<p>Cornell has the best engineering programs in the ivy league.</p>
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On the other hand, if you want to carry out undergraduate research, then you need a school with few or no engineering graduate students. That usually means a liberal arts college with an engineering program and not a Division I sports program.
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Really? Then how do explain the fact that at the University of Washington:
- Every year, 7000 undergraduates participate in research (that is 25% of the student body);
- One hundred percent of Materials Science & Engineering majors are involved in undergraduate research;
- More than 160 undergraduates currently participate in research with the Department of Physics (UW</a> By The Numbers — University of Washington)</p>
<p>Or at the University of Michigan, there are around 1,000 research projects reserved for freshman and sophmore students through the UROP program. All you have to do is sign up ... oh yeah, you have to be either a freshman or a sophomore.</p>
<p>And there are many public or private research universities with similar programs.</p>
<p>just to clarify, I'm not looking at any top 25 schools obviously, here are my stats:</p>
<p>GPA: 3.33 (B+ average), though I got a 3.75 first quarter
ACT: 34
SAT: 2010
EC's: 400 community service hours, a few clubs here and there
My HS is also ranked as the best open enrollment high school in Massachusetts by Newsweek and US News</p>
<p>pierre0913. A 34 on you ACT is very strong. However, with a 3.33 gpa I can't understand why your parents think you'll get into a top school?</p>
<p>it's not necessarily a top school, it's just a better school than the one's I'm appying to right now. They're suggesting schools such as RPI, Case Western, Lehigh etc...</p>
<p>RPI/Case/Lehigh are no better than UDub/Michigan/VTech/Purdue/A&M in engineering. I would, however, swap Northeastern with RPI.</p>
<p>With those stats try Southern Cal. Rah Rah spirit; excellent DI sports and not as tough to get into as some of the others. However, there is nothing wrong with Your choice, Purdue, especially if you are instate, which I assume you are.</p>
<p>I do not live in Indiana, I'm a Massachusetts resident</p>
<p>just an update, I've been accepted at Pitt, Northeastern and UMass. Northeastern is giving me a $56,000 scholarship over 4 years</p>
<p>pierre0913, for you Pitt and UMass are the same. UMass is an instate school and will save you lot of money. It is also closer to your home so that you can travel in the weekends if you feel like a home cooked meal!
Wait till you get a reply from Purdue. If you get 'yes', which I think you will, Purdue is your spot to land. You don't wanna look elsewhere at that point.
I was kind of surprised you not applying to CMU.
Just make sure you are happy with your decision. You can not be UNHAPPY and WORKING HARD at the same time. Wrong college decision may make you REGRETFUL at some point down the road. Which may produce CONFUSION. Which may cause you to take WRONG DECISION .. .. .... .. .. as you can see, being HAPPY is important.
Good luck!</p>
<p>
[quote]
Really? So, he will get a "good job" coming out of Bumblefrack University? Will he have the same employment opportunities coming out of Bumblefrack as he would have coming out of university H, or Y, or P, or S, or M?
[/quote]
</p>
<p>So everybody - not just the top 0.1% of graduating high school seniors - should strive for these schools you mention or else they should feel like crap because they're doomed to dead end jobs? Take your elitism elsewhere; Some people choose other schools because they're confident enough in their role in life that they don't need to be carried by a big name to the job of their dreams.</p>
<p>What's more, 2 out of the 5 universities you mention don't even have an engineering reputation. Do you even understand how engineering education works? The education is pretty standard across the top 20 if not deeper. Engineering isn't an old boy's club where nepotism or pedigree wins out over credentials, but seriously I don't know of anyone who graduated from Harvard or Yale engineering because it just isn't worth it.</p>
<p>
[quote]
As for schools on par with the ivies-Notre Dame, Northwestern, Rice, Duke, Stanford</p>
<p>a little less competetive- USC, Tulane, Wake Forest, Boston College
[/quote]
</p>
<p>Eh, I wouldn't say BC is of the same competitiveness as WF. WF has an acceptance of rate of 42% -- BC is like 27%. I remember seeing 18% at one point (last year?)</p>
<p>gthopeful: His fallacy is in assuming that college choices is all about jobs, as opposed to other skills (e.g. intellectual ones) that will prove well in life, and yes, careers -- even if the employer may not recognise those skills were provided by X school. The economic benefits of a good choice of school go beyond employer recognition, or even networking. The intellectual benefits (you know, things that would affect quality/appreciation of life) are even more.</p>
<p>Neither BC nor Wake offers engineering majors, so it is a moot point for the OP.</p>
<p>My dad hated that I even applied to UC Riverside. However, I really love the school. They have undergraduate research, hands on learning, financial aid, supportive staff, and a great atmosphere. I managed to change his mind about the school by how excited I got. I did a lot of research. UCR has the #1 wireless campus network in the United States, beating out MIT, CalTech, and Harvey Mudd. UCR has one of the top 100 engineering colleges in the United States. UCR even has more undergraduate research opportunities than Berkley! My dad decided for me to spend the night to learn more about the school.</p>
<p>My point is that each school has specific strengths and weaknesses. Rankings will not account for that. If the school's strengths are in your major, that's even better than going to an Ivy school with a mediocore reputation of the same major.</p>
<p>Yes, Michigan does have an excellent honors program, but it is not part of the engineering school. </p>
<p>Back a few years when our son was applying to colleges, USNWR ranked UMich engineering 4th in the nation--just an example. Does that sort of "ranking" carry any weight with your parents?</p>
<p>I'm curious why your parents would agree to GA Tech (nothing against that school) but disagree with you about the other schools. </p>
<p>I also suggest that you investigate the 4-year graduation rate and the average length of time for graduating for engineering students at the schools you are considering. This was an eye opener for us.</p>
<p>i've had many fights with my parents about me going to another state from them but in the end they gave in.... constantly say that u want to go to study abroad (for me any time they asked me a question I would say 'can i go to boston' but don't do that with ur parents they might get annoyed :P) tell them why u want to go these schools and then compare it to the schools in ur area.... if this doesnt work then try what i did, im sure they'll give in</p>
<p>
[quote]
I'm curious why your parents would agree to GA Tech (nothing against that school) but disagree with you about the other schools.
[/quote]
</p>
<p>GT is the #4 or 5 engineering school in the nation according to USNews. Didn't his parents say they treat those rankings like the gospel?</p>
<p>It's tough because it's YOUR experience but their money. Try and arrange a meeting with your parents and college/guidance counselor. In this day and age, we should not be focusing on what some magazine deems as worthy versus unworthy schools.</p>
<p>"Pierre: If you have the GPA and test scores to compete for admissions in the top schools, then, among the Ivies, the best engineering programs would be at UPenn and Columbia."</p>
<p>I'm sorry, neither of those universities have good engineering programs. Among the Ivies, it would be Cornell. Outside the Ivies, it would be MIT and UC Berkeley.</p>