<p>Our comfort level for our kids (both engineers) owing money after graduation was to keep it under $20,000 each. Very doable and oldest kid (a UVa grad) paid off his loans within a year of graduation. Youngest starts loan repayment very soon as he graduated in May. I think $50 or $100,000 in loans would be very difficult for most people. My husband is a CMU engineering grad but thought our state schools were fine for his kids.</p>
<p>Illinois recruiting info: [Fall</a> 2013 Companies Attending · Engineering Employment Expo](<a href=“http://expo.ec.illinois.edu/students/company_list/first.php]Fall”>http://expo.ec.illinois.edu/students/company_list/first.php)
Of course, not all companies will be on any of these lists. In the VT one I posted, for instance, Boeing is not listed on the initial page but shows up where the booths are identified for the Expo. My son had contact with a few companies that are also not on that list but still recruit at his school.</p>
<p>It’s blanket statements that I have a problem with. People have all different kinds of financial situations. What if they were wealthy but preferred taking the loans to liquidating other assets. What if they were mortgage free and took a mortgage at historically low rates because they could. What if a large inheritance is tied up in something that they are trying to liquidate but for which the market is soft. </p>
<p>I’m an advocate of always doing the math and never using rules of thumb.</p>
<p>I would imagine ucbalmnus is not referring to wealthy people who truly would not need to take out loans or people who knew they had access to a large inheritance. That is a whole different thing . But yes, doing the math and finding what works for your own particular situation and your own family is important in looking at college choice.</p>
<p>College of Engineering & Engineering Technlogy - NIU - Accreditation
[NIU</a> - Northern Illinois University - Learning Today, Leading Tomorrow](<a href=“http://www.niu.edu%5DNIU”>http://www.niu.edu).</p>
<p>NIU is also an outstanding value in the Midwest for Engineering programs and they are a nationally ranked university and ABET accredited. It does not hurt that their football team is ranked #22 in the national now too.</p>
<p>Correct, I was not referring to exceptional cases where taking the loan was desired for temporary liquidity purposes or something like that by someone who does not otherwise need to take a loan.</p>
<p>I think for “ballpark” comparisons the US News College rankings by field (engineering) would be as good as the opinions of postings on a website. If you are in KY, and willing to travel the southeast, I would say GA TECH is by far the best in the SE (and not exhorbitant for OOS – it’s also listed as a “best value” in a lot of places ) but Va. Tech, Clemson, NC State and Auburn would be worth a look on a slightly lower tier (but higher than KY). </p>
<p>“Look and feel” is something you will have to decide for yourself.</p>
<p>But check out “Collegedata.com” or cappex .com to compare prices or use the net price calculatior to compare, because KY in-state will never be beaten by private or OOS</p>
<p>Texas A&M is not that cheap for non-residents of Texas (although it is not as expensive as several other private and out-of-state public schools), unless the student gets a merit scholarship that comes with a waiver of the non-resident additional tuition.</p>
<p>RE: Post #47
Georgia Tech’s OOS Tuition is $29,402. The IS Tuition (and state grants) make it a great deal for Georgia residents, but it’s no different ($) than Purdue or University of Illinois for OOS.</p>
<p>To the OP–you might consider University of Cincinnati. You are just down the road from this excellent school, and with the co-op program (mandatory for engineering) you will earn money as well as graduate with experience on your resume. </p>
<p>And if you have the stats to get into the schools you mentioned, UC will certainly give you scholarships. :)</p>
<p>The career fairs are very focused on offering engineering positions since 70-80% of graduates are engineers. Nuclear, ceramic, metallurgical, and explosives engineering programs are some of only a few in the nation if you’d be interested in a career in very specific industries.</p>
<p>Although I moved farther away, I do agree with the earlier comments about choosing a school near where you’d like to end up. A large portion of my friends ended up in St. Louis, Kansas City, or Chicago. If you’d like to work for Boeing in St. Louis with the option to later move to their other locations, you can’t go wrong with Missouri S&T.</p>
<p>I’m not a frequent poster though I do visit CC on occasion, but I understand your dilemma since I’ve had to make the same choices so feel compelled to fill you in on my experience.</p>
<p>I graduated from Michigan engineering with my bachelors in 2011 and am doing my masters now in a more regional school akin to the ones you’ve mentioned, so I can tell you how the two stack up.</p>
<p>The true measure of whether you should attend a national top-ranked program depends on 4 factors:</p>
<ol>
<li><p>Can you graduate without a massive amount of student debt? If you must borrow in excess of $100,000 then the risk may be too high to go to the higher ranked school. You would feel enormous pressure to find a good job to pay it off, and any part-time job you pick up as a student will cut into your studying time. You also wouldn’t fully enjoy your time in college, which are truly some of the best in your life. However it seems that this won’t be an issue for you.</p></li>
<li><p>Are you a “shoot for the stars” kind of person, or do you want a stable but probably less exciting career in traditional engineering? I can tell you that students in Michigan engineering with a >3.5 GPA have opportunities to work at Google, Apple, Microsoft, Goldman Sachs, McKinsey, Procter & Gamble, General Electric, IBM, Amazon, Exxon Mobil, etc. right out of college and are typically placed on leadership tracks. You would have to work hard to earn a spot in these organizations, but the chance is there for those with initiative. I personally was recruited to one of these companies and many of my friends ended up there too. At the regional college where I’m picking up my masters, the companies that recruit are mostly local to the area as other posters have pointed out. The jobs offered are also more of the “9-5” entry level positions if you get what I mean. You will get a few regional blue-chip companies that come to recruit, but competition will be very fierce for a few spots.</p></li>
<li><p>How competitive and proactive are you? Don’t attend a school like Michigan (or UIUC, Carnegie Mellon, etc.) for engineering if you just want to party and have a good time. You will be surrounded by some of the brightest kids in the nation who will give you a run for your money in terms of grades, since almost all classes are curved. However, the upside is that the networking opportunities are incredible and you’ll likely find that most of the friends and contacts you make will serve you very well in your future career.</p></li>
<li><p>Are you looking to have a professional career or do research? For a business career, overall reputation of the entire school is more important. For future PhD applicants, the department strength is more important.</p></li>
</ol>
<p>I hope this helps. Good luck in making your decision.</p>
<p>Oh and one more thing - some companies do distinguish where you went to school and what your major was in terms of salary, because they must give you an offer that is competitive relative to your peers. Often this is in the form of a grid where row=school and major=column, and the value of the cell is the starting offer. Usually the offers are within $5k for the same job, but I’ve seen a few where the difference was $10-15k.</p>
<p>I had always thought that when it comes to engineering, if you are looking at UIUC vs Purdue vs Carnegie Mellon vs U of Michigan, it is largely just splitting hairs when it comes to caliber of the schools. They’re all pretty much Ivy level when it comes to quality of their engineering programs. And so affordability followed by which one has the best atmosphere you like should be the main priorities. I suppose, though, that some here would vehemently object to that statement.</p>
<p>“Ivy level” is not necessarily a compliment for strength of engineering programs, at least for those who envision a career in engineering (as opposed to banking or consulting).</p>
<p>You’re right ucbalumnus, Ivy League engineering schools (with the exception of Cornell) might not be the best choice if you’re looking for a traditional engineering career path, but I’m sure no employer would look lightly at a Harvard or Yale engineering degree either. Students of those programs should also do very well, especially in fields like management consulting.</p>
<p>aurous…thank you for this very helpful post…have a senior in high school who is looking at engineering programs like purdue and Uof M…along with other options including some ivies and even 3-2 programs through lac…</p>