Can any experienced parents/students comment on the pros and cons of campus life, ease/difficulty of course work, and after degree employment opps for an international student. we can’t visit the campuses to have a personal touch. Got admitted into all 3, awaiting FA. Thanks.
“after degree employment opps for an international student”
You need to contact the career center and international students office at each university and ask two questions:
- Where do their engineering graduates find work for the time that they are allowed to work here after graduation under the rules for Optional Practical Training (OPT)?
and - What records do they have for the numbers of those students who find positions where employers are successful at arranging an H-1B (work) visa after the OPT has expired?
http://www.ice.gov/sevis/practical-training
Engineering programs in the US do not vary much in difficulty, so you can eliminate that as a concern. The course requirements and content are controlled by ABET http://www.abet.org/ All of these universities can give this student a good education. If the costs are the same, you can safely choose based on weather, ease of transportation, or any other factor that is important to the student.
CWRU is a private school with about 5000 undergraduates. It is well known for engineering.
The other two are large public schools. Are you looking for a big American college experience complete with football games? Or are you looking for a college where most people are there to study?
Iowa State; great engineering departments, but the place is a notorious weed out campus.
NC State …My husband (engineering) and my son (non-engineering) are NCSU grads. They both loved NCSU. I think my S was almost sad when he graduated! He never had any trouble getting the classes he needed. There is a dorm for engineering majors. Lots of school spirit. Nice weather. Big airport nearby. Bus system available. Easy walking/biking distance to restaurants and shops on Hillsborough St.
We visited and liked both CWRU and Iowa State (not for engineering) - they are very different environments. ISU is in a small town, CWRU is in a big city and has less of a campus feel as it used to be two universities so buildings are scattered. You can expect to work hard in any engineering program but CWRU has a reputation for heavy workloads and a more serious student body. ISU has a larger and more varied student body - honors program a good idea if you want to be in a more focused environment - and more school spirit. CWRU has the better reputation overall but you should go to the one with the environment which suits you. Admiittedly we are heavily considering ISU due to a huge scholarship and probably wouldn’t have given it a closer look otherwise. But we really liked what we saw - they made an impressive effort on our visit day and it’s a beautiful campus.
My kid likes Case and it is a good fit (was looking for a city, etc.), although students there do have heavy workloads. Here’s a link to an article about the international student experience there.
http://case.edu/think/fall2014/international-students.html#.VQx0547F9Pk
@case16mom , Thanks for the link.
I object to the comment in post #2 about “there to study”. Most students, including in engineering, at the large public schools ARE there to study.
You need to look at the campus atmospheres at each school. Make a list of things that you notice to be different. The location, city, weather… None of us can tell you what most appeals to you, regardless of your country of origin.
Always remember that there is more to life than just academics. Take time to enjoy the US culture and campus wherever you go. You could have stayed home to learn the engineering. You are coming to the US to get educated about so much more. Enjoy your time here.