<p>I had matriculated to the University of Pittsburgh but I found out recently that I was accepted to Northwestern University. At Pitt I'm in the honors program, not sure about honors housing but I think I'll get that as well, but no money; it ends up costing about $24,000 a year. Northwestern gave me a little bit of grant money; they cost about $38,000 per year. </p>
<p>I like both environments; they're even in a lot of ways. I could probably be happy at both. I intend to study mechanical engineering. Long term, my goals include graduate school and potentially a career in a field related to renewable energy. One of my major concerns is that, at Pitt, I think my grades would end up being much higher than my grades at Northwestern, simply due to much more competition at Northwestern. Is this a valid worry? If there is going to be a major disparity in GPAs, is better to go with the option that will give me a higher GPA?</p>
<p>Also I'm accepted to the University of Edinburgh in an honours Mechanical Engineering / Renewable Energy program, for whatever that's worth.</p>
<p>Correction; No, your grade would not be lower at NU, there is a good chance that it might be higher. Public school has a lot of grade deflation especially for engineering.</p>
<p>That extra $14k a year is a ton of money, especially if you're going to have to be taking it out in loans (as it is, the amount you'd have to take out in loans to cover that is pretty staggering; I hope your parents are helping you a bit with it).</p>
<p>Pitt's a great school, and Pittsburgh is a pretty good city. I was at CMU for four years right down the street and loved my time there. My brother went to Pitt for his undergrad and enjoyed it.</p>
<p>I don't think your school selection will have a huge impact on your GPA; I think it would have a lot more to do with your level of interest and how stimulated you feel at the school.</p>
<p>$60k over 4 years is a lot of money. If that translates into a financial burden for your family or debts to you, go for Pitt. If your folks are well off and willing to pay the extra cost without too much financial strain, Northwestern could be worth a look.</p>
<p>I don't understand why in the world you'd think Pitt has a better engineering school. It seems like you never even read engineering rankings before since Northwestern is a lot better, as far as rankings go. Northwestern has one of the best engineering programs in the country. Please refrain from commenting if you don't know anything about it!</p>
<p>I would suggest that anyone who's never hear of Pitt should probably not be giving advice on these boards.</p>
<p>POIH, that would be the University of Pittsburgh in Pennsylvania. You really should try reading past the top 20 rankings sometime, you may learn something.</p>
<p>Pitt engineering is just fine, and there is always the opportunity to cross register for a course or two at CMU.</p>
<p>I am not telling you to take extra 60K to go to NU however. You and your family will decide whether it's worth it or not. Engineering firms are not investment banking firms and they hire grads from all over, not just top schools.</p>
<p>I chose Northwestern. If I change my mind, it's much easier to go from Northwestern to Pitt than Pitt to Northwestern. The apparent strength of the program was too high for me to say no; I don't want to be asking myself "what if?".</p>
<p>"I would suggest that anyone who's never hear of Pitt should probably not be giving advice on these boards.</p>
<p>POIH, that would be the University of Pittsburgh in Pennsylvania. You really should try reading past the top 20 rankings sometime, you may learn something."</p>
<p>ROFL! Plenty of people have heard of Pitt, it's a perfectly fine school, it's not just "prestigious" enough for someone with Ivy stars. Still, glad you're able to make it to NU! Congrats!</p>
<p>BTW, the Pitt grad that I know has done tremendously well financially, has a $2.5 MM primary home and a $1.5 MM secondary home, and was well able to send his child to Northwestern :-).</p>