MIT

You are welcome.

Stanford! No doubt about it.

While we can all sit here and debate how one school compares to another, I believe Stanford provides the most complete package. It sits so close to the silicon valley, has excellent Eng/MBA programs, and most importantly, it has the right culture for budding entrepreneurs.

 

Hey John, you need to slow down and take 1 step at a time.

You are too young and inexperienced with college life to know if a Masters in Engineering and an MBA is right for you. Not to mention a master in engineering and an MBA seems like a waste of time. Do the bachelor thing for 3 years, kick ass, get the MBA. The pay raise from Masters in Engin -> MBA will be the same as Bachelor's in Engin -> MBA.

How do you know you even want an MBA. All I'm saying is that things change a lot in 4 years, just be patient. Personally I would only switch to go to Stanford if you hate the cold weather or were going to do computer science, otherwise MIT is way above.

 

look at University of Michigan. EXCELLENT eng. programs and a top 10 business school (#6 in US last year). You will have to fight the hippies in Ann Arbor but thems the breaks.

Could also consider MIT as it ranks high in the B schools too, Northwestern or Penn may be also good schools to consider.

 

Okay, so you're killing your high school classes and you want to set big goals for yourself. Consider that if you want to go to an elite graduate school, you will first have to literally bust your ass while in undergrad. And the schools you're talking about going to for your BS are no joke. When I was at MIT, I knew tooooooons of brilliant people who were used to being first in their class all the time in high school, and no matter how smart they were, everybody at MIT had a physically and emotionally grueling experience when it came to academics.

So if you want to go to a top tier grad school, you'll have to work your tail off for your four years of undergrad just to have a fighting chance from the academic standpoint. You'll also have to get involved with extra curriculars, possibly do some research, study for your GMAT's, etc.

If you're serious about getting an MBA, you'll also need to put in a couple of years of work experience before you even attempt to apply to a good MBA program.

MIT has an MEng program, which allows you to get a Master's in certain fields of study in just one year if you are at MIT for undergrad and meet the acceptance requirements. This is not offered for Architecture or Mechanical Engineering, however. But, for instance, to get into the Computer Science MEng, you would need a GPA of at least 4.7 (out of 5.0).

Getting a BS in Architecture, then getting a Master's (no matter what subject), and then an MBA doesn't make a whole lot of sense to me. Becoming an architect is almost like becoming a doctor. You should do it in undergrad, you'll have to do it in grad school, and you'll need to be licensed. Getting an MBA somewhere between all that will just ensure that you're not seriously working at what you want to do until your mid 30's.

Now if you want to go the business route, you can have a lot more flexibility in your undergrad studies. You can still go into architecture but you should try to take as many finance and business classes as you can. The only problem is that you'll have to work first before going for the MBA, and it could be difficult landing a serious business related job with an architecture degree.

If you don't mind putting architecture aside, you could try to go to MIT and major in Course 15- Management (we don't have a "business" major). It's basically the cop-out major for students who decide to change majors after finding out that their first one was too difficult. Your life at MIT as a Management major will be less stressful than if you did architecture or engineering, and you will get seriously hooked up when it comes to getting good internships and a job after graduating. It also can't hurt to have it on your resume if you decide to apply to MIT's MBA program.

You're not even out of high school though, so you have plenty of time to figure it all out. Just try to have a goal in mind (architect, CEO) and a flexible plan to reach it efficiently.

 

Hey John,

Congratulations on all of your success thus far! I just wanted to add a few of my opinions regarding your questions. I would agree with a lot of what has been said already. If you could only choose one and only one school to attend for the rest of your life, then yes, I concur, Stanford would be the best choice for your career path. However, this is not the case, and if I were you I would strongly suggest looking at other schools for engineering if you were deadset on obtaining your MBA in the future.

In what i have learned from others it is extremely difficult to enter the top MBA programs, fresh as an undergraduate no less, as some people in those programs already have started or own their own businesses already. Plan on taking a few years from school and working full time before taking up an MBA. On top of that, I believe that Stanford much prefers taking on graduate students and MBA students from schools and programs other than its own undergraduates. Since you have shown an interest in MIT already, an engineering degree from MIT and an MBA from Stanford would no doubt be extremely impressive.

Not to mention, there are other schools that you may/may not have considered, including several of the Big Ten schools (Illinois!!!, Michigan, etc.) who are all quite strong in engineering. I know many people who have graduated from Big Ten schools who have gone on to prestigious graduate programs and now are doing very well financially. I plan on doing the same and attending as many different schools for each degree as I can.

