<p>So, I know questions similar to this get asked a lot, but I have looked many of the old threads, and could use a little more specific advice.</p>
<p>I am currently at a local CC, taking pre reqs for EE. My dilemma is whether to transfer to Eastern Washington University, where I could graduate without debt, or the University of Washington, where I would take on somewhere in the neighborhood of 15-20k in debt (total). I could live at home and commute if I attended EWU, which doesn't bother me at all (I like living at home with my family).</p>
<p>Now, I am not willing to spend the extra money going to UW simply for prestige, but I am open to it if it would significantly help my career prospects (the prestige would be a nice bonus). I do know that EWU has a solid EE department, that is becoming increasingly popular, and they are ABET accredited. I would sort of prefer a smaller school, as I think I would be a little intimidated by the size of UW, but I am open to either. That being said, EWU is where a lot of my loser HS classmates ended up, which doesn't exactly make me excited... </p>
<p>I love the idea of being able graduate without the pressure of debt. I will most likely stay in the region after graduation. Also, I want to leave the door open to grad school/MBA at some point, if I decide to go that route. I am planning to talk to some local engineer friends I know to get their opinions, but I wanted to see if anyone here has some perspective for me.</p>
<p>Sorry for bringing up one of these common questions for the umpteenth time...</p>
<p>If this was a question of University of Hoboken on a free ride vs. MIT, I’d go with MIT - but in your case you should probably consider going debt-free.</p>
<p>Normally, I advise people to avoid going into debt to pay for school, but in your case, I think the 15-20K debt is worth it. Not only because the two schools aren’t close in terms of academic reputation, but the 20K amount is very manageable, especially for an engineering major. Furthermore, I would imagine that the average starting salaries for engineering majors from UW are at least 15-20K higher than that of Eastern Washington University (I admit, I’ve never heard of the school before).</p>
<p>I doubt I could go cheaper to WSU, as I would be living with some relatives if I went to UW, so that would cut costs significantly. Barring some awesome scholarships, the two cheapest schools for me are probably EWU and UW. I don’t have any particular interest in research (at least not at this stage).</p>
<p>Out of curiosity I looked up the course description for their circuit theory course because I just finished with mine this fall. Granted not everything can be gleaned from course descriptions, but I was surprised they split up their circuit theory into two classes EENG209 and 210, whereas mine covered all of 209 and most of 210. I was going to say pick UW because they should have a more rigorous program, but then I looked at their EE program and their descriptions for EE215 and 233 are exactly what we covered in one class :-p </p>
<p>Extrapolating from this, it seems like six of one half dozen of the other. I say keep your money and get the same education.</p>
<p>Note that UW follows the quarter system, which leads to a different division of the curriculum than for a semester-based school (this explains the discrepancies da6onet found).</p>
<p>I concur with the others saying that UW is the better value. Simply put, UW EE competes on a higher level. You’re much more likely to get better job opportunities. $15-20k is extremely manageable and can be paid off within a year or two.</p>
<p>It does matter. It matters to me. I work for a great company. We can pay above average for above average candidates. I live in Boston. I never heard of Eastern Washington. I wouldn’t know the difference between Eastern Washington and Eastern Kentucky. Neither is in my purview. I have no calibration as to what their standards of excellence are. </p>
<p>On the other hands, I can name several professors at UW whose work I’ve followed. I know they have a very high standard of excellence and students who do well there are likely to be top performers. </p>
<p>The real question is how good are YOU. If you’re just average and just want to stay local, save your money. If you have the talent, you can go a lot further at UW and $15-$20K is a bargain.</p>
<p>I would also recommend UW. I’m an engineering manager who works in NJ. I know of several engineering professors from UW who are well-known and respected in their particular fields. I’ve never heard of EWU. </p>
<p>Actually, I agree with ClassicRockerDad’s advice. If you are a strong student who is likely to perform well at UW, the extra cost is well worth it. If you will struggle at the more challenging program at UW, probably better to attend EWU.</p>
<p>The thing is, I am not completely sure if I have what it takes to do well at UW. I think I do, but I am only now taking my second quarter of Calculus and Chemistry (4.0 in both last quarter).</p>
<p>I am going to work harder this quarter to really grasp the material, do harder problems, etc., but other than that, I don’t know how to gauge whether I would be able to handle it. Any suggestions?</p>
<p>Do all the reading before class. Rewrite and organize your notes from class after class. Do all of the review problems. Get help if you have a problem getting them done.</p>
<p>Until you actually go to the school, you won’t know how well you’ll do. You can make reasonable preparations, but you need to be aware that enough others may all be making the same preparations. Even if you all get all As, the “marketplace” may not be able to support the work you all want to do, all the time.</p>
<p>Ultimately, no one “knows” (with absolute certainty) what is going to happen in the future. I know people who did all the “right things” – studied really hard, attended top schools, did groundbreaking research/development/innovation/open-source/whatever, and still were laid off during industry downturns, and were unemployed long enough to be classified as “long term unemployed” (out of work for 27 weeks or more). In a slow-growth, uncertain economy, there are no guarantees that what is promoted as an ideal career will turn out to be.</p>
<p>Ryno, if you’re doing well, there is no reason not to try UW. Just be diligent and work on developing good study habits, recognizing that everybody has relearn how to study when you get to college. You can even try some of them in HS to see if they make a difference. </p>
<p>1) Preread the material before lecture. Make sure that lecture is never the first time you see a concept. This helps you get more out of lecture
2) Take lecture notes on a scrap paper and then as soon as possible afterwards, copy them over carefully into your notebook. This process forces you to think clearly about every concept and develop questions to bring to office hours.
3) Look at every problem as soon as its assigned, try to do it and if you can’t, formulate questions that you can bring to office hours.
4) Always go to office hours. If you don’t have questions, other people will.
5) Try to study in groups, have every one do every problem individually, then get together and go over it all trying to get extra insight from each other. </p>
<p>These techniques really helped me a lot. I didn’t do so well my first two years but then really figured it out. I found it very difficult to see where a course was going and sometimes I guessed wrong. If I had read ahead and did what I suggested, I wouldn’t have gotten lost. Eventually, I learned how to do that.</p>
<p>^Number 5 has been so crucial for me. I’ve learned a ton (and caught mistakes in my own thinking) just by explaining concepts to other people along with having them explained to me. The biggest help of group studying for me, personally, has been the motivation to get more things done. When I’m studying alone I have a tendency to start screwing around. Obviously there are times when one must do individual work, but when possible, I try to collaborate with other people.</p>
<p>Also Ryno, the fact that you have a “healthy respect” for UW tells me that you don’t have a chip on your shoulder and will probably be able to do well. People who have always found everything easy sometimes have an emotional problem with all of a sudden not being the best. It often impedes their ability to learn because they are afraid to look dumb. Get over it. If you know going in that you’re nothing special, you won’t ever be too embarrassed to ask the questions that you need answers to, and will be able to learn effectively. It’s hard for almost everybody.</p>