DS is interested in targeting hands-on engineering programs at small to mid-sized schools. School spirit is also important and he has no interest in Greek life. Marquette feels like a fit. How urban is the campus? Is there assistance in finding co-op or internship positions? Where do UGs go to grad school?
Marquette Engineering grad here and father of recent grad. I think you’ll find Marquette’s school spirit is quite high look no further than the attendance at MU basketball games. Marquette ranked 14th nationally last year in home game attendance and given its’ relatively small size is impressive. Students’ attitudes on campus are always extremely friendly and helpful. Greek life is there if you want it but it’s not needed to have an active social life. It’s really almost non-existent compared to other schools.
The campus is very urban - just a mile or so from downtown Milwaukee. The center of campus (central mall) is peaceful and quiet but you’ll know you’re in the middle of a city. Wisconsin Avenue is one of the main local streets into downtown Milwaukee and it cuts right through Marquette’s campus. MU has done a great job of defining the school’s borders so it’s obvious when you’re entering the campus area. The proximity to downtown provides great opportunities to escape campus and explore the city. Check out the excellent lakefront and park system.
Marquette has one of the oldest (started in 1919) and most established co-op programs in the country. A full time staff provides great assistance to students who want to co-op. I don’t know the percentage, but I believe more than half of the students do participate. It’s an excellent program and I highly recommend it both for the valuable experience and the substantial cash that students earn. It led to my first full time job once I graduated.
I can’t speak to your grad school question but I’m sure that information is available.
Lastly, I recommend a campus visit to judge the fit for your son. Some people don’t like the urban location while others want it instead of isolated cornfields. Marquette recently opened a new $90 million engineering building so there’s no question about its commitment to engineering education. The new president of MU is an engineering professor as well.
Good luck in your college search.
Thanks for all the great information! Sounds like something we should definitely go see.
We visited for the Engineering Scholarship competition and spent a lot of time between Friday & Saturday. Son was VERY impressed. Financial aid awards are starting to come in and hopefully Marquette will be willing to up theirs because they are behind where other schools are that he is considering.
We are planning a summer visit. Maybe next year’s engineering scholarship competition will end up on the list as well. Thanks for the info.
We attended the Engineering scholarship competition too, lots of kids participated. Facilities and equipment are extremely dated and impressive. Personnel is very kind. Had the chance to meet with Dr. Jenssen, School of Engineering Assistant Dean for a few minutes, great person. The engineering building is actually an engineering master piece for all that matters. Solar panels, self monitoring, and works also as a learning tool; students can actually interact and learn with the building. Only downside I found, and probably I’m wrong, 1) no chemical engineering program (which can work better for students aiming the biomedical engineering field than the BME BS itself), and 2) even though they have lots of modern equipment and tools doesn’t seem to me into research as much as other schools. My impression is that they will provide the very best education for students to work with tools and procedures already in existence but not much on developing new things.
Son decided to attend - very tough choice between Marquette and Gonzaga, especially with Gonzaga offering substantially more $$.
@otoledo I have to disagree with you about undergrad research. We spent quite a bit of time speaking with one of the mechanical engineering profs (my son’s intended major) and he said that his department typically has more research projects than they have kids interested in doing them. Can’t speak for other depts but at least in mechanical they have plenty of new stuff going on.
@CaliParent276 Here’s a small comparison of Engineering research budget from some of the schools my son was admitted to; Marquette University $5,507,820 (http://engineering-schools.startclass.com/l/236/Marquette-University), Ohio University $14,756,500 (http://engineering-schools.startclass.com/l/69/Ohio-University), Purdue University $249,020,000 (http://engineering-schools.startclass.com/l/24/Purdue-University), Ohio State University $112,748,000 (http://engineering-schools.startclass.com/l/20/The-Ohio-State-University), Renssalaer Poly $59,080,000 (http://engineering-schools.startclass.com/l/78/Rensselaer-Polytechnic-Institute), University of Wisconsin- Madison $204,476,000 (http://engineering-schools.startclass.com/l/34/University-of-Wisconsin-Madison), Saint Louis University $2,538,140 (http://engineering-schools.startclass.com/l/214/Saint-Louis-University). Marqette has the second lowest research budget, and I know some of these schools are simply huge, others are pretty much similar in size like Ressalaer