Looking at Engineering and Economics

<p>I know exactly 1 person who successfully did a 3-2 program with Michigan, and I know a lot of people who tried.</p>

<p>I’m not sure about the whole 3-2 thing. And from the other comments it seems like other people aren’t sure about it either. </p>

<p>Plus I don’t know if I’d want to go to a liberal arts college. And Swarthmore is one of the most selective colleges in the country. I’d have a better chance of getting into Chicago or Carnegie Mellon than I would of getting in there, and I’d probably rather go to those schools anyway.</p>

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<p>No question about it.</p>

<p>Cmh_580’s concerns are understandable, but let me second intersteddad’s observations about the quality of economics and engineering at Swarthmore (and I see interesteddad has provided good statistics on Swarthmore and other schools on another thread). </p>

<p>And don’t be put off by the difficulty of getting in. Swarthmore is extremely selective, but the same rules apply as they do with the Ivys and similar schools: if you think you have a chance, give it a try, you never know. Two graduating high school seniors I know applied to Swarthmore and Stanford. One was turned down by Stanford but got into Swarthmore. His closest friend was turned down by Swarthmore (where he really wanted to go) but got into Stanford. The moral of which is, you really need to apply to quite a few places. And get started on drafts of your essays now.</p>

<p>I don’t know if getting into Swarth would necessarily be harder than getting into Chicago. CMU is a different story, depending on which school. Just different schools.</p>

<p>BUT, why is Chicago even mentioned in a thread on engineering? They don’t even offer it…</p>

<p>cmh, I would recommend Cal and Michigan, but as public universities, it is unlikely you would get sufficient need-based assistance from them. On the other hand, if your stats are strong enough (4.0 unweighed GPA, lots of APs, 2300+ on the SAT etc…), there is a good chance you can get a merit scholraship. Even with slightly lower stats, like a 3.8+ unweighed GPA and 2250 SAT you could get a merit scholarship. Cal is top 3 in Engineering and top 10 in Economics and Michigan is top 10 in Engineering and top 15 in Economics, so those are two well rounded schools worth considering.</p>

<p>Private universities to consider include:</p>

<p>Carnegie Mellon University
Columbia University
Cornell University
Duke University
Johns Hopkins University
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Northwestern University
Princeton University
Rice University
Stanford University
University of Rochester</p>

<p>^ Don’t count on getting that merit scholarship for UCB engineering… or even getting in, for that matter. Trust me.</p>

<p>I have known international students from the UAE who got into UCB Engineering and got the Regent’s scholraship ($25k per year). I agree that those scholraships aren’t given to many students, but students with excellent credentials sometimes do get excellent scholarships.</p>

<p>I’m instate with some pretty good credentials, and I didn’t even get in. Pretty vicious year. </p>

<p>I got into UCI (because of ELC) but I didn’t get any type of merit aid, just an offer for a PLUS loan and a Stafford loan.</p>

<p>I brought up Chicago because they would probably be the one exception to the engineering/economics thing. If I went there, I know it would be to study economics. I believe they have the best economics program in the country correct?</p>

<p>Chicago is one of the top 4 or 5 Economics departments, on par with Harvard, MIT, Princeton and Stanford. </p>

<p>Although Chicago does not have Engineering, it does have a top ranked Physics department, so if one is flexible, Chicago can certainly fit the bill.</p>

<p>Physics is definitely a possibility as well, depending on how AP Physics goes next year. </p>

<p>I’m not quite set on Economics yet either, because the only exposure I’ll have to it is a half year class at the beginning of next year. Unforunately, my school doesn’t offer either Macro or Micro economics. But Economics seems to combine social studies and math, and those are two things that I’m very good at.</p>

<p>In this case cmh, definitely check out Chicago. Double majoring in Economics and Physics or Mathematics makes perfect sense.</p>

<p>Yeah orginally I wrote off Chicago because I didn’t want to live in Chicago. However, the more I’ve learned about it the more it seems like a great match. But the tough part is getting in.</p>

<p>Are you kidding? Chicago is an AWESOME city! In my opinion, it is the best city in the US, with San Francisco and NYC coming in at #2 and #3. Globally, only Paris, London and Montreal finish ahead of Chicago in my book!</p>

<p>I don’t fully understand the express desire to attend a private, particularly if finances are an issue. While OOS tuitions are on the rise at the publics, most are still considerably cheaper than private alternatives. And the publics often will have the broadest range of majors to choose from, so for an undecided student (and frankly, even those who are decided may very well change their minds), the publics can be the best choice. The flip side of that is that the privates typically offer a better setting for the classroom with smaller classes and more personal attention. It all comes down to what you are looking for. What colleges have you visited and which did you like/dislike and why?</p>

<p>And let me agree with Alex about Chicago. If you can handle the cold, it’s a great city. Fun, good people, lots of business opportunities. I’d personally prefer to go there AFTER college rather than FOR college, but that is obviously a personal choice.</p>

<p>I’m okay with the cold, because I live in New Jersey. I’m used to the harsh winters.</p>

<p>I haven’t visited any schools yet, I’m going to do all of that this summer. And the reason I want a private university is because they usually have more money to offer in the form of financial aid (my family’s income is <$60,000) while the public schools don’t have as much, and are also expensive for out of state students.</p>

<p>I’ve never been to Chicago, so I can’t say much about it with certainty. I guess I just thought I wouldn’t like it there.</p>

<p>Swarthmore</p>