Comprehensive review of ME programs and college life at...?

<p>I really appreciated the comprehensive overviews from bon3head and Knowitsome concerning Engineering (especially mechanical) in particular and the campus and college experience in general at UIUC and Wisc-Madison. I think that they may be valuable for many students and parents perusing engineering programs/universities. If anyone else with personal insight about engineering (especially mechanical or possibly aero/astro) at Minnesota, Texas-Austin, Virginia Tech and Stanford would share about their experiences, we would be grateful. Also, others might want to ask about other schools. Thank you!</p>

<p>I’m re-posting the replies I was referring to for reference for this thread.</p>

<p>By Knowitsome (On University of Wisconsin-Madison):</p>

<p>While I’m a Badger alumnus and booster of the school, it’s not for everyone, and there are certainly lots of places which would provide similar things you’re likely looking for. That said, the combination of things it offers makes it a great choice for many prospective students.</p>

<p>Nearly all the Big Ten schools are good in engineering - Illinois, Michigan, Northwestern, Purdue, and Wisconsin competing nationally at the top, with Minnesota and Penn State considered a cut lower overall, followed by Iowa, Michigan State, and Ohio State having solid programs (Indiana doesn’t offer engineering). ANY of the ten would give your son a good education and opportunities going forward. Rankings are based on things which are relatively small matters of degree and ultimately won’t make much difference in what your son will learn. That will be primarily up to him, so while not ignoring them, I’d minimize the weight given to them, as I think you’re doing.</p>

<p>It’s when you consider those other aspects that certain schools begin to look more and more appealing compared to their peers. As you stated, Wisconsin is very strong in many, many fields, with 70 academic programs rated in the top ten nationally. Being a public university with a mandate to provide an education to the children of the state’s taxpayers, it accepts more students below the “HS superstar” level than the top privates. However, by volume, there are still plenty of those same superstars who choose to attend, so finding academic peers for top students isn’t hard. It’s certainly not as competitive as, say, MIT, so if the idea of making a diamond through pressure is what you want, you’re better off looking elsewhere.</p>

<p>Outside of class, Madison is a fun town for students. It has a well-deserved reputation for being a party school, as the cultural heritage of Wisconsin’s residents often revolves around drinking. Drinking to excess happens at nearly every school, but I think there’s more of an expectation to drink at Madison, though those who choose not to partake aren’t lacking for other things to do. Sports are big, but paradoxically, not taken as seriously as at some of their peers - it’s more of a fun, bonding-type thing. Entertainment options are pretty good (off and on campus), from music to theater and the like, while outdoor pursuits are very popular, too (Hoofers, the Arboretum, biking, etc.).</p>

<p>It’s hard to say there’s a predominant culture, though the passionate students for many causes are hard to miss. The city of Madison is quite liberal, but much of the rest of the state is more rural and pretty conservative, which makes for an interesting, diverse student body (and that’s not even counting the OOS and international influences). UW is the only school in the nation with two school newspapers. One is from the wacky left, and one is from the right (which in Madtown makes it the wacky right), and both publish daily. Read them both, and you might even be able to divine some semblance of the truth!</p>

<p>Personally, I had a lot of fun at UW and am glad I attended, but I could have made so much more of my time there (just because it’s available doesn’t mean a student will partake). Early introductory courses are large (100+), with discussion sections to help you make sense of what you heard in lectures. Upper level classes have more appropriate sizes, but you still need to take the initiative to talk to your professors, as it’s pretty easy to slide through all four years without much notice. I dropped out of school in my senior year and had a much better experience academically when I returned and actively engaged my profs. When I attended, there were also issues with getting into required classes, but that’s much less of an issue now (better enrollment management).</p>

<p>Bottom line is that UW is a great place to spend four years AND get a great education IF you’re comfortable with less attention or are inclined to seek out help on your own, but it’s not so good at catching those who are falling behind unless (again) they seek out help (which is readily provided, both for academic and social issues - they WANT everyone to succeed). In that sense, it’s the typical split between the advantages of a large research university vs. a small LAC. As I stated earlier, there are other large publics which offer many of these things, but UW does so many of them well that for someone who likes the large college atmosphere, it’d be hard to go wrong with this choice.</p>

<p>Sorry for the long post - I hope it helps!</p>

<p>By Bon3head (on UIUC):</p>

<p>Illinois, is much like Wisconsin, as are most Big Ten schools. Wisconsin has a more notorious party atmosphere (lately) than does Illinois, but it hasn’t been long since Illinois was more notorious. That said, it is absolutely not the case that Champaign-Urbana has nothing to do outside drinking. Personally, in my time there, I had a ton of fun without being a heavy drinker, so don’t think that just by sending a child to UIUC that they are going to come out a drunk. It just depends on what they decide to do, and they could do that no matter what school they went to.</p>

<p>Along the same lines, Illinois has the largest Greek system in the country with something like 60 frats. This means that there is a huge variety and there is bound to be one where your son would fit in should he so desire, but still, the majority of the people remain “frat-free,” which was my path. Basically, if being in a frat is his thing, there is LOTS of opportunities, and if not, then the school is large enough that it is not a social death wish.</p>

<p>Sports are big at Illinois, especially basketball, and the team looks to be very good the next couple years. Football is interesting in Chambana because of our penchant for being very good one year and then falling into a crappy, downward slide the next, but the sport as a whole is still very big and getting bigger. Personally, I did a lot of sports cheering. I was an active member of Orange Krush and helped run the Block I, the basketball and football cheering sections. I had a great time and met a lot of people who I am still friends with.</p>

<p>Now, on to the more important things. My freshman classes ranged from about 60 people to 600 people depending on the class (ECON was huge, Calculus was not), but by sophomore year, most of my classes were in more of the 60 person range, and by senior year it was 30 to 40. In any big school, it is easy to get lost in the crowd and not really connect with professors. For some people, this is an advantage, and for others a disadvantage. The thing that I like to tell people is that in a big-school situation like that, your experience is what you make it. I personally connected with quite a few of my professors, but I just had to work a little harder to do it than if I had gone to a small school, where it is more of a given. plus, the large schools offer more of a chance for undergraduate research, which I took advantage of.</p>

<p>Champaign is a fairly conservative town, but has a good mix of political and social views, so there are people who anyone can fit in with. There are over 900 student organizations with different interests and causes, including everything from sports to martial arts to computers to the month of October.</p>

<p>My only complaint is how flat the area is. I am a big fan of forests and hills, and they just didn’t have that in the area. It is central Illinois, though, so I knew that going into it. All in all, I had a great experience there, worked with professors that are leaders in their field, and learned a whole heck of a lot, all while having a lot of fun and a good social life.</p>

<p>Give me a semester and I can post up some info on TAMU as well… ;-)</p>

<p>Minus the large greek system, and exchanging the Wisconsin party reference with a UT-Austin reference, your description of UIUC is pretty spot on with one of TAMU (relatively speaking).</p>