<p>Hey so here's what's up:</p>
<p>I'm a rising sophomore transfer student who is currently thinking of pursuing environmental engineering. I have a passion for the environment and a knack for numbers, physics, and the like. I applied to transfer, got my acceptances, and narrowed my list down to either Carnegie Mellon's Institute of Technology: Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering OR Cornell's Department of Biological and Environmental Engineering.</p>
<p>I just visited CMU and really liked the campus and the location - Pittsburgh, in my opinion, is a nicer place to live in than Ithaca. BUT, I also found out that CMU doesn't actually offer a degree in Environmental Engineering - the closest thing is a degree in Civil Engineering with a minor in Environmental Engineering. </p>
<p>As a side note, I want to have a couple of years working in between undergrad and grad school so as to help pay loans and save money. </p>
<p>So I think that what it boils down to is this:</p>
<p>-CMU is a wonderful place to live for climate, location, and general feel but it doesn't exactly have the degree that I believe will fit me most</p>
<p>-Cornell has exactly what I want in a major but is located in Ithaca where the climate is bearable but not great and the city is practically non-existent. </p>
<p>Now I ask you, CC community and friends: Where should I go in my situation?</p>
<p>Also ask on the Engineering major subforum, they may have some comments the different majors. Also, you could ask on the College Search & Selection or the individual school forums as your question is more about the colleges themselves than transferring. Looks like excellent choices either way, congrats & good luck!</p>
<p>While it is true that environmental engineering at CMU is in the department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, from what I hear from people in that dept (I’m a MechE), you can really choose your electives and such that your degree will lean towards Environmental rather than Civil. Additionally, at many/most schools, Civil/Environmental engineering are very, very similar, even if they are separate departments. </p>
<p>I admit I don’t know a lot about Cornell’s program, though since you say it is the dept of biological/environmental engineering, this may be one case where environmental is not as closely related to civil.</p>
<p>However, if you really like the CMU atmosphere a lot better, I would say come here! I think you’ll be able to tailor your coursework in such a way that the fact that you can’t actually do solely EnvE won’t be a huge deal. Unless you’re really, really set on something very specific (that can only be had at Cornell and not CMU), I would say CMU.</p>
<p>I say ^ this because it really sounds like you like CMU better, except for the issue with your major. CMU has great career placement. It’s also smaller than Cornell, but big enough that there is a wide variety of course selection, research going on, etc.</p>
<p>Good luck deciding!</p>