<p>My two choices are UCLA and Cornell School of Engineering. I'm grateful that I got into both of these great schools but I can't decide which one to attend.</p>
<p>At the moment i'm leaning towards UCLA because of the great weather, location, and many other things besides academics. However, I can only assume that I might get a better education at Cornell. If you can answer, what is your opinion the quality of education at both schools?</p>
<p>Getting a job after college is very important to me. My parents believe that Cornell will help me get a higher paying job (even in SOCAL, where I probably want to stay after college). However, from a few responses I got from CC users, I hear that UCLA will probably get me a better job in LA because of the job connections here. Which school do you think will help me get a better paying job in LA? Or is the difference even significant at all?</p>
<p>ellemenope, i believe Companies and employers take that into consideration. But to what extent? Anyways, a lower gpa is psychologically degrading and a cause for competition, which i'd rather not be a part of.</p>
<p>If you haven't already done so, you should post on the Cornell and UCLA boards and see what the current students say about school life, academics and job prospects for engineering students. </p>
<p>Don't discount Cornell insofar as getting a job after college on the west coast. Cornell has an engineering co-op problem where students can work during junior year at companies in all different geographic locations. Students often end up getting job offers from the companies where they worked while in the co-op program. And you will always have summers to work at the companies where you might ultimately hope to get a job after college.</p>
<p>I was buzzing the engineering board a couple of weeks back and there were many sob stories from engineering students who were at "difficult" engineering schools and whose GPA dipped below 3.0. and the kids were having problems getting internships while their friends at "not-so-tough" engineering schools with a 3.8 GPA had multiple offers. Maybe just sour grapes. . .</p>
<p>(Can't remember which engineering schools were mentioned)</p>
<p>The problem: It looks like many internships look for a 3.0+ as a baseline GPA.</p>
<p>If you want to live and work in LA or on the west coast following graduation, I suspect you would be better off attending UCLA. As an alum I know you will get a super education at Cornell but I suspect the same is true for UCLA. Finally I agree with Barron that starting engineering salaries are relatively uniform reguardless of where you graduate from so do not make that a factor in your decision-making.</p>
<p>If working on the west coast is very important to you, choose UCLA. Otherwise, choose the university which seems to be the better overall fit for you.</p>
<p>both are top schools and you will learn the same material at either. And engineering is one of the most standardized majors out there. Engineering programs are acredited by ABET, which means you'll be learning the same things no matter where you go. As for salary, it is going to be more or less the same; with 2 schools like this in the same tier, employers are going to give the same offers.</p>
<p>There ARE differences in the schools, however. I'll let someone from Cornell speak to the specifics, but I believe you get a faculty advisor and more personal attention there. UC schools are going to be more impersonal; no faculty advisor, the counselor is someone in the window when you drop by, a much more hands-off environment. Some people are happy with this, some thrive in a more personal atmosphere. I don't know if Cornell provides this but if its something that's important to you it's worth investigating.</p>
<p>Also think of school outside academics, since college is not just for learning but for new experiences and for transitioning to independent adulthood. Would you be equally happy in both places? Have a desire to get away from home for college? Especially since you plan on living in SoCal after college, Cornell would offer a chance to really explore a different part of the country for a few years. On the other hand Ithaca itself is isolated, and they have that white stuff on the ground every winter that only exists in LA in freezers built before the frost-free era. Cornell is a residential college with everyone living right there, ucla still has more of a commuter feel to it even though they've been building dorms like mad.</p>
<p>Cornell's engineering co-op program is pretty great. Many top companies come on campus to recruit. My roommate from sophomore year was able to land a co-op and worked with a company in Livermore, CA last semester.</p>
<p>They're both excellent engineering programs. </p>
<p>The UCLA program is much more hands-on and practical. Most of the software and tools that you encounter at UCLA are essentially the same design/analysis tools that you'll use in industry. Hence a 4-yr, Bachelors degree will get you into a nice job with one of the many defense contractors or commercial companies in SoCal. Most of these companies have Masters fellowship programs enabling you to pursue your Masters while working 32-40hrs/wk. Depending on your employer, you could even pursue your PHD afterwards ... often this could be synch'ed up with an existing project at work ... a nice synergestic way of doing things.</p>
<p>If your interests are more theoretical coupled with a passion to puruse new technology, then Cornell might be a better choice. Most of the Cornell grads are much more "researchy" and are very well versed on the fundamentals. They're great with problem solving!</p>
<p>Again, they're both great places ... but I think if you go to UCLA, chances are you can hook up with a wider selection of opportunities in industry.</p>
<p>I disagree completely with harvey_100. My son is in his third year in the ECE program at Cornell and I marvel at the hands-on, real world engineering education that he is getting compared to when I was an ECE undergrad at another top engineering school (Michigan). Perhaps engineering education in general has changed to be more practical, but Cornell's is far from what I would consider theoretical.</p>
<p>I also agree that Cornell's co-op program is great - providing real-world experience but doing it within the standard 4 years rather than the typical 5 years at most of the more traditional co-op schools.</p>