmouth in general has a business tilt, I think. My husband got his BE and ME there, went on for a PhD in EE elsewhere, worked in a couple of tech companies, then left to start another couple of companies, before landing at a tech/financial, specializing for a while in altenergy analysis. Which is to say, any one of those paths is possible for a Dartmouth engineer. I know another Dartmouth grad (BE) who stayed in tech, and two who went on for an MBA.</p>