Engineering Colleges Like Duke

Parents Forum
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<p>Wow thanks!! Oh so much. I logged on this evening and found so many thoughtful responses. Where to start…</p>

<p>Bummer that I came off pretentious. I’ll totally cop to being a mom with a sudden lull at work this week who is also suffering from having a freshman at college so my work there is done! I was so overwhelmed with my oldest learning about colleges that I thought I would figure out where to start learning early on. I waited until my first kid took actual tests to start researching and that was very stressful. There is no knowledge here about the differences between schools at all. All guidance counselors are focused on making sure kids get the Promise Scholarship, which pays for state tuition. We are in West Virginia, so not the East. I am from Louisiana, originally, --that’s where Tulane, Vanderbilt and of course Duke comes from. I could see him in the South–my oldest now at Oberlin, no way. I have no California or midwest knowledge at all!</p>

<p>No he hasn’t taken SATs yet. I’m going by what my daughter made, and my estimate of her abilities/capabilities vs his. He does homework way faster than her, he makes excellent grades so much more easily than her, plus he is competitive and she isn’t. I just want to do right by this guy–he spontaneously started reading sentences at age 3. They put him in 6th grade math in 4th grade. I think he’s settled down since then, which I’ve heard is normal for early advanced kids. He goes to a regular public school. </p>

<p>He can absolutely choose whatever school he wants. I just want to be ready with knowledge for him as we move forward. I think mostly my twinge at him giving up Duke would be giving up the Duke alumni ED advantage. Otherwise, fine!</p>

<p>About engineering–he “upgrades” his airsoft guns all the time PLUS he’s a baker. Not a cook, but baking. I’m so not a baker–all that delicate measuring, bleh. He’s also interested in business (competition). So I’m trying to pick a place that preserves his options, should engineering lose its charm. I definitely know that many change majors.</p>

<p>I do see him as a kid OK with the Greek thing. </p>

<p>OK onto specific schools–again thanks!</p>

<p>CMU-we are only 1.5 hours away from Pittsburgh (love the city). My daughter LOVED it, was bummed to be waitlisted. I heard they prefer people from farther afield? I do know they have the serious arts, design, theater people. My opinion after several visits? NOT the love of learning LAC feel. It’s all about getting the job. Only place we visited where all the presenters wore business suits. Still, you are right–it could be the right place for him, given his interest in business!
UMich- I did not realize so many people were from out of state! I will look into this more.
UVa–my much younger sister graduated there recently and 90% of her friends were from Va. I know it is a great school–but so big! and mostly from Va.
Chicago–oops–I swore I checked that they had engineering but apparently not! facepalm
Swarthmore–probably not unless he’s only marginally interested in Engineering?
Yale/Brown–I’m hearing they are not great for engineering?
Cornell/Columbia–I’m hearing they are strong in engineering? Do they integrate with the other kids well?</p>

<p>Schools for us to research
Harvey Mudd–intruiging!
Bucknell
Lafayette
Rochester
BU
Syracuse (don’t know if I can do this as a dukie :slight_smile:
GWU
Caltech
Ga Tech
Renassler
Case Western</p>

<p>I appreciate each and every one of you who took time to comment!!</p>

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<p>I don’t know why one would want to send a kid really devoted to engineering to schools that are “reviving and revitalizing” their engineering programs versus schools for whom engineering has always been a high priority and the programs have already been and continue to be seen as world-class. Many of the usual suspects have been discussed upthread so I won’t rehash them.</p>

<p>OP - I’d stick Northwestern back on your list; generally speaking, it’s a similar school to Duke. Though I totally understand and empathize with the Duke-double-legacy-ED card; that’s a rough card not to play as long as you can say with an honest conscience it’s the kid driving it.</p>

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<p>Actually MIT has quite the robust curriculum. Its business, economics, and social science programs are absolutely top notch (consistently places in the top 3 in USNews for all of them), should you ever want to change from engineering. It also has a deeply ingrained Greek system, with almost half of male students belonging to a fraternity of some sort. Plus it throws the best parties in the Boston area.</p>

