Berkeley/umich/northwestern for ind engineering/or

Colleges and Universities A-Z University of Michigan
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<p>Dear all</p>

<p>I have received offers from these 3 universities for engineering majors. I'm really interested in Industrial Engineering/Operations Reseach. I come from a place where rankings are important but what i want is a holistic education. Can someone pls offer me some advice on which is the best place to go? </p>

<p>Well, ranking wise i guess they're largely the same? could the deciding factor be where the uni is located itself and thus the opportunities available? some help pls!</p>

<p>MUCH APPRECIATED! :)</p>

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<p>go to berkley, the weather there is so much better.</p>

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<p>Berkeley is one of the best undergraduate institutions of engineering in the country, and I would probably go there if I were you.</p>

<p>On the other hand, if Michigan were offering you a good amount of money, then I would lean towards Michigan. Michigan still has a very solid IOE program.</p>

<p>Also consider:
-the weather
-the neighborhood
-the students</p>

4

<p>but if $ is a factor, we all know that berkeley along with other uc schools are in a deep toilet right now.
Michigan gets pretty cold in the winter…
bearcats an ioe major he can probably tell u alot</p>

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<p>Bearcats is never going to tell someone to come here.</p>

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<p>^haha Bearcats is just a HATER</p>

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<p>I live near UC Berkeley and know a ton of kids who go there (I work in a local high school). Most kids around here, if given the chance to go elsewhere, go elsewhere. Yes, the weather is nice, but it’s not Southern California nice. Berkeley is also nothing like Ann Arbor. Berkeley is, interesting, but kind of gross. Of course, if money is an issue, all three schools are very well respected and you can’t lose there. I think it really depends on what you are looking for with a college experience. When we visited Michigan we got the sense that people really liked their school. We did not get that sense at all from Northwestern. And Berkeley, has a general “take it or leave it attitude.” People are proud they go to a good school, but don’t seem to be passionate about it.</p>

<p>Good luck. You have great choces.</p>

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<p>thanks guys! your advice are much appreciated! :slight_smile: michigan is indeed strong in engineering! not forgetting it has strong international reputation (if unswr rankings even mean anything). i guess i’ll just have to work out what is really for me. i do intend to explore overseas for my career though.</p>

<p>cheers!</p>

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<p>Thanks for your comments mythreedd. The attitude that I see here in Michigan so often is that the grass is greener elsewhere.</p>

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<p>You can’t go wrong with any school. All three have top-ranked industrial engineering programs. It seems you do not want to attend Berkeley. I’m affiliated with two of the schools (NU/UMich). Ask yourself these questions:</p>

<ul>
<li>What type of environment do you want? (Consider campus size, learning style, social life)</li>
<li>Who offered you the most money?</li>
</ul>

<p>Explore the first-year engineering curricula at both schools to see which one matches your interests. Both NU and U-M have similar weather (warm summers, cold winters). NU operates on the quarter system whereas U-M operates on the trimester system. NU’s location is more suburban with its own lakefront, and students have opportunities to visit Chicago. UMich’s location is more of a college town where the university dominates the city but there are plenty of events and activities for students. The only major difference between the schools is campus size (NU is 1/3 the size of U-M: 8100 UGs vs 26000 UGs). </p>

<p>If you have the time, I recommend visiting both schools to look for fit (NU and UMich are only 5 hours apart driving-distance).</p>

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<p>Berkeley! Can’t beat the top academics and dynamic Bay Area vibe. Yes, the City of Berkeley has some issues with homeless population, but it didn’t bother me.</p>

<p>Michigan is excellent too ( :slight_smile: )…it shares essentially the same school colors as Berkeley (better than purple) and both are top publics. Michigan engineering is a separate campus…so I hear.</p>

<p>If you can, visit and then decide.</p>

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<p>I would actually recommend Michigan, especially for Industrial Engineering, but also for Mechanical Engineering and Aerospace Engineering. Cal is slightly better in Engineering in general, but I think Michigan is more well rounded. </p>

<p>I would definitely visit all three schools before deciding. You cannot go wrong either way.</p>

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<p>But UCB, there is no medical school on campus at Berkeley? ;-)</p>

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<p>Cal is slightly stronger in engineering. It also has slightly better student body quality, not to mention the weather. However, my friends who go there basically hate it because it doesn’t really have much of a community sense (which doesn’t matter to me at all but could matter for you).</p>

<p>Michigan’s IE program rank is very inflated due to it being one of the pioneers of ergonomics. Some of the earliest researches in ergonomics are done and published by Michigan Professors. The ergonomics introductory bible (basically every entry level ergonomics class in the nation uses that book) is also co-authored by a Michigan professor.</p>

<p>However, real IE is actually operations research, which is essentially applied math/math modeling/stochastic processes/statistics. This is where demand for “Industrial Engineers” actually lie. Think about it this way. Do you think more companies need people to model their supply chain, predict/forecast metrics using statistical models, or do you think more companies need people to perfect the design of chairs to promote spine health?</p>

<p>If you are interested in ergonomics, Michigan IOE is heavens for you. If you are interested in operations research/lean six sigma methods, Michigan IOE will not be your cup of tea. As an operations research person, I find it hard to avoid at least a handful of ergonomics classes. It is also quite hard to find enough real hardcore stochastic calculus/markov processes classes to fill up my schedule and end up having to take ergonomics classes for some degree requirements anyway. </p>

<p>Berkeley’s program is more quantitative in that sense.</p>

<p>Therefore one huge factor is whether you are more interested in the ergonomics side or the real IE (operations research) side. If you want ergonomics, go with Michigan. If you want operations research, go with Cal. If you are unsure, go with Cal. I would rule northwestern out either way (you still get the crappy weather and its engineering isnt that great anyway).</p>

<p>If you are interested in being overseas, I think Cal has the edge too. Having spent an extended period of my life living in HK, Singapore and Seoul, you would find that Berkeley is pretty much a household name in asia due to the fact that it’s on the west coast and A LOT of asians from these countries go there. I am not sure about europe but I think Michigan and Cal are pretty much a wash there.</p>

<p>In short, I would say
1a) Cal
1b) Michigan
3) Northwestern</p>

<p>1a and 1b could be flipped depending on your interest.</p>

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<p>Even though I dislike bearcats’ usually negative views on Michigan, It appears that he knows what he’s talking about here.</p>

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<p>Bearcats,</p>

<p>Why you said Northwestern’s engineering isn’t that great. It’s IE is ranked #5 which seems pretty respectable, albeit lower than Berkeley/Michigan. But you seem to be an expert on it; can you elaborate?</p>

<p>OP, don’t forget that being an IE at NU, you have a great shot to get into one of the Kellogg’s undergraduate certificate programs and graduates from that program have gotten internships/jobs with top firms. That being said, you probably don’t want to pass up in-state tuition regardless.</p>

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<p>^ Step aside mildcat and let the big boys talk… :-)</p>

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<p>Welcome to, “The Wonderful World of Bearcats” Sam Lee.</p>

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<p>hi guys! thanks for your comments! much appreciated.</p>

<p>from bearcats, i get a sense that mich or berkeley is a matter of interest of which aspect of IE. ergonomics or operations research.</p>

<p>however, is it hard to rule out that NU is also a private institution (of the 3, more research funds or more opportunities?) with a pretty strong engineering school, especially for IE? </p>

<p>i just want to make a rational choice. really hope to visit all 3 schools but i think i can only make it to one at most. :(</p>

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<p>intasian: check pm either later tonight or tomorrow. I’ll send you something after I finish this stupid paper.</p>