Where would I be happiest? MIT substitutes...

Colleges & Universities A-Z Massachusetts Institute of Technology
21

<p>Yeah, so would I. Cornell seems the way to go. </p>

<p>When I went to visit Harvard 2 years ago (right after being treated very kindly by MIT aka Heaven on Earth) and asked about their engineering program, they handed my a thin flyer. I asked where the E. Quad was and if they were giving tours. They didn’t know either. I walked out xp.</p>

<p>My interest lies in Mechatronics, which is a combo of Mech E, Computer E and Sci, Systems design, Electrical E, etc. </p>

<p>At MIT I would have taken Course 2A (Mech E with only core classes and engineering based electives)</p>

<p>Cornell has a similar program, though it eliminates the core Mech E classes (of course you need your CORE CORE classes like English Math and Sciences etc) and gives you total freedom on your curriculum</p>

<p>BUT</p>

<p>You must have the program approved by the Dept of E. and it must come together to something that makes sense. So you can’t do biomed Engineering courses, game design, mechanical E and aeronautical engineering. it must make sense.</p>

<p>Thanks everyone =]</p>

22

<p>Hey, don’t give up yet! I definitely feel bad for you. </p>

<p>But I know a guy who got rejected 4 times from MIT: deferred EA, waitlisted , then rejected, then he applied as a transfer, was deferred and now he is a sophomore studying physics here.</p>

23

<p>One thing about Carnegie Mellon (CM): their students have a big inferiority complex about MIT. I heard this from two different sources: a CM alum and an MIT student who did a summer internship with a bunch of CM alums where they proceeded to treat him like dirt the whole time. Personally, I would find it irritating to go to a school where such an attitude was prevalent.</p>

24

<p>Well to go to CM and hav that attitude against MIT is alright I guess, since you attend CM, not MIT. And I’m willing to guess some CM students were rejected by MIT. Should inspire some bitterness :p</p>

<p>At the Cornell hosting weekend last fall, I found out that their entry in a car competition (either the unmanned vehicle DARPA race or the 100mpg competition) got second to MIT’s entry. A few shrugged it off and said “pssh” with a friendly laugh but there seemed no serious animosity. Second place is pretty good IMO =D.</p>

<p>Overall that seemed the attitude at Cornell. Very positive, work very hard, be happy that you are among the very best, accept that you may not be the absolute best, shrug it off, and be happy. ^_^</p>

<p>And in 2007, I think entries in the DARPA car challenge of MIT and Cornell crashed into eachother (full-size vehicles). metaphoric robo-clashing? lulz =]</p>

25

<p>I’m sorry to hear that you got deferred and then waitlisted. If it’s any consolation at all (which it’s probably not) it means that they legitimately didn’t want to reject you.</p>

26

<p>Ahh it’s such a pain! I’m not getting a cylynder or going to CPW! :c</p>

<p>BUT</p>

<p>There’s still a chance =]</p>

<p>I’m very happy I wasn’t straight-up rejected.
Dude, here r my stats (from the RD thread):</p>

<p>Waitlisted… ughh (Deferred EA)</p>

<p>Stats:
SAT: 2100 M:690 R:700 W:710
SAT II: Math 2: 740, Chem: 670
ACT:
GPA: 4.57 weighted
Rank:no ranking
Other Tests (AMC, AP, IB): None. My Highschool doesnt offer APs til senior year. Im taking AP English Lit, AP Studio Art, AP Calculus BC, and AP Computer Science</p>

<p>Subjective</p>

<p>Essays:Pretty good. Wrote about teaching swim lessons and my love for teaching, wrote about being in a band and teaching myself how to record music, bout my immigrant mother, bout course 2A, and about teaching myself how to program video games
Recs: 1 Ehh one, 2 epic ones: English teacher saying I am allowed to ask her daughter on a date, and That I am well rounded, using both my left and my right brain with ease. And AP Computer teacher saying I can program better than he can xp
Supplementary Material: Music cd with some technical hardcore metal songs I wrote and recorded n mixed (no vox), and 10 artwork printouts from my AP Studio Art portfolio
Summer Activities: Wrote, recorded, and played shows with band. Worked a lot. Vacation. Reading, etc.
Hook(recruited athlete, legacy, Nobel Prize): Well-rounded</p>

<p>Personal</p>

<p>Location:North New Jersey
High School Type: Catholic
Ethnicity:Cuban
Gender:Male</p>

<p>Other</p>

<p>Extracurriculars: Founder and President of Game Maker Club, President of Computer-Based Music Recording Club, President of my HS’s chapter of the Amercian Computer Science League, Guitarist for Jazz ensemble, Varsity Swimming 4 years, Robotics Club, National Honors Society, Spanish Honors Society, Art Honors Society, Def more but I forgot…
Awards:Blessed Edmund Rice Scholarship to my HS, Middlebury College Book award, National Merit Commended Scholar. National Hispanic Recognition Scholar. Edward J. Bloustein Distinguished Scholar(Jersey Thing)
Why you think you were accepted/deferred/rejected: 75 in Calc for first quarter. I brought it up to a 83 and got a 95 on the midterm, but yea. Not enough APs, people applied taking a LOT of AP tests and getting 5s on all of them. Mediocre SAT Scores.
Advice? Commiserations? Feel like bragging?: ughhhh.</p>

27

<p>As a graduate of RPI and Cornell I wouldn’t hesitate to recommend either one. Both offer an outstanding engineering education but in significantly different environments. RPI is similar to MIT in the degree that it is focused on engineering and technology but has a more internally focused student life because it is located in Troy (not as bad as people think but it’s hardly Cambridge). At Cornell, by contrast, there is a significant nucleus of math and science embedded in the broader context of a full-service national university - right down to the Ivy League’s only school of agriculture (now known as Agriculture and Life Sciences). It’s a matter of preference. As for social life, Ithaca is a great college town. In fact, if it was an hour from New York or Boston rather than Syracuse and Binghamton I might have never left.</p>

28

<p>I’ve visited COrnell twice and know firsthand what a great town Ithaca is =]</p>

<p>Of course, my friends think of both Troy and Ithaca as “the little depressing town with engineering students in the middle of the woods” haha, but it’s really not true! </p>

<p>Ithaca is indeed gorges. </p>

<p>AND thanks to the wide variety of students/locals there (Your standard Ivy students, the Engineers, the ppl from Ithaca college, the local hippies) It seems like a place that’s hard to get bored in. </p>

<p>Can’t say all that for troy, as I haven’t visited yet!</p>

<p>But Ithaca is no Cambridge (heaven), no NYC (half hour from my Jersey abode (I live minutes from Giants Stadium)), no Atlanta (awesome city =]), no Philadelphia (Never been, anyone care to tell me? Only plus is it’s right by NJ). I think living minutes from any 4 malls has me leaning towards a city life, BUT A chance of pace (and lack of taking my car with me) may be welcoming.</p>

<p>BTW thanks for the incredible advice, everyone!</p>

29

<p>Well, if you want urban then GT would be a good choice. I’ve heard some people complain about its neighborhood on the north side of downtown Atlanta but it didn’t seem bad at all the two times I’ve been there. It is only a short MARTA ride from the city center or the Buckhead nightlife district. </p>

<p>Penn is in a rougher area of Philly, but it would definitely be classified as urban and the campus is fine.</p>