<p>I know there have been posts on here by Marquette alumni who are engineers. Our son will be comparing U of MN, UW-Madison and Marquette for engineering. He thinks he prefers a smaller school but we have not formally visited any of these schools yet. We have another son at Marquette so we are familiar with MU. Any discussion is appreciated. Thank you!</p>
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<p>We evaluated Marquette against UW (although my son ultimately was declined by UW) and I can tell you for certain that prospects for co-op assignments are much better at MU. Co-op is central to their approach. When we did the info session at UW and asked about co-op, the reply was a sort of shrug - yes, the opportunities are there if you seek them out. To me this is a real plus.</p>
<p>As an aside, we didn’t look at U of M as it’s too close to home. My son wound up at University of Iowa. Choosing it over Marquette was very difficult.</p>
<p>@mom45 – I’m an alumnus (Eng. ’83), S is a junior Eng. major at Marquette. He was accepted to UW Madison, his first choice, but decided on Marquette after visiting both schools. His decision came down to: 1) Size (did not feel comfortable with the huge campus), 2) Merit aid by Marquette made it less expensive than UW (we are OOS), 3) As with most State schools you are not enrolled in the engineering program and you must apply to enter the program after sophomore year (they inform you that if you keep a 2.5 GPA it is a 90% acceptance rate). As beastman said Marquette makes more emphasis on placing students in co-op programs than UW. But UW Madison has a very good engineering department so your S should be fine at either school. Do not know about U of MN. What engineering major is he considering?</p>
<p>Our son would be considering biomedical or mechanical engineering at MU. He will also look into chemical engineering at U of MN where he is accepted to the College of Science and Engineering.</p>
<p>Has he done that overnight thing at Marquette for admitted students? My son really enjoyed that and felt very welcomed. MU and U of M are as different as night and day.</p>
<p>Before S had even applied to Marquette he went for an informational visit and an associate dean of the engineering college spent nearly an hour with him, one-on-one. I was very impressed by this level of attention. I live in the Twin Cities and certainly know many current and former U of M students. A good university, and and a well-respected engineering school, but man, you are a small fish in a really big pond up here. Your son would have to be very self-reliant here, IMO. Of course it’s also far more diverse socioeconomically, and the Twin Cities have a lot going on. It really depends on the kid.</p>
<p>The biomedical eng. department at Marquette is excellent. Marquette was one of the first schools to offer a major on bio engineering. The new engineering building is also a plus. My S says the new facilities are just incredible. Good luck, hope your S is accepted to all schools he has applied. As beastman says the best you can do is try to coordinate overnight visits or at least day trips to the schools your S is most interest in.</p>
<p>Thanks so much for the input. He is accepted at MN and Madison. We will schedule the overnight along with formal visits to the other schools. He is all but sure he wants the smaller campus environment, but I’m glad he will visit the other schools as well so he can compare them himself. Having said that, we’ve been more than pleased with MU with our other son so MU would be a great fit.</p>
<p>I don’t know if you have visited yet - Marquette has a brand new state-of-the-art engineering building with some amazing labs. They got a new dean about a year back who is ex-NASA and appears to be very involved with the students. On move-in day last year, he was personally giving tours to freshmen.</p>
<p>Just some questions regarding the co-ops. If I am understanding the program correctly, they will spend several terms away from school while on the co-op program. This will extend engineering degree to a 5 year program, due to the time away on the co-op. </p>
<p>The questins I have are more financial. Do students pay tuition while they are on the co-op? Also, are they paid by while working on the co-op?</p>
<p>Students do get paid while working. Sophomore year they have a co-op orientation class that explains the program in detail. One of the biggest benefits is that many of the employers will offer the students jobs after graduation (makes sense for the employer they have already trained the student). Even if the student is not offered a job this is a nice job experience entry for the resume. Here is the link for the co-op program (notice that there is a schedule at the bottom and you have links on your left that should answer your questions) [What</a> is a Co-op? | College of Engineering | Marquette University](<a href=“http://www.marquette.edu/engineering/coop_eng/whatis.shtml]What”>http://www.marquette.edu/engineering/coop_eng/whatis.shtml)</p>
<p>@MSMUSTANG - I was a co-op while at Marquette and can answer your questions. Most students begin the program after sophomore year and they will alternate school and work semesters. Note that this also implies a likely summer school session in order to graduate in 5 years. You do not pay full-time tuition during your work semesters (although you do register for a co-op course). You are considered a full-time student during your work semesters. Many companies that participate do assist students with locating housing if needed. Students often share arrangements with other students who are on the opposite schedule. Co-op students are paid very well and it is a great way to help pay for school.</p>
<p>I initially rejected the idea of co-oping since it would add a year, plus many of my non-co-op friends would be graduating in 4 years and would be gone my final year. Looking back, I’m grateful that I did co-op. You become friends with other co-ops and actually meet more people. And I was offered a job with my co-op employer after graduation and have been employed by them for over 20 years. There is no way most students can compete with a co-op student during job interviews, provided the co-op had meaningful and successful assignments. In today’s job market, you need every edge possible.</p>
<p>Since I’m an alumnus, I will stress that Marquette has one of the oldest co-op programs in the country and they have contacts across many companies, industries, and regions. Definitely worth considering - plus the new engineering building as Staceyglow mentioned</p>
<p>Does anybody know how the Marquette scholarships and finanacial aid will be distributed during the 5 year period? For example, during coop semesters I assume the financial aid is not disbursed. Would it still be disbursed for a total of 8 semesters which includes part or all of the 5th year when the student actually earns the Bachelor’s Degree?</p>
<p>Go to the co-op manual pages 11-12 the scholarship/tuition procedure is explained there. Here is the link: <a href=“http://marquette.edu/engineering/coop_eng/documents/coopmanual11.pdf[/url]”>http://marquette.edu/engineering/coop_eng/documents/coopmanual11.pdf</a></p>