Can someone share how does BU rank in terms of its Engineering programs? Looking at Mechanical engineering for DS
Us News says tye school is #45 undergrad for engineering. You rarely hear about it.
Honestly it doesn’t matter if it’s #10 or #200 if it’s ABET accredited. I’m living that with my son - interning alongside G Tech kids and just got a job offer from one of the biggest defense contractors in Mass (they seem to have grads from JHU, RPI, I saw a UMASS and likely tons of schools). He’s at Alabama and has 5 offers and counting.
Get a school that fits. The rankings are for magazines. Especially in MechE.
He’ll be fine as long as the school fits.
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Everything that @tsbna44 said 
. Why BU in particular?
@Bill_Marsh son likes the location of the school , I am not sure about their engineering program compared to other schools like Ohio State, RIP, RIT , Syracruse , UIUC
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Again, what you are seeing is rank. There are hundreds of solid engineering schools. Some specialize in certain areas more than others.
If you go by rank, UIUC will be the ‘best’ but he will likely get a similar job from Ohio State, RPI, etc.
If he likes uber urban then that’s you should focus on. UMN would be perhaps a better fit than Ohio State as an example.
Don’t let the rankings fool you. Better is relative to the student and higher rank is not always better.
Engineering is one major, where for families looking for affordability, they can find it in droves and still do well. My son is living that right now.
See if BU offers the focus areas that interest him. If so and you can afford it then great. But you also need a back up plan given BUs admission difficulty.
If you want to know by rank or reputation, BU and my alma mater SU are not engineering powerhouses. But they don’t need to be.
What they do need to be is ABET accredited and the right fit for your student.
It is great he has decided he likes BU’s urban vibe. As others have said, any of his ABET Choices will prepare him well.
I like engineering programs that get freshman immersed quickly, BU seems to have a slower start during Freshman year with intro to engineering not until the spring. So no connection to the major that first year.
Also, look at what he would major in at BU if he decides that engineering is not for him.
And then compare all of the financial packages. BU may be the most expensive when you compare them all - including off campus housing and social life in Boston. You have some others that may offer more opportunities and financial advantages.
I think for urban, you also have GW and NYU - although engineering there is a separate campus.
But you can also go to a Pitt, UMN, Drexel, Rice, Vanderbilt, UT Austin, Case Western, Temple, UTK, Kentucky - there’s just so many - and then the suburban type that are close to urban like a U of Arizona, ASU, Cincinnati.
So many options - and so many great outcomes!!!
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Northeastern U’s STEM majors tend to be a bit more frontloaded, to get skill sets in place for the first co-op.
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Agree!
Their engineering program is fine. Is it the Boston location that he likes or would any city be just as appealing?
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Could someone with experience compare Mechanical at Penn State vs. BU vs. Purdue on academics? (no need to consider financials)
You’d have to ask students - but they’re all going to be ABET certified so have similar learnings, etc… Some schools are more theory based. Some push co ops although you can likely do at all.
The schools themselves are obviously vastly different - and perhaps someone has experience with all three.
But when people say compare academics - I get the sense that they think Purdue is the highest ranked and therefore must be superior.
Lots of kids struggle with foreign profs or TAs, etc. - ranking, etc. doesn’t equate necessarily with a superior education. I go back to my journalism days at Syracuse - great rep, crap education. My friend at Montana had an education that blew mine away.
Each kid will see things differently.
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Thats exactly I am thinking too. My son received admission in Penn State and waiting on other schools. Meanwhile, he got an email from BU that he could change his RD-Fall2023 application to ED2 and if admitted 100% of need is met.
So, given Penn State and Purdue doesn’t offer much financial aid, we are debating if it is right thing to change RD to ED with BU, especially if they support 100% need; however, if these schools are vastly different in the strength of their academics, then, it better to stick to the ranking system.
All the big privates push the ED. I wonder if they check your financials b4 they push that advertisement.
They’re basically saying - show us love and we’ll love you. It’s so slimy - but that’s because they are businesses at heart.
My kid is at Alabama - find them in the rankings? He’s got 5 offers and at least 4 (maybe all 5) are above the average Purdue Salary. So i’m telling you - all this ranking stuff - it’s for magazines - not for companies who are dying for talent.
My son declined an offer last Friday - not due to money although it was a little less. Within a day, they came back and raised $13K on the base and $5K on the signing bonus. They refused his decline - he’s going to decline again (I wouldn’t but he is). It’s a Fortune 150. Given bureacracy, I don’t know why and how they they pulled that off.
Two companies - this one and a major defense company - he had one interview on Teams. One - and same day got offers. This one was $85.3K but in a high COL area.
The point is - if he went to the three you mentioned - probably the same thing.
He’s interviewed with 20 companies - or maybe more. It’s just the market today. It’s nuts. They can’t find people - that’s all I can think of.
Most these jobs he applied off of Indeed listings.
If you can afford BU and he wants to be in a city campus type, well Penn State is sprawling beyond belief and Purdue is suburbanish.
If you can’t afford BU or don’t want to afford BU, then you shouldn’t ED.
You need to run the NPC - what you think is need and what they think is need - are two different things.
I would not factor in the education or rank, etc. in the equation…but that’s me.
And if I didn’t have need and was going to be full pay or close - knowing what I do now - and my kid got into Purdue and got $10K merit (and I wanted him to go there) - but seeing what I’m seeing - if I had BU grades/test score - I’d find a dirt cheap solid school like Bama, MS State, Arizona and I’d tell my kid you’re going there so dad can retire before I’m 90!!!
Congratulations on your kids options!
Based upon what I have learned on CC between BU, Penn State and Purdue, I would choose Alabama.
My son got into Colorado school of mines Ohio state and ASU for Mechanical Engineering but he is enamored by Boston University. Trying to figure out based on academics, employment opportunities which one of the above is good option (He wants to do ED2 for Boston)
We have applied for UIUC, Northeastern, Case western but dont know the results yet.
All great schools.
Why not check outcomes for each. The career centers will provide.