Attention Engineering Students: U Mich vs Purdue?

<p>Opinions please on Engineering degree from Purdue vs U Mich. I would love to hear from OOS students that have actually visited and are likely accepted to both Universities. Do you think U of Mich is worth the almost $50,000/year? Purdue is much more generous with merit $$$. All or any alumni experience welcomed as well. Thank so much!!</p>

<p>In Engineering, Michigan is only slightly (if at all) better than Purdue. But overall, Michigan is a significantly better university than Purdue and Ann Arbor is much more pleasant/fun than West Lafayette.</p>

<p>This said, if money is an concern and the cost differential between Michigan and Purdue is more than you can reasonably handle, I would say go for Purdue.</p>

<p>Would u say that since UM has a huge alumni base, their engineering majors are more likely to be hired than Purdue?</p>

<p>Purdue’s alumni base is almost as large as Michigan’s.</p>

<p>but Purdue’s alumni base are at far ****tier places than Michigan’s so that nullify the size somewhat. I didnt see ONE purdue alum at any networking event or the offices in general this past summer… I met around 7-9 Michigan Alums…like A LOT of Havard MIT of the world… but not a single one from purdue</p>

<p>Thanks bearcats & Alexandre for the dialogue…hope others join in. I just know that my son had such a bad impression of Purdue this summer at an Engineering Camp (STEP). I expected so much more based on their Engineering ratings. I just think that Michigan is an overall notch ahead. Like you said it is not just about the Engineering Rep. </p>

<p>More opinions welcomed!!</p>

<p>In terms of the overall school, Michigan is way above Purdue. However, as Alexandre said, Engineering programs are about the same, with Michigan slightly ahead. Personally, I believe that a Michigan grad has a better impression on the employer than a Purdue grad.</p>

<p>Littlefalls, remember the typical cc advice about choosing for the FIT and the School not the Program…Even though my s. chose for a highly unusual program, his sense was that if he ever changed programs, Umich was the school he wanted to be at. In your case, if the two programs are close in rank and reputation, then he’d be better served at UMich. The program is only one dimension of one’s education and preparation to contribute in the world. The school, the recruiting, the social environment are also in the end major factors that shape the direction of a life. If your s. has any reservations about Purdue, as you do, then I say trust your gut whether its objectively confirm-able or not. Fit is highly personalized and I feel that excitement about a school goes a long way to ensuring success.
Cheers,
K
PS - That said, fiscal practicality has some weight here. Your s. needs to be committed to the debt load. In his chosen field, that is usually a manageable investment.</p>

<p>whoever says michigan engineering and purdue engineering programs are about the same… i don’t know what they are smoking or sipping on. usnews rankings wise, probably similar, but in reality, it’s not. nobody picks purdue over michigan unless it’s a significant money difference. engineering profession isn’t prestige driven, so if you are happy to be an engineer in the midwest working for GE, you’ll probably achieve the same result whether you goto Michigan or Purdue, if you want the ability to meet recruiters for other high paying jobs, i would not pick Purdue unless the difference is like over 50k.</p>

<p>In terms of engineering prestige, I would say Umich is slightly better than Purdue by only a small margin. What I would base your decision off are the costs of attending, general atmosphere/social life, and lastly the educational curriculum set up.</p>

<p>**Cost<a href=“both%20OOS”>/B</a>
For engineering, you will more likely get more merit money at Purdue. If you qualify for the Trustees or Presidential scholarship, thats a huge bonus itself.</p>

<p>* Trustees Scholarship
Value: Up to $10,000 per year for out-of-state students; up to $8,000 per year for Indiana residents
Criteria: Core GPA of 3.8 on 4.0 scale plus an SAT of 2000 or higher or a score of 30 or higher on both the ACT composite and ACT combined English/writing. The scholarship is renewable.*</p>

<p>Presidential Scholarship
Value: Up to $7,000 per year for out-of-state students; up to $5,000 per year for Indiana residents
Criteria: Core GPA of 3.8 on 4.0 scale plus an SAT of 1850-1990 or an ACT composite of 27-29 and an ACT combined English/writing of 27-29. The scholarship is renewable.*
*</p>

<p>Michigan is going to be harder to receive merit aid and you will probably receive less.</p>

<p>General Atmosphere/Social Life
West Lafayette and Ann Arbor both have distinct towns that are unique in their own ways. One would need to visit to find which one they like better. However, I would say Ann Arbor has much more of an “intellectual” lifestyle and more active social scene. Ann Arbor is probably more diverse. As an engineering student, you would need to bus to and from north campus to central in Ann Arbor, which isn’t as bad as it seems. West Lafayette is one large campus. You can find a nice social group if you wish.</p>

<p>Educational Curriculum
At Purdue University, freshman engineers start off in hel1. All the introductory courses are meant for weeding (difficult and time consuming) and I would not recommend going to Purdue without AP credits in the major sciences. That said, if you can pass all the weeder courses, you will be able to take a lot of interesting courses dependent on your major and distinguish yourself. At Michigan, freshman engineers don’t start off that bad. The courses are considered weeder courses, but for engineers, they are not at all bad since science courses are in LSA and intro engineering courses aren’t meant to kill you. Michigan also has its selection of advanced courses that are intriguing. I can go into more detail if you have a major in mind.</p>

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<p>what are the job titles of those high paying jobs besides trader or Silicon Valley top high tech companies?</p>

<p>How bout
Banks:
Analyst, Investment Banking Division
Analyst, Capital Markets Division
Analyst, Global Markets Division - Sales (you said trader)</p>

<p>Consulting firms
Business Analyst, Strategy</p>

<p>what is a typical day like for the different kinds of analysts?</p>

<p>Update: Responded to someone just got banned.</p>

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<p>Depends on what we’re calling high pay. There’s plenty of 100K+ starting jobs outside of SV, NYC, and Chicago. I’m in some pretty minor city (in the scheme of the US, relatively similar to Ann Arbor) and I’ve got what I’d call a high paying job. It ain’t the 150K that some may boost, but it’s still pretty damn good. Any my money goes farther here than their 150K goes in SV. </p>

<p>I can tell you here, no one cares where you went, but there are schools where they target for recruitment, Michigan is one, I don’t know if Purdue is. </p>