<p>In the likely chance I get denied from MIT, what schools should I be ready to fall back to. I'm considering RPI & WPI. I should have a solid chance with RPI level schools b/c I got the RPI Medal for top science/math student at my highschool. I have high SAT, GPA, lots EC etc.
Most likely major: Electrical Engineering
Any suggestions for RPI and WPI like schools....
Thanks alot.</p>
<p>Cal Tech, CMU, Harvey Mudd, USC, Rose Hulman, Olin, Columbia</p>
<p>Any other criteria? It seems like you want to be in the northeast? I’d add the Cooper Union.</p>
<p>ken
i do prefer the northeast, although I do like the uniqueness of Olin and Mudd, they are smaller than my highschool. A class of 80-100 just doesn’t seem diverse enough.</p>
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<p>MIT Backups (I assumed you want near MIT quality but not as selective): CMU, Georgia Tech, Cornell, Berkely (spelling?).</p>
<p>University of Michigan, this was my MIT backup</p>
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<p>I really don’t think most of these qualify as “backups.” IMO the OP is asking what schools would be a safety/match for him/her if MIT is a reach. </p>
<p>Caltech and Olin would also be for sure reaches for almost any applicant (even MIT applicants). Mudd, CMU, and Columbia wouldn’t exactly be easy to get into either…</p>
<p>Wait, why is USC there? I always thought they barely made top 20 in engineering. It just doesn’t seem like a school that is on par with Caltech, Mudd, CMU, and the others.</p>
<p>atomicfusion, there’s actually a joke among a lot of engineering/CS students at CMU that we were a school for people that didn’t get into MIT. :(</p>
<p>I offered a range of schools in addition to MIT. Some could be considered equal while others are easier to get into. For applications you should cast a wide net. OP do you want a private like MIT, or are you open to large publics as well?</p>
<p>What about Duke or Johns Hopkins? They’d probably be matches if MIT is a reach for you. </p>
<p>Also I would enthusiastically recommend WPI or Rose Hulman as safeties (I’m going to WPI this fall). Rose Hulman is a pretty remarkable school if you consider how low the mean SATs are for their incoming freshman. Their job/grad school placement is very close to 100%, WPI stands at about 98%.</p>
<p>Cornell would be a great choice as well - their engineering is amazing.</p>
<p>ya i’ve looked at rose and WPI, i’m interested in both but I’ve heard that rose is extreme right wing (in terms of politics)=bad. I’m mostly interested in privates like MIT with 2,000-~8,000 undergrads.
In summary so far:
On Par with MIT: Cal Tech,Harvey Mudd, Olin, Columbia
Match: Cornell, CMU, U of Michigan, Duke, John Hopkins, Cooper Union?
Safety:Rose Hulman, RPI, WPI,</p>
<p>Any additions or changes,
Thanks alot.</p>
<p>Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland would be a nice safety.</p>
<p>Cooper Union is too small for you.</p>
<p>I like that list you have. Although I think Columbia is a peer school with Hopkins, and U of Michigan probably belongs in the safety tier (not sure though). </p>
<p>Also consider that Rose Hulman will probably end up being 5k+ a year more expensive then WPI or RPI. And unless you’re willing to apply to RPI and WPI, I advise you look into some of WPI’s unique academic features, since they are NOT for everyone (7 week terms, relatively flexible schedule, applied and theoretical engineering project required to graduate)</p>
<p>Columbia has an academic core that you might not like. Be sure to visit the web sites of these schools to check them out further.</p>
<p>Rice might be a nice fit. Just a bit smaller than MIT for undergraduates; very strong science and engineering. The residential colleges are attractive. Houston, although hot and humid, is booming economically.</p>
<p>MIT was pretty much my dream school during the admissions process (not to mention the last 12 years…), but I pretty much based my school choices around it.</p>
<p>In the end, I applied to MIT, Stanford, Caltech, Berkeley (rejected from these), Cornell, CMU, Rice, and UCLA (Accepted to these).</p>
<p>In addition, if I wanted a few more reaches I would have tossed in Princeton and Harvey Mudd.</p>
<p>I’m not sure if I’d put Columbia on the same level as MIT, the engineering isn’t as well known as the pure sciences there.</p>