<p>Hey! Whilst I have long been the biggest dissenter to this sort of threads, for the mere reason that fit is subjective, I am currently in a significant quagmire! I recently learned that I was admitted into Harvard College, Stanford University, The Management and Technology Program within the University of Pennsylvania and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. I have no idea what choice to make from these.
I would appreciate any insight into the relative merits, and demerits of these undergraduate programs. Ideally I would like to double major in Engineering and Business/Management Science. With this in mind, the M&T program obviously takes the lead. However, I want more of an intellectual undergraduate program as opposed to one which is overtly preprofessional. With my STEM bent, MIT is also a big contender for the simple fact that it is the best engineering school in the world (I would double major in course 10 and 15 if I matriculate) as is Stanford University( Chemical Engineering with Submatriculation into the Management Science Program). However, I also love intellectual breadth and as such Harvard represents an ideal location.
Please offer any advice you can. I anticipate a lot of Visit both and determine your fit which is valid. I intend to do that. So other than that, what other advice can you render?
Thank you so much for reading this and for taking your time to help. Much appreciated.</p>
<p>PS, Im posting this on all the schools forums as well.</p>
<p>Be aware that, as an MIT student, you can cross-register at Harvard. Boston/Cambridge is the best college city of the three, by far, IMO. If the weather is not a top criterion for you, go to MIT. You won’t be disappointed anywhere you go.</p>
<p>I think the answer to any question containing Harvard as an option is, “Go to Harvard.”</p>
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That’s definitely not M&T.</p>
<p>I don’t understand how you can want both an engineering/business degree AND an intellectual undergraduate program (or I can understand how you <em>want</em> one but you can’t expect to find it). One is extremely pre-professional, regardless of where you go, and one is not pre-professional. You have to choose which you want, because you will be disappointed if you go into engineering/business <em>anywhere</em> and expect overt ‘intellectualism.’ There is only so much room for liberal artsy classes.</p>
<p>That being said, everyone I know in M&T is ridiculously well adjusted–super involved in whatever they do (and always super involved…I don’t think I know any M&T students who only study, which can’t be said about people in just one degree), generally very social, AND generally able to beat the curve in classes, despite their course overload (if you want to graduate from M&T in four years, you have to take six classes most semesters or summer classes, though I know people who have taken more).</p>
<p>You do know Penn’s chemical engineering program is actually “Chemical and biomolecular engineering,” right? Look at the course offerings and make sure what you would end up studying is what you actually want to study.</p>
<p>Otherwise, consider the location/weather, the social scene, and the city each school is in. Stanford, Harvard, and Penn are all very different places, so be sure to think about that too. One more thing to consider is where you’re from…are you closer to California or the East coast? How far you are from home also tends to affect people’s experiences in various ways.</p>
<p>And a last note…don’t go to Harvard just because it’s Harvard. If you look at the whole picture and decide Harvard’s the best fit for you, fine, but name brand doesn’t matter anymore when you’re comparing Stanford and M&T.</p>