<p>"Just by personal preference standards alone, consider the differences in climate, size, curricula, state v. private, geographical region, cost and available merit aid, social atmosphere, rural v. suburban v. city, etc"</p>
<p>totally agree. </p>
<p>Also, the main 'theme' of my posts is the point out that Cornell or Stanford might be a better choice over HM if a student isn't 100% positive about engineering. At least at these other school, there's big enough departments to fall back on if engineering doesnt work out. The same with the other points that Mudder's Mudder pointed out. But, if HM is the exact type of college a student is looking for, i'd say totally go with that over any other place.</p>