Currently thinking about EE/ECE for my major, so both colleges are awesome in terms of education. The cost is basically the same too for me.
Olin
Olin’s community and prospects for like grad studies/work seem awesome especially since I know I want to get a masters. But it’s such a small school (70 per class) and not too well known. It’s like an hr from home which is a huge plus for me since I did kind of want to stay close to home. But I’m also kinda reluctant on the school in general cuz the diversity seems limited in terms of like clubs, opportunities, and just being able to explore and grow.
CMU
I’m super excited about legit everything at this school (education, research, social, location, like u name it), but it’s pretty far from home (10 hrs) which I’m not sure I’m ready to do. Also, the academics seem insanely hard, which is fine by itself, but I’ve heard rumors about people being super competitive with one another and constantly fighting for opportunities, which is a pretty big con.
I know I would probably do well at either school, but I’m so conflicted.
In a different forum, I took a strong view that someone should select Olin>UIUC.
This is a different situation. Olin is great, but CMU is truly one of the best. 10 hours by flight?
My son is pondering a similar, but not identical, question. Here’s my 2 cents: how do you feel about group projects? Olin is almost exclusively focused on that model - few or no tests, everything done in collaboration. Does that sound like your style?
I think driving if they’re an hour from Olin.
I would make this decision solely based on socialization.
Will you be happy at Olin with so few students? If you are active in your current school, and want to be part of the play, and a team, and a late night prank, and the costume party…get to know the professors (and their kids, and their dogs names)…Olin could be amazing.
If you want to go it alone in a smaller circle of friends…be less noticed…have to fight for attention of a professor…and have hundreds of options for things you’ll never do or have any interest in…CMU is a great school.
We loved Olin for our 2014 grad, but decided against even applying for a bunch of reasons. It’s an amazing opportunity.
Last thought…you can go to CMU for grad school. You can’t do that at Olin. Good luck…there is no wrong answer…