<p>Definitely consider it as a school. It does have that techy, supernerd reputation, but that applies more so to Caltech than MIT ;).</p>

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<p>I would leave GWU out. My son really wanted to visit there since their rep gave such a good presentation at his high school :wink: I found their “strategic plan” or something named similarly and it stated their goal is to move into the top 50 for engineering. Hmmm…
We went anyway to see. The 15 or so tour guides introduced themselves, none were engineering or sciences, all were history or poly sci or international relations. Hmmm…
We had arranged a tour of the engineering facilities - they sucked. Lacking many types of labs, the labs we saw had ancient equipment. The student showing us around was nice. He did say they are building a new engineering/science building so maybe things are better? They had just started a study abroad option for engineers! The only bright spot - cool internships with government agencies.
So GWU is great for a lot of things, but engineering is not one of them.</p>

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<p>Wait a min, who said 70% the Mich student body are not from Michigan? I think it’s the other way around.</p>

<p>GWU is NOT good for engineering.</p>

<p>Definitely keep Northwestern. Check out their co-op and unique first-year curriculum. Here’s the the upper-end of their NRC “R” rankings:</p>

<p>Mat Sci 3
Applied Math 4
Mechanical 5
Industrial 6
Civil 8
Chemcial 8
Biomedical 10
Electrical 20</p>

<p>The NRC rankings are actually presented as ranges but the upper end of the range is almost equivalent to the normal rankings we are used to seeing.</p>

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<p>The University is starting up a new program in “molecular engineering”, the idea being that the traditional boundaries between pure science and building stuff (ie.e., engineering) disappear at the molecular level. I am not sure exactly when they will start a major, but it may work for a current HS sophomore.</p>

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<p>Starting to look into all the schools and this is what I’m running into–the big state schools don’t fulfill the desire for kids from all over, or 4 year residential. UMich is indeed 70% from Michigan, and 27K undergraduates. The smaller engineering schools can end up specialized technical schools (ie. no English majors). It’s an interesting search! That’s why I ended up with the Ivies on the list–not for prestige, but trying to fill the wish list!</p>

<p>Oh and I forgot to add Lehigh to the list, will do.</p>

<p>And where are the people who say–engineering is engineering, as long as they are accredited you will get the same job at the same pay etc etc. I know that argument is usually used to discourage a kid from borrowing $200K to go to CMU vs free to his state school, but wouldn’t it apply here too?</p>

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<p>Your list has nothing to do with engineering. Cal Tech, Georgia Tech, Colorado, I could go on and have. Go check out the engineering majors threads.</p>

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<p>Whoopsie that’s was me, Sam Lee, I was thinking 70/30 but flip flopped - here’s what’s on the website for Michigan:</p>

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<p>UVa is also about 70/30. [U.Va&lt;/a&gt;. Engineering Facts At A Glance](<a href=“http://www.seas.virginia.edu/about/facts/]U.Va”>http://www.seas.virginia.edu/about/facts/)</p>

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<p>Per College Board, Michigan is 62% in state:</p>

<p><a href=“BigFuture College Search”>BigFuture College Search;

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<p>For business and engineering, look at Lehigh’s Integrated Business and Engineering program (honors). Beautiful, LAC-like university that is very sporty, Greek, social and highly rated for engineering.</p>

<p>BTW - I know exactly how you feel with your college freshman away now. I started early in 10th grade with my DS for the same reason. Also more academic than his sister and focused in a particular area (also engineering). While he had no idea what he wanted at that time, we made some college trips when we had time to see what he liked. Really helped when he decided against city schools (based on Penn) and loved Lehigh. So we went more in that direction.</p>

<p>Still, as others have said, even with a top student (my DS is in top 5% of his class, senior year), it’s so hard to tell how test results will come out. PSATs in fall of 11th grade were not even indicative. However, I understand your interest in doing your research.</p>

<p>Feel free to PM me at any time for more insights into early college search.</p>

