Swarthmore vs. Cornell?

Colleges and Universities A-Z Swarthmore College
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<p>I plan on majoring in Engineering. If I attend Swarthmore, I'll likely double-major in both psychology (or philosophy, depending on how I like each) and engineering (if the senior design project isn't too overwhelming, I may also be in the Honors Program, as well), while if I attend Cornell, I will participate in the co-op program of work and study.</p>

<p>I've fallen in love with Swarthmore, but I'm concerned about the sheer difference in the engineering programs. I understand that Swat is more focused on breadth (hence my plan to double-major), but will this put me at a disadvantage for grad school, comparatively? Which school is more likely to get me into a top engineering graduate program, assuming I follow these respective paths (with all else equal)?</p>

<p>I've basically decided, but I just need to make sure that a better undergraduate experience (for me, personally) doesn't jeopardize the rest of my life. Thanks in advance. :)</p>

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<p>I don’t know about engineering specifically, but I can’t imagine that going to Swarthmore could possibly be an impediment wrt grad schools…</p>

<p>That said, everything is never equal. These are two very different schools. If you are “in love” with Swarthmore, I very much doubt that you will be very happy at Cornell…
(and I imagine the other way around would also be true)</p>

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<p>Maybe I dramatized it too much haha! I just meant in comparison to Cornell, and for engineering, specifically. No offense or anything was meant; remember, Swat is my personal choice as of now. :D</p>

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<p>Thanks to the google search function in CC, I was able to quickly resurrect a posting by Interesteddad from last year (2010) that should set your concerns to rest.</p>

<p>He wrote:
Here are the immediate plans of Swarthmore engineering majors from the last five year (who indicated their plans on the senior week exit survey):</p>

<p>Employment</p>

<p>• Marine Structural Engineer, Urban Engineers, Philadelphia, PA
• Project Analyst, Cannondale Associates, Wilton, CT
• Highway Engineer, Missouri Department of Transportation, Macon
• Mechanical Engineer, Dewberry, New York City, NY
• Entry level engineer
• Associate Consultant, Kaiser Associates, Washington, DC
• Business Analyst, McKinsey and Company, Moscow, Russia
• Engineering Consultant, Prismark Partners LLC, Cold Spring Harbor
• Program Manager, Microsoft, Seattle, WA
• Assistant Manager of Strategic & Technical Service, Aramark, New Haven, CT
• Analyst, NERA Economic Consulting, Washington, DC
• Analyst, Industrial Engineering Management Trainee, UNK
• Junior Engineer, Kling, Philadelphia, PA
• Software Engineer, Amazon Global Resources, Inc., Seattle, WA
• Customer Service Engineer, Mercury Computer Systems, Inc., Chelmsford, MA
• Analyst, Lehman Brothers, New York, NY
• Analyst, Silver Oak Solutions, Philadelphia, PA
• Analyst, Lehman Brothers, Hong Kong, China
• English Teaching Assistant, Nova, Osaka, Japan
• Financial Restructuring Analyst, Houlihan Lokey Howard and Zukin, LA, CA
• Assistant Language Teacher, Japan Exchange and Teaching, Japan
• Peace Corps Volunteer, Peace Corps, Somewhere in sub-Saharan Africa, UNK
• Member of Technical Staff, Level 1, The Charles Stark Draper Laboratory, Cambridge, MA
• Structural Engineer, Medina Consultants, Hackettstown, NJ
• Emergency Response Team member, Americorps St. Louis, St. Louis, MO
• Teacher, Mercan Language Institute, Taiyuan, China</p>

<p>Graduate/Professional School</p>

<p>• Masters, Transportation Engineering, Northwestern University, IL
• M. S., Electrical Engineering, Columbia University, NY
• M.D., Medical School, New York Medical College, NY
• Ph.D., Electrical Engineering (EE), MIT
• M.S., Electrical Engineering, Stanford University
• Ph. D., Electrical Engineering, Columbia University, NY
• Ph.D., Mechanical Engineering, MIT
• Ph.D., Physical Oceanography, University of Washington
• Masters or Ph.D., Active Vibration Control, University of Southampton, England
• M.S., Ocean Engineering, Florida Institute of Technology, FL
• MPH, Epidemiology, Rollins School of Public Health at Emory University, GA
• Ph.D., Computer Science, Johns Hopkins University, MD
• Ph.D., Robotics, Carnegie Mellon University, PA
• Ph.D., Mech. & Aerospace Engineering, Princeton University
• M.D., Medical, Jefferson Medical College
• Ph.D., Electrical & Comp Engineering, University of Wisconsin – Madison
• Masters and Ph. D, Civil Engineering, University of California at Berkeley, CA
• Masters, Nano Engineering, SUNY, NY
• Ph.D.in Electrical Engineering, MIT, MA
• Ph.D., Computer Science, University of Texas at Austin, TX
• M.S./Ph.D., Electrical Engineering, UC Santa Barbara, CA
• M.S./Ph.D., Civil and Environmental Engineering, U.C. Berkeley, CA
• M.S. Civil Engineering, Civil Engineering, University of Hawaii, HI
• Masters in Electrical Engineering, Columbia University
• Masters, Marine Policy, University of Delaware
• M.S. in Structural Engineering, Johns Hopkins University, MD
• M.S./Ph.D., Environmental Engineering, University of California, Berkeley, CA
• Ph.D., Mechanical Engineering, Princeton University, NJ
• Ph.D., Microbiology, MIT, MA</p>

<p>Other</p>

<p>• Fulbright Fellowship in Poland
• Fulbright Scholarship</p>