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Where to go, US/UK, Cambridge, Imperial, MIT, Stanford or Harvard...?

Hi all,

I would like to study engineering at University and had my mind set on Imperial for which i got an offer, however i have been fortunate to get offers from almost all my choices and am now not sure where to go, what made it worst is this morning i found out MIT had accepted me, which i was over the moon about.

Here are my choices:

UK:
Cambridge A*AA
Imperial (Mech Eng)A*AA
Bath (Rejected???)
Southampton ABB

US:
MIT (Accepted.. woooo!!)
Harvard college (accepted..)
Stanford(waiting)

Originally i only had cambridge/imperial on my mind and ive been split as to which one to go to. FIrstly i should point out i want to go to university for an education in Mech Eng/Aero Eng, and this is solely what i want to base my decision on. Based on this i have decided that if i was to stay in the UK i will be going to Imperial over cambridge unless someone can show me any reason not to.

Now i have been admitted to MIT, which i would love, but for those not familiar with the US system, i go to MIT and only pick what i want to Major in(get a degree in) in the second year, and the 4 year course is only for a Bachelors Degree as opposed to the masters at imperial or cambridge. I don't know if it is worth going there as the entire first year would be a repeat of our year 13 to some extent. Additionally my main problem is i have only been given a financial aid package of $30000 which means i will still need to be paying $24000 a year, however this includes accommodation food and tuition.

As for Harvard college i have been given a financial aid package worth about $50000, meaning i wont be paying anything at all for tuition and accommodation, however it is a liberal arts college, meaning they try to give you an all rounded education, but honestly just seems abit fluffy to me and i don't think ill be going there.

Any thoughts, preferences on what you may have done in my situation, where you would have liked to go, bearing in mind i will be doing Mechanical Engineering?

Thanks, i have realised i am one lucky guy to have been admitted to these!!!!!

James B

Reply 1

TheSownRose

16

Unless you have that sort of money to spare, stay in the UK - MIT isn't worth that much.

Reply 2

Toni42

2

God you applied to some cr*p universities! :O

But in seriousness if I were you I would go to Cambridge or Imperial mainly because you get a masters. I think I would learn more to Imperial as more cutting edge for engineering (admittedly I know very little about it)

Reply 3

hellohihello

OP

5

Original post by TheSownRose

Unless you have that sort of money to spare, stay in the UK - MIT isn't worth that much.

I dont have money like that avaliable at all, but i have appealed to MIT on their financial aid package and i guess ill see what happens, even so if i do get higher financial aid im still completely unsure if i should be going there.

Reply 4

The Patriot

14

If you can afford it.. HARVARD. Best UNI in the world with an incredible reputation. Would advance your opportunities exponentially.

Cambridge would be an incredible opportunity too.

Reply 5

therealOG

2

Go to Harvard. Because I saw The Social Network and it looks pretty schweet. And there seems to be some decent tree cover round some of its buildings according to its Wikipedia page. That's a Win Win in my books.

Reply 6

Ultimate_Geek

15

I'd probably opt for Cambridge or Imperial....or maybe Harvard.

That wasn't particularly useful.

Reply 7

The medjai

You won't be paying anything for Harvard, and it's rated the best in the world.

Reply 8

brownbear88

1

hello, I am a uk student but studied at UC Berkeley and dormed with an engineering student so I got to learn something about the US system and about engineering. I would strongly recommend you go for MIT, in my view it is THE best in the world, better than harvard. You will stand out in the international job market.

Reply 9

tehforum

20

Dude.

Free education at Harvard!

Reply 10

hellohihello

OP

5

Original post by S129439

If you can afford it.. HARVARD. Best UNI in the world with an incredible reputation. Would advance your opportunities exponentially.

Cambridge would be an incredible opportunity too.

Hi, i have been given a full financial aid package(meaning i never pay any fees for accommodation or tuition for all 4 years) at harvard, however in all honesty reputation does not concern me in the slightest. I know it sounds crazy and that i know it will make a difference in terms of employment, however i really am not concerned with this in any way, i want to enjoy life the way i feel best and to me, and for me that is going to the place where i would get the best education i can get in what i enjoy. Thanks for your help,

James B

Harvard.

See, I would go with one of the US ones, purely because you will probably have an even more amazing experience, because you get to experience living in another country. That's just my opinion though, only you know where you would be happier. They are all great unis though so base your choice on where you will be happier more than anything else :smile:

Reply 13

Killer Bean

13

I have nothing to contribute to this threat apart from saying that I initially thought this was a troll upon reading the title. Well done on those offers!

Reply 14

Shmeiks

2

Personally, I could never by-pass an opportunity to go to the best university in the world.

Reply 15

The Patriot

14

Original post by hellohihello

Hi, i have been given a full financial aid package(meaning i never pay any fees for accommodation or tuition for all 4 years) at harvard, however in all honesty reputation does not concern me in the slightest. I know it sounds crazy and that i know it will make a difference in terms of employment, however i really am not concerned with this in any way, i want to enjoy life the way i feel best and to me, and for me that is going to the place where i would get the best education i can get in what i enjoy. Thanks for your help,

James B

Well if you're considering lifestyle then I would have to say...

HARVARD.

It's an amazingly beautiful place. So many opportunities. Different social groups, sports groups to join, debating and political societies and amazing student support. Also IMO the american lifestyle is incredible. Great place to live with the standards of living high and cost of living low. Also you are in New England which is a beautiful area and you are on the doorstep of Boston and only 3 1/2 hours from New York City.

Great location.
Great Education
Great facilities
Great opportunities (which can't be a complete non-factor)

Reply 16

maghreblover

1

Harvard is practically the most renowned uni in the world, yes.

For engineering though, MIT is, in my opinion, THE BEST uni in the world. If you want to work in engineering after your degree, I can guarantee that the people who matter will rank MIT up there above Harvard. The QS world ranking also places MIT as first for engineering, with Harvard at number 22 (NB. Cambridge is fourth or so). My dad went to MIT back in the day, he is nearly 70 now and still can't stop telling us about how awesome it was back then. I'm sure a lot of things might've changed since then, but it is still ranked the best for engineering.

Good luck whatever you decide, but MIT is the best you can do for engineering.

Reply 17

TimmonaPortella

21

Cambridge>Harvard>Imperial>MIT>Stanford> Southampton.

edit: stop hatin'. Y'all know it's true.

(edited 13 years ago)

Reply 18

hellohihello

OP

5

Thanks for all your replies, Im not doubting for one moment that i wouldnt love going to harvard/MIT, its just camperial is much more focused on the actual engineering discipline as opposed to harvard and MIT. At Harvard i will never really have the ability to follow a directly engineering path, and to be honest i couldn't stand the thought of ever having to write an essay on American history or something about a book which i would be doing throughout my time at Harvard. As i said it is a liberal arts college. ON the other hand its a free education at the best Uni in the world, and as you have said it would open up a world of opportunities.

One thing that i am worried about though is moving so far away, i have only ever been out of Europe once, and it really seems a daunting but the most exciting prospect ever to be able to move to Boston.

UHHH, this decision is making my head hurt...... :s-smilie:

( i just realised i wrote camperial- cabridge and imperial)

I should also say i live in watford and imperial is close to home so to me that is a major advantage to me. Thanks Again