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<p>I’m a recent Duke Alum and the engineering schools that I think has the most similar vibe to Duke is Rice. Rice is known for offering an incredible residential experience and is very undergraduate focused. It is also located in a temperate climate and Houston has a growing tech community. That being said, Rice is nowhere near as geographically diverse as Duke. NU would be more similar in that regard. Of the Ivies, I would apply to Harvard, Penn, Columbia, and Princeton. My final list would include Stanford, MIT, Northwestern, Duke, Vanderbilt, and Rice. WashU and Yale are just too weak in engineering to merit serious consideration I would think.</p>

<p>Go Blue Devils! :)</p>

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<p>Yale is ranked 38 by US News for 2012 undergraduate engineering, so not that much less than Vanderbilt at 34. UVa is also at 34. Rice is 17 and Duke is 24,Harvard 27, Princeton 11, Northwestern 13, Lehigh 42. These are just some of the schools that have been mentioned. Washington University didn’t make the top 50 but has good programs in biomedical and computer science and engineering. Any of these schools should be able to provide good opportunities. It will be important to look at the fit of the school overall.</p>

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<p>Agree that Rice is an excellent choice for many reasons, but would consider it, especially given its small population (half that of Duke), more like the LAC feel that the OP describes than like Duke.</p>

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<p>Sorry, I made a mistake in post #34. Washington University is ranked #38. I missed that when looking over the info.</p>

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<p>Rankings don’t say everything. What kinds of engineering are offered can be important. For example, the types of engineering offered, from the ABET accreditation lists:</p>

<p>Duke: biomedical, civil, electrical and computer, mechanical
Harvard: engineering science
Lehigh: biomedical, chemical, civil, computer, electrical, environmental, industrial, materials, mechanical, systems
Northwestern: biomedical, chemical, civil, computer, electrical, environmental, industrial, manufacturing, materials, mechanical
Princeton: aerospace, chemical, civil, electrical, mechanical
Rice: biomedical, chemical, civil, electrical, mechanical
Vanderbilt: biomedical, chemical, civil, computer, electrical, mechanical
WUStL: biomedical, chemical, civil, electrical, mechanical, systems
Yale: chemical, electrical, mechanical</p>

<p>Big State University comparison:</p>

<p>North Carolina State: aerospace, agricultural, biomedical, chemical, civil, computer, construction, electrical, environmental, industrial, materials, mechanical, mechatronics, nuclear, paper, textile
Virginia: aerospace, biomedical, chemical, civil, computer, electrical, mechanical, systems
Virginia Tech: aerospace, agricultural, chemical, civil, computer, construction, electrical, engineering mechanics, industrial, materials, mechanical, mining, ocean
West Virginia: aerospace, chemical, civil, computer, electrical, industrial, mechanical, mining, petroleum</p>

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<p>I agree that rankings are only part of the evaluation process, ucbalumnus. However, if you are trying to argue that the offerings are more numerous at the state schools you list, I think that information needs to be dissected also. For example, if you look at North Carolina State, the list above includes “textile,” which, if you look at their website, is actually under the auspices of the School of Textiles at NC State, not the Engineering School. They also list materials and mechanical separately, whereas some engineering schools consider these as one department.</p>

<p>You are trying to compare very different schools, and I think some of these schools are more “splitting” than “lumping” their programs, making it appear that they offer more. I’m not saying one is superior to another, but listing more types of engineering isn’t necessarily better.</p>

<p>I wonder what “ocean” engineering is at Virginia Tech?</p>

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<p>The OP is not interested in schools like Virginia Tech but here is the info re : ocean.
<a href=“http://www.aoe.vt.edu/[/url]”>http://www.aoe.vt.edu/&lt;/a&gt;
Agree that rank isn’t everything. Fit is important. VT is actually ranked #15 in engineering and would be convenient to WV but is not what the OP is looking for.</p>

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<p>I think this doesn’t apply to the OP. But I know Lehigh has an aero minor in their mechanical engineering department which is highly regarded. On the same vein many materials department cover mining and many chemical departments will have a specialization in petroleum. </p>

<p>One thing I do want to point out and this is very secondary is that some of the ivy engineering (and I’ve heard Duke as well) are more for those who are more interested in going to Wall Street or Graduate school than being a practicing engineer. It would be something I would look at.</p>