<p>When choosing an engineering school (undergraduate level), should one take into consideration the US News and World Report rankings? Or should one go to the least expensive ABET accredited program that they are admitted to?</p>
<p>I'm interested in Chemical Engineering, and was looking at the US N&WR 2013 Chemical Engineering (Undergrad) list. I live in California, and even though I'd LOVE to travel and attend a school elsewhere again (I'm a non-traditional student), at this time in my life it would be better for my mom and my child for us not to have to relocate too far.</p>
<p>BUT--I don't want to compromise my chance at good job prospects after graduation, and I don't want a significantly lower starting salary than grads from some of the top institutions.</p>
<p>I would also like to keep the door open to be able to apply to (and have a chance at getting accepted to) MIT for graduate school, after viewing their ChemE research website. I definitely want to earn a master's degree but who knows, I may consider a PhD so I can teach at the university level--one day.</p>
<p>Should I take into account the US N&WR rankings when choosing schools to apply to, or is it all about the experience you gain in undergrad/on the job?</p>
<p>Does it really matter what school you attend for chemical engineering as long as it is ABET accredited?</p>
<p>As we are looking at schools for our 2 oldest sons, we have been using the US News & World Report rankings some what. My thought is that if a program is ranked in the top 20 or so, things are good. My bigger concern is the methodology behind the undergraduate rankings. I believe they are largely basis on surveys/opinions. And if that is the case, there may be some very good Chemical Engineering schools in your area that others in the country don’t know much about. So how would they move up the rankings then?</p>
<p>As far as the job prospects, all schools should be able to give your their placement rates. And hopefully placement rates by major. For starting salary comparisions between schools, you need to factor in location too. Schools located in LA, NYC, DC are probably going to have higher starting salaries–it’s more expensive in those locations.</p>
<p>You have the first step right - make sure it is ABET. I can’t speak for the west coast, but all the “good” engineering schools in my region are all land grant state universities - NCSU, VT, GT, Clemson, etc. Graduating from any of these will establish you as a solid engineer and your education will not be questioned. </p>
<p>I personally do not understand the mystique around schools like MIT (or Stanford, or etc.). I have worked with MIT grads, and have come to the conclusion that the people themselves are exceptional, the school is able to be very selective in acceptances, and the end result is that an amazing amount of work comes out of MIT. These same people will have successful careers having attended a “lesser” school.</p>
<p>Engineering degrees usually come with a few internships during the school year. Often times student interns are offered jobs by those companies. </p>
<p>Go to a school that is sought after by the employers in the area where you might want to spend your first years employed. </p>
<p>After you have your first job any job after that will be about your skills and not about the name of the school you graduated from.</p>
<p>For engineering majors EXCEPT for computer science, yes make sure it is ABET accredited. For computer science, make sure that the department offers a good selection of courses, since computer science may not be in the engineering schools at some universities.</p>
<p>Also for CS, there are more job openings so Top-50 or even Top-100 is pretty much all you need for software engineering.</p>
<p>If you intend to attend grad school at MIT or alike, your undergrad school (gpa, research experience) will be an important factor in their admission process. You probably should choose a reasonably ranked school.</p>
<p>Otherwise, most ABET programs should be similar enough for gainful employment.</p>
<p>You could also look into Harvard’s Engineering School of Applied Sciences. It’s a new school at Harvard and not very well ranked because, unlike pragmatic MIT and Stanford, it is deeply rooted within Harvard’s liberal arts tradition. If you plan to pursue graduate studies at MIT, the proximity, value , and prestige of Harvard could help you out a lot. And if your family makes less than $60,000 a year, they’ll not pay anything towards tuition, but you will have to contribute about $3,000 through term work each year you are at Harvard: yes, a Harvard degree for around $12,000 total.</p>
<p>Question: “When choosing an engineering school (undergraduate level), should one take into consideration the US News and World Report rankings?”</p>
<p>Answer: PETE (Petrol Engineering) is also part of Engineering school right?..but if you look at OU (Univ. of Oklahoma), OSU not ohio but Oklahoma State Univ and Univ of Tulsa…all of these schools have been ranked way below and unknown except for their college football. </p>
<p>However, if you are into PETE and wanna work in oil and gas, the graduates from those bottom ranked UNSWR schools will have better chance to get better job in oil-and-gas than MIT, Georgia Tech, Harvard, Princeton, Univ. of Chicago, Cal-tech, John-Hopkins, NYU, Tulane, Varderbilt, LSU, Nortwestern Univ, RICE, etc…</p>
<p>in fact, those three schools are well-known in their programs for PETE, oil-and-gas, etc…and once again they are bottom rank in UNSWR.</p>
<p>So, trash that ranking from UNSWR as it is useless. The most important thing to find schools for engineering is ABET…ABET is more important than UNSWR. </p>
<p>But, then again whatever works for you as you will be the captain of your life.</p>
<p>I actually went to Howard University for two years. I don’t know about the success of the graduates after completing the engineering program but the friends I had in engineering seemed to think that it was a good program. Unlike many of the other programs at Howard.</p>
<p>If I had the chance though, I would definitely choose a different school. Howard…is not the best place to be right now. 90% of my friends from freshman year transferred out for several different reasons. I convinced myself to stay through the end of sophomore year, but eventually even I ended up leaving. Howard just isn’t worth the money or the time. Especially if you have the grades to go elsewhere.</p>
<p>I know some Ivy League schools do have a policy where if your family makes under a certain amount, you get free tuition. But, does this also apply to transfer students? I majored in Biology/Pre-Medicine for two years, and therefore have 60 credits under my belt. So I couldn’t apply as a first-time college student.</p>
<p>Where would you say is the best geographic area in the U.S. for a ChemE undergrad, based on the number of internship opportunities available and the potential job market after graduation?</p>
<p>Like for instance, I know for pharma the east coast (especially near NJ) is a great place to be for people who want to work in the pharmaceutical industry.</p>
<p>But how about for ChemE’s that want to do work in biomedical/biofuel research?</p>
<p>@ sax and anyone else who wants to pitch in :)</p>
<p>My feeling is that, if given a choice, try to get into the highest ranked school possible. The rankings are worthless as far as telling you what you’ll actually learn. In fact, many lower ranked schools are pretty good. BUT image and pedigree is always a factor when looking for “that” job. There are going to be plenty of employers that are too lazy to go beyond the superficial when looking for new employees. For example, Yahoo’s CEO recently stated that she wants to hire only students from the (PERCEIVED) top schools.</p>
<p>So “yes”, consider the magazine’s rankings because it’s a necessary evil. Also, if you’re going to work hard for your degree, you may as well do it at a highly ranked school.</p>
<p>The most important step is to make sure the program is ABET acredited. After that, go for fit. US News rankings (or anyone else’s) don’t tell if the school is right for you. If you don’t like the class size, the location, or whatever else takes a role in fit for you then you’re not going to get as good an education as you would have at a college that was a better fit for you. </p>
<p>As for MIT or a top grad program, what determines whether you get in is what you do as an undergrad. If you take part in research, if you take the time to get to know some profs so you get good letters of rec (and access to their network of pals who just might be on the faculty where you want to go), then you’ll be a strong candidate. On the other hand if you go to a highly ranked school but are an anonymous student that nobody knows your horizon is going to be much more limited or subject to chance.</p>