I was recently accepted to MIT, Harvard, and Stanford, and I am thinking about majoring in either BME or electrical engineering. This is obviously an extremely difficult decision for me, and I would love any opinions from all of you about the academic programs for these majors at each of these schools. If any current students could speak to the engineering programs at each of these schools, that would be amazing :). I would also love to hear about student life, social life, and anything else of interest. Disadvantages of each school would also be appreciated.
I doubt you missed the USNWR undergraduate engineering rankings for these schools, though here they are just in case (all ranked schools are considered “Top Programs.”)
Congrats! The USNWR rankings give you an idea of how well-regarded the programs are and visiting the schools will probably help you decide which fits you best.
Awesome dilemma to have
Stanford and MIT are stronger than Harvard in Engineering, so I’d drop Harvard out of consideration.
Since Stanford and MIT are generally considered on par academically, ask yourself other questions:
east coast or west coast for internships, jobs (Boston vs Bay)
IT oriented career? (Stanford)
what other majors are offered that you might be interested in (check out their list of courses) (I believe Stanford may be broader - for sure in the arts)
@katliamom True that - I’ve been struggling to find good Mexican food nearby that isn’t a cheap Tex-Mex restaurant.
I can’t really speak much about BME or EE (I’m a math major), although most students I know in those departments were easily able to land UROPs and internships. Course 6 is the biggest major at MIT, although there are relatively few 6-1 and 6-7 majors.
For BME or anything engineering, Harvard is not even in the same league. On the other hand, a lot of kids are not sure want they want to do.
If I was anything technical minded, interested in working in tech and the likes after graduation, I would pick MIT/Stanford anyday. The MIT environment is like breathing/living technology. It really does change you into an engineer if you let it sink in.
Generally, people think MIT and Stanford are stronger in engineering and that’s probably the decision for most people. However, if you like interdisciplinary research and science (basic or applied sciences vs. pure engineering), Harvard is the best place to go. I saw people chose Harvard over MIT/Stanford, and did this myself. Good luck with your choice.