As an aside and a last bit of advice, don't put too much emotional stock in the admissions process. While I do not doubt for a second that you are qualified to attend any school you want, the admissions game is a huge crapshoot. If things don't work out the way you want, I believe everything happens for a reason.

Good luck with your admissions from here on out! Stanford is a great school, knowing what I know now, it would have been my first choice school. The campus is beautiful, the dorms/facilities are really nice and well maintained, the food is extremely good for cafeteria food, and you get the sense that the faculty and administration really cares about each student (at least it feels like they are alot more accomodating than the ones at mine!).

Again, good luck with everything and keep us posted!

-Jon

 

MIT and MIT....

Congrats on a job well done!

 

On a side not, I didn't get into MIT and ended up in Michigan. It was pretty cold there, about all I have to say.

 

Didn't spend a lot of time here in July then eh?

I love Michigan and would not live anywhere where there was not season changes. IMHO there should be snow at Christmas time and 90 degree weather on the 4th of July.

As far as any schooling goes you only get out of it what you put into it. I decided, when I was a Freshman in college that I wasn't getting my money's worth out of the large state school that I had chosen when I was a Senior in highschool so I transfered schools my Sophomore year. I went to a VERY small private college and maximized my potential. If you don't like where you are/were do something about it.

 

I like your order. It's a solid line up. Maybe add in Harvard? If you're shooting for that league you never know what happens and I think another top tier couldn't hurt. They have a good econ program and then you go work at some IB or MC place for 3 years, get an HBS MBA and in a few more years you are CEO of an architectural firm.

There are a million ways to the top, finding the most efficient is up to you, but congrats, you are off to a great start!

 

Is this SAT score one the old scoring system (out of 1600) or the new one (out of 2400)?

Personally I would recommend Wharton, though I am a little biased. Tops for business, and they make it very easy to combine your business education with other areas of business.

Best of luck to you. Some advice from someone who went through the application process only a year ago: don't get discouraged. It took a long and difficult fight for me to get into Wharton, but at the end it all worked out. Applying to the top-tier schools you're interested in will be very difficult and probably require some sacrifices on your part. Never give up - if you want it bad enough, then you can get it.

 

Don't be afraid to tackle the engineering school. Wall street loves to hire smart MIT grads.. If you can tackle the engineering bit, you can handle anything, and companies know that.

My good friend started in engineering, but was forced to switch to business (grades). He had a tougher time getting a job then the guys in his frat who graduated in engineering.

At MIT they say. Harvard might be harder to get into, but MIT is harder to get out of.

Regardless, my friends have all loved their experience at MIT. You meet kids whose parents are "Times Man of the Year," leading cancer researchers, Economists, Dr's, etc.. The apple doesn't fall far from the tree so they end up creating good networking opps.

 

Don't knock out UT's Engineering school either. It's one of the countries tops.

 

As an MIT alum, I'm biased, but Harvard is a bit of a joke. It might be the hardest school to get into, but once you're there, you're set. Grade inflation is out of this world, classes are not nearly as difficult as its reputation would suggest, and it seems like the experience is much more about networking than anything else. Dropping the Harvard name will get more employers to understand that you are well-rounded and able to communicate your intelligence, but those who are more technically inclined and appreciate outstanding work ethic and attention to detail will prefer the MIT and CalTech type grads over Harvard and Yale. There is no question that most every student at the schools you listed is bright, but with some of the ivy leagues you will find more kids that are there because of their socioeconomic status. <cough>George Bush<cough> Tier I employers understand this.

Nonetheless, the Harvard name is still a panty-dropper. If you're trying to land a porn star or be a politician, dropping the MIT name will have more people than you'd think confusing it with ITT.

 

Pff, business majors. I laugh.

 

+1 for engineers!

 

if you want to go to MIT, apply early decision.

 

No, you can apply to all the schools. Only 1 school early decision. If you get in to that early decision school you have to attend.

I second the though of applying early to your top choice. They can say it won't give you an advantage, but that is PC stuff, it most likely does.

 

My friend goes to Yale and says that the people there are a lot more fun then at Harvard (at Harvard it's usually 100% cut throat competition, at Yale theres a bit more relaxation). Just another college you might want to try to get to. (Oh yea MIT hacks are hilarious! A while back they disassembled an old chevro, put it up on their dome and painted the car like their cop unit).
Edit: Also my friend who's in Yale applied to MIT and did not get in (had a 4.0 gpa, weighted 4.3, 2320 sat score, Mu Alpha Theta president, president of Chess Club, Math league president).