<p>I am currently a senior in high school in Texas. I am most likely going to be a national merit finalist as I am a semi-finalist. I am interested in majoring in computer/ electrical engineering. I am currently interested in two schools- University of Texas at Austin and Northeastern University. </p>
<p>My question is should I attend Northeastern with a full tuition scholarship (due to national merit) and take advantage of their 5-years masters program or should I attend the University of Texas at Austin because they have a much better engineering program? In terms of price, UT Austin would cost about $7000-8000 more a year (without merit aid) and not offer the opportunity of a 5-year masters program. But, they are a much more renowned engineering university. </p>
<p>Which would look better to an employer and which would affect my salary the most?</p>
<p>Thanks ahead of time</p>
<p>Northeastern has an excellent co-op program that gives great job experience.<br>
[Cooperative</a> Education | College of Engineering](<a href=“http://www.coe.neu.edu/coe/cooperativeeducation/]Cooperative”>http://www.coe.neu.edu/coe/cooperativeeducation/)</p>
<p>However, if you want to return to Texas after graduation it might not be as well recognized as Austin.</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>So does [insert name of major engineering college here].</p>
<p>Yes - More and more engineering schools have emphasis on co-op programs. </p>
<p>The difference at Northeastern is that “experiential learning” is key to the whole university. (Mostly that is done as co-op, occasionally in other ways for non-engineering majors). Thus the whole campus culture revolves around the 5 year program, with two or three 6-month paid internships. Thus engineering students can graduate with three “real jobs” on their resume and a taste of industry. </p>
<p>This integrated approach means there is heavy advisor support for job hunting. It also means that all students are part of the co-op rotation schedule. That eliminates some housing snufus like I would have encountered if I had done Semester in Industry at my college. Student on co-op often work in Boston and live on campus, still hanging with same friends and participating in clubs etc. Sometimes they do co-ops in other cities (NYC and DC have housing options) or abroad.</p>
<p>Why don’t you wait until the final numbers are in? If UTA gives you some additional merit that makes the two options closer in cost, then you can go there since it seems to be your preference.
On the other hand, NEU might up the ante by offering you more than the tuition scholarship, depending on how much they value you as a candidate. Merit scholarships are unpredictable.</p>
<p>Northeastern just changed their NM scholarship - it is now $30k instead of full tuition. About an $11k difference so total cost will be around $25k for NM finalists when you figure in all other expenses.</p>
<p>Thank everyone for the input. I’m unsure about whether Northeastern will offer full or partial scholarship for national merit as the site has changed multiple times and when I called they said they have yet to decide. At this point I agree with BeanTownGirl in that I think I will probably have to wait and see the relative merit scholarships I receive from the two schools. </p>
<p>Colorado_mom, one of my primary interests in Northeastern was their co-op program. It seems to be incredible and significantly aid in job placement post-schooling.</p>
<p>I’m really interested in whether a job would prefer an applicant that has a Masters from a lesser engineering university compared to a Bachelors from a more well known engineering school.
The next best thing to this question would be data that displays the incomes of Masters degree students from Northeastern compared to Bachelor students from UT. Would anybody know where to find data such as this?</p>
<p>The Masters degree is usually a plus compared to just a B.S. so it is not a good comparison. If you compare two engineering programs at the B.S. level which are both ABET accredited, employers might have a slight preference for the more highly ranked one but it is not a large preference.</p>
<p>What is more important for employers is work experience and regional familiarity. It is likely that employers in Boston will hire Northeastern grads while Texas employers will have a preference for UTA grads. </p>
<p>Finally, there is the networking aspect. The other students you get to know in college may be the ones who will get you an interview with their employers. This is how S2 got a job in Chicago within a month of graduating from IIT in 2010.</p>
<p>Darn… you are right. Northeastern NMF website info is still there same as a few years ago, but the fine print has changed … $30K, not full tuition. Still a good deal, but not as good.
[Scholarships</a> | Admissions](<a href=“http://www.northeastern.edu/admissions/costs/scholarships.html]Scholarships”>http://www.northeastern.edu/admissions/costs/scholarships.html)</p>
<p>That’s a shame. I’ve steered a lot of NMF families toward NEU, and some of them are still there now. I assume there will be grandfathering for current students.</p>
<p>Yeah but it also says “…will receive a $30,000 merit based award and may also be eligible for additional Northeastern merit scholarships.”
So you have no way of knowing if they would give you more. That’s why you need to cast a “wide net” when you are looking for merit aid.</p>
<p>Bean - That’s very true. </p>
<p>OP - At this point you don’t need to decide a thing. Apply to a variety of schools, and then decide in April. Make sure you visit your top choices before deciding.</p>
<p>Yes, I would look at what money you’re offered, then make a decision. Employers are looking for the best candidates. My husband and I got our master’s degrees from UT-Austin and a company in Maine ended up hiring both of us! They didn’t care that we went to school in a different part of the country.</p>
<p>Thank you all for the help! It will be an interesting ride and I will have to wait and see where it takes me :D</p>