<p>Engineering grads or anyone that knows an engineering grad from Notre Dame-how is the engineering program-I have heard it isn't that great, but is it worth going to Notre Dame for engineering as opposed to a cheaper state school? Were you able to find a good job straight after getting a bachelor's degree and how hard was it?</p>
<p>My son was Mechanical Engineering grad last year, and yes, he and his classmates found jobs in a tough market, but they seemed to be in the upper part of the graduating class.
The aerospace engineers had a very difficult time, so it makes a big difference which degree you are thinking about.
The University has stats about each class, and it would be wise for you to take a close look at that data.
ND just completed a beautiful engineering building, and there is a bigger emphasis on some of the engineering programs, so it might be an exciting time to be there. </p>
<p>Note-realize that a large number of intended engineernig majors switch to other degrees, at ND and other institutions as well. You might want to keep that in mind and investigate your backup major just in case.</p>
<p>^^Agree with SJChessMom; however, our Spring 2010 grad had no issues finding employment as an aero major. I can share that our grad had a lot of work experience including an internship after freshman year, research program after soph year and then a huge internship with a major company after junior year. I firmly believe that the work experience coupled with the Notre Dame alumni connections helped our grad land the current job with a national aerospace company. </p>
<p>The career fairs and career center are phenomenal! The alumni connections go a long way as well. You have to be willing to take advantage of everything that Notre Dame has to offer. It is my understanding that most classmates found employment or had opted to attend grad school even in this economy. And, as Chess Mom indicated, grades are important as well. Engineering is not an easy major no matter which college you choose.</p>
<p>Our grad has no regrets having attended and graduated from Notre Dame. Just wishes the newer buildings/facilities had been completed sooner!</p>
<p>Good Luck…</p>
<p>Can anyone speak to ND’s Electrical Engineering program?</p>
<p>Has anyone (or has anyone heard of anyone…) who has done engineering and gone on to medical school from ND?</p>
<p>@vanillachai</p>
<p>It’s definitely possible for an engineer to pursue med school. Chemical engineers at ND take all but a few of the recommended pre-med requirements, so it’s very easy to fit those in as a ChemE. At the same time, I don’t think that many kids opt to take this route. Pre-med students in the College of Arts and Letters and the College of Science have much more flexibility to take easy elective courses to boost their GPA’s (and make their lives a little easier outside their science reqs).</p>
<p>Thanks! Makes sense… any idea if it’s possible to combine premed requirements with Mech?</p>
<p>I know people who have done Mech, Chem, and Electrical engineering pre med. It’s a very hard road, though you can get interesting experiences/internships/research to make you unique (one friend got a Stryker internship over the summer). I’d caution doing it unless you have a real interest in engineering because your GPA will be negatively affected.</p>
<p>Yea… that, plus the difficulty of fitting premed labs and engineering labs into my schedule, has me worried. I do have an interest in engineering, but I’m even more drawn to it because of the better guarantee of job placement after college, should something change in my plans for med school. I’m just not sure if it’s worth it to struggle through premed/engineering at ND or choose a more forgiving major and go pre-professional… or if I’m trying to hard to make my college plans fit into ND, when I should really be looking elsewhere. :(</p>
<p>Vanillachai</p>
<p>If I were you and you come to Notre Dame, I would start out in Engineering. During your freshman year you will get an intro to chem/biochem/physics/engineering/calc in your classes. After the year is over, you’ll have a much better idea of whether you want to become a doctor or an engineer. If you choose the engineering route, then you can continue with engineering. If you choose the doctor route, you have plenty of options (all of which will be much better than continuing as an engineer): biochem, bio, chem, science business, or arts and letters.</p>
<p>I majored in physics with a concentration in applied physics (aka, 20+ credit hours in engineering. I chose to focus on mechanical engineering and graduated this past spring). I decided I wanted to do engineering graduate school, and was accepted to 14 of 17 programs I applied to, with special fellowships offered at many of them. I am presently in the University of Minnesota Chemical Engineering Department (ranked in the top 5 nationally, depending on the year) in my first year of studies. An ND engineering education is solid. I would also point out that, in my experience, ND grads have a lot of positions of power. This never hurts. For example, the chair of the University of Michigan’s ChemE dept. is an ND grad. Unfortunately, his football affiliation is now with the Dark Side, but he’s a great guy who’s achieved a lot in his career with an ND B.S.</p>