<p>We live in NY and my son was accepted into the engineering programs at both Purdue and penn state. Purdue is ranked higher in engineering (#10 v #16) while penn state is ranked higher in the overall university rankings per us news (#46 v #65). This is a very difficult decision since Purdue seems like the better choice for engineering but penn state had a better northeast feel and my son thought he'd fit in. My overall feel after visiting was that although both are in the middle of nowhere (to us), penn state had a more vibrant community, while Purdue seemed maybe a little more scholarly. In both cases, we get no money, so that's not an issue, but when spending $200k for an education, we want some value and both schools spoke of their impressive career fairs and job recruiting success. Not sure if Purdue would draw companies recruiting for northeast jobs though. Tough decision to make and would appreciate advice.</p>
<p>Both are great engineering schools… I don’t think ranking of#10 vs #16 makes a difference. It’s not like it’s #2 vs. # 200. You mentioned important points yourself:</p>
<ul>
<li>your son feels that he fits in at Penn State (this is really important)</li>
<li>recruiting for jobs in the northeast seems better at Penn State (I would agree with this!)</li>
<li>more vibrant community at Penn State</li>
</ul>
<p>I have also heard that Penn State has an unbelievable alumni network.</p>
<p>Based on what you wrote, it sounds like Penn State is the way to go. Is your son on the same page as you are on these features (he’s the one who has to spend the time there). Though you are fitting the bill, the schools seem really comparable and he can’t go wrong at either.</p>
<p>What are the pros for Purdue besides the really slight edge in ranking?</p>
<p>Purdue seemed to have more of an emphasis on the education while Penn State seemed to have an emphasis on the school spirit, deriving from the sports I guess. They’re both in the Big Ten conference, but somehow I felt the sports and frats would play a bigger role at penn state and noticed how many of the students were wearing the penn state blue and white, and shouting “We Are…Penn State” at random moments. While on the surface this seems like it could be a good thing, I’m concerned that the emphasis on the sports and the “walk on water” mentality that this can sometimes create, could have allowed the recent scandal to go undetected or be mismanaged. That’s my opinion. If you asked my son to pick a school today, he would pick Penn State, probably because “Happy Valley” would be a fun college experience. As a parent, I think he needs less distractions, which would certainly mean Purdue, because it looked like there is not much going on there. Just wondering what others experiences have been.</p>
<p>Neither is worth 200k for undergrad work, IMHO. If you have no instate options and have to pick one, I would vote for Purdue. It is known for excellent engineering program.</p>
<p>He also got into Binghamton, an in state option, but we’d rather foot the bill for the best possible education and opportunity, which narrowed down to penn state and Purdue if rankings are a true indicator of later job opportunities.</p>
<p>My husband (boyfriend at the time) faced this same question some 20 years ago. In his case it was for graduate school. Both Purdue and Penn State offered his area of study, acoustical engineering.</p>
<p>I can’t speak to Purdue because my husband went with Penn State, where we were married. He feels that he got a top notch education and had great research opportunities. The companies with whom he interviewed boosted his salary offers because of his Penn State degree.</p>
<p>I’m sure Purdue is great, too. But we were very happy in State College. Best of luck to your son! Please let us know what he decides.</p>
<p>Visited Purdue, and I believe they have one of the largest engineering recruiting fairs.</p>
<p>Starting engineers aren’t paid a “premium” by school, but since cost is not a factor, for engineering I’d pick Purdue because of the recruiting opportunities (look at a map…Champaign/Urbana, Lafayette, Ann Arbor is a pretty much straight shot for a recruiter who wants to hit 3 top engineering schools in one trip) although if your son likes Penn State it won’t make that much difference in the grand scheme of things.</p>
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<p>Penn State will give your son a wonderful education, and many opportunities. I know lots of people with degrees from PSU, and it has served them well. If that’s where your son wants to go, and you are willing to pay the price, he should enroll there.</p>
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<p>My husband was. And he was recruited out of Pennsylvania by a company in SE Michigan.</p>
<p>I’m not saying Purdue wouldn’t fare just as well. I truly have no idea. I just know what worked for my husband.</p>
<p>Thanks, I appreciate the input : )</p>
<p>You may want to check a couple of things - 1) how do the two schools compare in the area of internships and coops. Historically, what percentage of students got placed and at which employers, and at what years, and what was the range of compensation. 2) what is the reputation of the specific field(s) of engineering that your son is interested in at the two schools.</p>
<p>Nationally I believe starting engineering salaries are running between $53,000 and $59,000+/- and possibly a starting bonus depending on type of engineering and size of company. Internships/co-ops were running $17 - $18 an hour. Might be a starting point for comparison although I’m guessing there aren’t huge difference between Purdue and Penn State.</p>
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<p>No Stony Brook admission? Stony Brook is usually considered the “top” SUNY for engineering and CS (and probably the one most attractive to engineering and CS recruiters).</p>
<p>Some <a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/internships-careers-employment/1121619-university-graduate-career-surveys-4.html[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/internships-careers-employment/1121619-university-graduate-career-surveys-4.html</a> may be of interest, but remember that hiring, even at well known universities, does have some regional bias, and the data presented is not always exactly comparable between schools.</p>
<p>Re: school spirit/sports, I don’t know how they were as college students but I knew a lot of Purdue grads in Chicago and they were CRAZY about Purdue sports-and all were in the Greek system…Sports are very big there. I can’t imagine that part would be so different from Penn State.</p>
<p>Great info everyone, thank you! I have more homework to do…</p>
<p>Great points. The only thing I would add is how easy is it to get home? And is that a factor? It was something we didn’t consider and something I wish we would have. It was not easy to get home, so kid didn’t get to come home as much as they would have liked.</p>
<p>Penn State mom here with a son who graduated with an engineering degree. Great alumni network. He works for a NE firm where the principal owner is a grad and 60 percent of the engineers are grads as well. In addition, the city where he works has a strong alumni organization that provided him with instant friends. Purdue is a great school as well. Son has a friend that went there and although his job search was successful, it definitely was more difficult. Party atmosphere was actually pretty similar at Purdue. Sports culture as well, except it is focused around basketball. Look into Thon at Penn State if you want to read about a wonderful student run philanthropy that many students participating in. PM me if you have any specific questions.</p>
<p>Really comforting information moms! I appreciate it as it is a very big decision, albeit a good one to have to make. Purdue would be much more difficult to get to for us from NY and my son was clearly more comfortable at Penn State. As parents, we were too in terms of the proximity to home. I just want him to be in the best environment for learning as he is smart but social and i sensed he may have more distractions at Penn State. I guess the bottom line is as my husband has told our other three before this one, “3.6 and above it’s a gift, and below, it’s a loan”! Although in the engineering program, I may have to convince him to lower that just a bit…</p>
<p>These both sound like very good options.</p>
<p>Comparing prospective employer connections is a great idea (as is comparing salary differences by region–for engineering this may/may not be significant.</p>
<p>In addition to the data previously stated, we looked at more data about colleges overall.
More specifically, 4 vs 6 yr graduation statistics. I also realize that many engineers do not graduate in 4 years due to co-op opportunities.</p>