<p>A few basic facts: I'm Asian, I've lived on the West Coast all my life (never been to East Coast). I plan to major in engineering (either ChemE or EE) but I'm not entirely sure (75% sure). I'm currently deciding between Princeton and Stanford; I wanted to go to Princeton, however, it seems like most people say Stanford is much stronger in engineering? My question is, is it really that important for undergrad? They are both really great schools - Stanford's reputation for its graduate school and research, Princeton for its focus on undergrads. </p>
<p>I was thinking of choosing Princeton, then (if I get in) Stanford for grad? Would this be an appropriate choice for someone wishing to study engineering? Would going to Princeton for undergrad decrease my job opportunities in the Silicon Valley in anyway? People have said that most engineers at Princeton go on to jobs at Wall Street. But wouldn't I still be able to apply to grad school on the West Coast, and then have an easier time of finding a job there?</p>
<p>Assuming you are admitted into both universities, I recommend touring the campuses and go for the school you like better. In Engineering, particularly EE, Stanford is indeed better than Princeton, but for undergraduate purposes, the difference is negligible. I would definitely recommend you go with fit.</p>
<p>Princeton has grade deflation, you probably need 3.8 GPA to get in Stanford’s graduate schools. Stanford has co-term program, so you can apply for MS before senior year and finish BS and MS in five years.</p>
<p>I honestly don’t believe you can go wrong here - especially if you want to go to grad school, which negates some of the concerns about Princeton’s engineering. I would say choose the school that fits you best. You will thrive there. Stanford and Princeton - in my eyes, or perhaps just consider the factors I deemed most important for me - are very different schools. I think a visit is in order.</p>
<p>why would an aspiring engineer be thinking about graduate school?</p>
<p>Engineering is a terminal degree for most engineers. An MS doesn’t change your earnings potential much, if any.</p>
<p>Stanford is at the epicenter of the engineering capital of the world, Silicon Valley. Your career prospects can begin earlier from Stanford as you can get your feet wet in internships and summer employment.</p>
<p>However, having said all that, choosing Princeton would still be a good decision…</p>
<p>with a likely to Stanford, you might as well wait until you hear from MIT. But, if med school is in the future plans, grade inflation on the Farm wins easily. The other thing to think long and hard about is the $$ aspect and fit. Both schools have wealthy student bodies, but one likely has a lot more old money.</p>
<p>Someone correct me if I’m wrong, but are PhD programs much less numbers oriented as law and med school? I know that the GRE is required for graduate programs, but it is not taken into account anywhere near as heavily as the MCAT, LSAT, or even the way the SAT is in college admissions. Since PhD admissions take place within individual departments within a school (on a much smaller scale than law or med), admissions decisions are probably made on a much more personal level (ie, more of faculty reading your app and deeming you admissible instead of a formulaic approach). If my assessment is true, then Princeton’s well known grade deflation would not hurt as much as perceived for graduate PhD and MS programs.</p>
Which one Stanford would pick? 3.8 from Michigan or 3.2 from Princeton? The answer may be clear if you check Stanford’s website to find where the graduate students came from.</p>
<p>Getting a 3.2 at Princeton is much easier than getting a 3.8 at Michigan. The average GPA at the Michigan CoE is 2.8 or 2.9, with only a third getting over a 3.2 and fewer than 10% getting GPAs 3.7 or higher.</p>
<p>Well, to make this more relevant to the OP’s decision, for what you’re trying to say we’d have to assume that the same person who gets a 3.2 at Princeton would get a 3.8 from Michigan. In med and law school admissions, with all other factors between the two students equal, the Michigan student would win out. However, I don’t think Stanford’s website lists enough information about its engineering graduate students such as undergraduate gpa to have a clear answer.</p>
I meant where did those people get the B.S. degrees. I remembered I checked MSE’s info, and most of came from Stanford’s undergrad and foreign schools, none of them from Princeton.</p>
<p>If you think that you will be an average student at Princeton, i.e. with GPA of 3.2-3.3, then your chance to get into Stanford’s grad school is less likely than you are at Stanford as a undergraduate.</p>
<p>That’s not really reliable evidence to conclude that someone has a much better chance at Stanford grad if they went to Stanford vs Princeton. First of all, factors such as convenience of location matter more for graduate school applicants because many may already be “settled” and thus more reluctant towards something drastic like a move across the country. What you see in the small sample size of MSE students are the ones who decided to matriculate. Maybe they did accept some kids from Princeton who ended up not going, perhaps finding somewhere like Harvard or MIT a more attractive option simply because of a closer location.</p>