After Harvard Engineering...

<p>Hi I'm new to posting here, but I have read a lot of posts and found them really helpful throughout my college application process, so now I am going to try out a post of my own.</p>

<p>I just got back from Harvard's accepted students day weekend on Monday, and I really felt like I fit in there. However, the only thing that is making me hesitate about matriculating is the strength of Harvard's engineering program. I don't really know what I want to do yet, but engineering is a very strong possibility. I was just wondering if anyone knew anything about if I did end up graduating from Harvard as an engineer, would I still have a good chance at good jobs (or at admission to a strong graduate school if I end up wanting to go to one).</p>

<p>I was accepted to a few other very strong engineering schools too that I also like a lot (so I would also love to go there), but I like the breadth of programs at Harvard and the fit that I felt while there a little more...</p>

<p>Any thoughts?</p>

<p>And do not tell me about the weather at Harvard, I am from Maine and so am used to New England's wacky weather :)</p>

<p>Thanks!</p>

<p>Harvard’s engineering program seems to be pretty far down the list so if you got into MIT (or even Cornell) maybe better to go there. Of course most important thing is if you like the school after admit weekend why stress over the decision?</p>

<p>Do you think it is that far down the list to make me be unable to find a good job as an engineer?</p>

<p>I am pretty unfamiliar with the rankings; every time I see one ranking, I see another that almost contradicts it</p>

<p>My son had same kind of concern as OP, most of Harvard engineering is not ABET, and the degree will be AB not SB. Does the ABET and SB really matter in his future career? He most likely will not work as an engineer after grad (so he doesn’t care ranking), he want to work on Marketing in industry, or do patent law.</p>

<p>1) Harvard does have a S.B. ABET degree in engineering sciences (along with A.B.) Those who go on to earn the P.E. end up doing quite well on the exam.</p>

<p>2) Students in science and engineering get into top graduate schools/companies (at the same high rate that all Harvard student succeed).</p>

<p><a href=“https://www.seas.harvard.edu/audiences/prospective-undergraduates/things[/url]”>https://www.seas.harvard.edu/audiences/prospective-undergraduates/things&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

<p>3) Off the top of my head … I know one Harvard engineering senior enrolling at Caltech; another who won a Rhodes; yet another going Stanford; a recent alum at MIT, and seniors being recruited by Microsoft, Google, Amazon, etc. And of course, a lot of students are engaging in their own start-ups. </p>

<p>[Applied</a> knowledge opens doors for young alumni ? Harvard School of Engineering and Applied Sciences](<a href=“http://www.seas.harvard.edu/news-events/press-releases/alumni-panel]Applied”>http://www.seas.harvard.edu/news-events/press-releases/alumni-panel)</p>

<p>[Working</a> towards a greener future ? Harvard School of Engineering and Applied Sciences](<a href=“http://www.seas.harvard.edu/news-events/press-releases/energy-and-environment-expo]Working”>http://www.seas.harvard.edu/news-events/press-releases/energy-and-environment-expo)</p>

<p>4) You can see a list of prominent alumni here:</p>

<p>[Alumni</a> ? Harvard School of Engineering and Applied Sciences](<a href=“http://www.seas.harvard.edu/audiences/alumni]Alumni”>Alumni | Harvard John A. Paulson School of Engineering and Applied Sciences)</p>

<p>5) And our advice, as always, is to go to Harvard because you want to go to Harvard — not for the sake of an individual program (as much as we really like our own!). The aim is to receive a broad-based excellent education. Moreover, in our experience, a vast number of pre-frosh end up pursuing concentrations/secondary fields that they never expected to when they first stepped onto campus.</p>

<p>Good luck with your decision.</p>

<p>Thank you for all those links mrutter, they are very helpful</p>

<p>OP look at this ranking list. Harvard is extremely weak on Engineering.
[NRC</a> Rankings in Each of 41 Areas](<a href=“http://www.stat.tamu.edu/~jnewton/nrc_rankings/nrc41.html]NRC”>NRC Rankings in Each of 41 Areas)</p>

<p>If you want Engineering, Harvard is not the place to be.</p>

<p>The NRC rankings list posted by Arbydan is from 1995. Harvard has been working hard on their engineering programs since then.</p>

<p>The NRC recently updated their rankings, but I have not been able find the updated version. Does anyone have access to them, or have any other insight? My daughter is in the same position as the original poster.</p>

<p>Harvard is only listed in the Electrical & Computer Engineering category where they are in the top 4% of the R ranking and tied for the top 1% in the S ranking.</p>

<p>The website seems to be down just now, but here it is.</p>

<p>[Find</a> the Graduate School That’s Right for You — PhDs.org Graduate School Guide](<a href=“http://graduate-school.phds.org/]Find”>http://graduate-school.phds.org/)</p>

<p>The NRC Survey-Based Quality Score is the overall ranking.</p>

<p>I just saw that they released a revision last week. It changed the R ranking to the top 2%, but there are no other changes to H’s engineering rankings.</p>