How should I choose between Carnegie Mellon and MIT for aerospace engineering?

For a student who wants aerospace engineering as the central academic identity, especially spacecraft systems, MIT is the more direct fit. MIT has a dedicated Department of Aeronautics and Astronautics and an undergraduate aerospace degree, so you can study propulsion, orbital mechanics, guidance and control, spacecraft design, and space policy within one established curriculum. Its space-focused labs, project teams, and research culture make it especially compelling if you picture yourself building and operating spacecraft or pursuing graduate work in astronautics.

MIT also has substantial robotics and autonomy opportunities, so an interest in spacecraft robotics would not require choosing between the two fields. The key advantage is that aerospace is not an add-on to another major: it is the framework through which you can pursue robotics, controls, computation, and space systems.

Carnegie Mellon fits a somewhat different student: someone whose primary interest is robotics, AI, autonomous systems, and software, with spacecraft as an application area. CMU does not offer a standalone undergraduate aerospace engineering major. You would more likely study mechanical engineering, electrical and computer engineering, or a related field while drawing on the Robotics Institute and space-oriented work such as the Spacecraft Design-Build-Fly Laboratory.

That route can be excellent for a student excited by robotic perception, machine learning, autonomy, and hands-on interdisciplinary design, particularly for roles involving planetary rovers, satellite autonomy, or space robotics software. But it requires more intentional course planning to build the aerospace fundamentals that MIT packages into its major.

Based on your stated interest in both spacecraft and robotics, MIT has the stronger overall fit unless your enthusiasm is clearly more about robotics and AI than aerospace itself. At MIT, visit aerospace labs and student satellite or rocketry teams; at CMU, focus on the Robotics Institute, mechanical engineering design opportunities, and the Spacecraft Design-Build-Fly Lab. Those conversations will reveal whether you want aerospace to lead your education or robotics to lead it.