<p>As the title says:
this is what i think:
1. Cornell
2. Carnegie Mellon
3. Rice
4. Tufts
5. Georgia Tech
6. U Mich - Ann Arbor
7. Purdue</p>
<p>you views on which ones are better, and why?</p>
<h1>1 Cornell and Michigan. Other than MIT, Stanford, Cal and CalTech, those two schools are probably the best undergraduate Engineering programs in the nation.</h1>
<h1>3 Carnegie Mellon. Carnegie Mellon is also excellent, but it is limited primarily to Electrical and Computer Engineering. Mechanical and Materials are also good, but not great.</h1>
<h1>4 Georgia Tech and Purdue. Very strong Engineering programs, but limited resources and reputations.</h1>
<h1>6 Rice. Excellent student body, but limited Engineering program.</h1>
<p>big drop</p>
<h1>7 Tufts</h1>
<p>what about penn state?</p>
<p>penn state? donno didnt apply there...</p>
<p>so far i have got acceptance letters from UMich, Purdue and Georgia Tech.</p>
<p>Waiting for decisions from the other colleges, which i am expecting by April 1st / March31st.</p>
<p>you might be able to judge better if you knew my stats:
SAT 1 : 600V, 800M, 1400 combined
SAT 2: 610 writing, 710 Physics, 750 Math IIC</p>
<p>international student, TOEFL 280
good ec's and lots of leadership and comm service.
excellent teacher recs.
good essays.</p>
<p>1) Cornell
2) Carnegie Mellon
3) U Mich
4) Georgia Tech
5) Purdue
6) Rice
7) Tufts</p>
<p>Chirag, of the three schools you got into so far, Michigan is probably the best one. Unless it costs a lot less to attend either of the other two, definitely go to Michigan. Of the remaining schools, only Cornell and CMU are in the same league as Michigan in Engineering. If you get into the other two...you will have a tough decision to make, but I would recommend Cornell and Michigan over the others.</p>
<p>Chirag,
I think it is very important that you know all biases of those making recommendations. Alexandre, from what I have gathered, is a Michigan graduate and has no engineering degree. As a result I think his/her suggestions are questionable.</p>
<p>I would say other than Tufts and Rice, all other options are similar in terms of quality and rigor.</p>
<p>Machman, I agree that very little separates 5 of the 7 schools. CMU, Cornell, Georgia Tech, Michigan and Purdue are all ranked between #5 and #10. And even Rice is not far below. So obviously, if one were looking purely at Engineering, I would not be able to separate and differentiate. But we were asked to rank them by the OP, so telling him that all the schools are equal would not have helped the OP out. So I added other factors that make up the undergraduate experience. I was recommending the schools based on the following criteria:</p>
<h1>1 Strength of the respective Engineering department:</h1>
<p>CMU, Cornell, Georgia Tech, Michigan and Purdue are all pretty equal. Rice is slightly weaker. Tufts is significantly weaker.</p>
<h1>2 Overall reputation of the university:</h1>
<p>Cornell and Michigan are generally considered to be the best overall universities of the group above. They are followed by CM and Rice. And then, Georgia Tech, Purdue and Tufts.</p>
<h1>3 Quality of life:</h1>
<p>Here, I would say Cornell, Michigan, Rice and Tufts are probably the best. Purdue isn't bad either. Georgia Tech is considered to be a little harsh. </p>
<p>Overall, I would recommend Cornell and Michigan over the others...if only slightly. </p>
<p>By the way, I often recommend schools over Michigan. I love Michigan, but I respect people's needs and I am very capable of separating myself from the issue and giving impartial and objective feedback...I hope!</p>
<p>Machman, i understand your point very well... it is definately the first time i have heard Michigan being ranked in the same league as Cornell!</p>
<p>I would goto Cornell or Rice, simply because they are better schools.</p>
<p>thanks everyone! ill keep you posted on which schools i hear from... only about 9 more days of waiting!</p>