<p>Here is the deal, I want to study environmental engineering, this isn't offered at most colleges as a major, but it is not hard to do a civil engineering major with an environmental focus. I was admitted to 11/13 schools and have narrowed it down to two: Purdue and Virginia Tech. I am out of state for both and live in the suburbs of Philadelphia so they are both pretty far. </p>
<p>The Lowdown</p>
<p>Purdue University- West Lafayette
Purdue has the higher ranked program and also offers an Ecological Engineering program under Multidisciplinary Engineering in the College of Engineering. I really like this program and it is very unique. The problem is that I had to accept an offer of admission to the College of Agriculture for Ag and Natural Resources Engineering. What is great though is that this major does the entire first year engineering program so if I got the 2.8 after first semester I would be able to internal transfer to the college of engineering to do what I want without being pushed behind. I am worried that the 2.8 may be very difficult though because that first semester is designed specifically to weed kids out. I liked the campus a lot, and the facilities were absolutely terrific. The dorms and food were both great as well. </p>
<p>Virginia Tech
Virginia Tech also has a good engineering program, but not up to Purdue's level. I have been accepted into first year engineering so no internal transfer is necessary, and I could go on a Civil/ Environmental track the rest of my time there. When I visited I really liked the layout and design of the campus. I was unable to tour the engineering facilities for some reason so I am not sure how they truly compare to Neil Armstrong Hall. I also really did not like the dorms (too small, and very hot). The food, on the other hand, was superb. </p>
<p>Minimal, maybe like $4-5000 a year. That is with Purdue being more expensive. I know that is still a good amount of money, but as my great math teacher once told me it is always okay to go into a little debt for a house and your education.</p>
<p>Are there major curricula/training differences between the Eco Engineering program at Purdue and the Civil/Environmental Engineering at VT? Have you looked into typical internship/job placements for each program?</p>
<p>I would ask Purdue some pretty specific questions about transferring – 2.7 may be the minimum requirement, but the question is whether the transfer is automatically approved if you meet that benchmark, or whether that simply puts you into the eligible pool from which they pick & choose transfer applicants. If you didn’t get approved for the transfer, would you continue with your major in the Ag school? Can you do Environmentally related engineering studies there? (I would think that would be possible given the big impact that ag has on the environment, but I don’t really know anything about the field.)</p>
<p>Do you have confidence in your ability to do the work at Purdue to get a B or better average? If not maybe you should go to the easier school. If you feel Purdue has a much better program and you want it you can be motivated to get the required grades even in a competitive situation. Check on the reasons you were placed into the particular school- the word ecology may hold the answer. Are all with your proposed major put there? I know at some schools (UW) all preengineering students need to get a certain college gpa to be in the engineering school and some programs have limited space and are competitive.</p>
<p>I do believe the 2.7 gpa after the first semester is like a 97% guarantee of being able to do the internal transfer. And I would also have the advantage in the pool of applicants ( if that is the case) seeing as I would already be completing the first year engineering program no matter what. And yes, the major that I got in for is a strong major for environmental consulting, which is what I want to get into. And would you care to elaborate on the word ecology holding the answer? That doesn’t seem to make much sense.</p>
<p>Have you visited the two campuses? Va Tech has a long history of being a warm, close place (made even more so recently after a horrible event). People seem pretty dedicated to it and proud of their connections. I think Purdue was once that way but is now much larger. </p>
<p>Funny, both my S’s like or dislike a place because of the building archtecture. Neither one liked Evergreen State because of the concrete bunker style of the buildings. So, an hour walking around makes a big difference to them. Some places just “feel” right.</p>
<p>Have not visited VaTech. I want to state that up front.
But I did notice that the environments of Tech schools vs State U’s and other non tech schools are significantly different.</p>
<p>You might want to add that tho your list of considerations.</p>
<p>Yes I have visited both, Va Tech has the great architecture while Purdue has the newer better buildings even if the air has a strange odor and is filled with the noise of prop planes constantly flying.</p>
<p>Whatever school you go to make sure you have a high likelihood of graduating in 4 years. Fifth years get mighty expensive and I know that a lot of VT engineering students take longer than 4 years to graduate. I don’t know what the 4-yr grad rate is for Purdue, but the same considerations apply. Good luck.</p>
They’re also pretty similar!</p>