<p>I've recently started looking at colleges and such and have been interested in the engineering field.
My grades are decent. probably hovering around a 4.0 weighted and my sats are most likely going to be around 2000-2200.
I'm most interested in civil engineering but not really 100% sure. I havent really looked into each type yet. </p>
<p>Ive been looking at UCSB and UCLA but i dont think i can get into UCLA. </p>
<p>My questions are:</p>
<ol>
<li>UCSB doesnt have a CE major do they? if they don't, would it be a waste to go there if i want to be a CE? What would i take intead??</li>
<li>Do i really need to major in what i want my occupation to be?</li>
<li>I still havent really understood the whole different types of colleges within universities... When people go to UCSB, is that different than going to UCSB Engineering college??</li>
<li>Im looking for a fun school but i still want to pursue an engineering career..any other recommendations?</li>
</ol>
<ol>
<li>UCSB does not have a CE major. I would highly suggest that you avoid UCSB if you are at all interested in studying civil engineering.</li>
<li>Not necessarily, you can always get a graduate degree in your ocupation field.</li>
<li>The engineering college is part of the school itself.</li>
<li>I would recommend Rice University, Washington University In St. Louis, Virginia Tech, Smith College (if you are a girl), Clemson University, Franklin W. Olin College Of Engineering, Brown University, and Stanford University</li>
</ol>
<p>If you are interested in civil engineering, you will really really want an ABET-accredited undergraduate degree in civil engineering (not having one will make getting your PE take much longer). If you are leaning towards civil, make sure you go to a school with a civil engineering program.</p>
<p>For Schools with graduate programs:
1 University of California–Berkeley Berkeley, CA
2 University of Illinois–Urbana-Champaign Champaign, IL
3 Georgia Institute of Technology Atlanta, GA
4 University of Texas–Austin Austin, TX
5 Massachusetts Institute of Technology Cambridge, MA
5 Purdue University–West Lafayette West Lafayette, IN
7 Stanford University Stanford, CA
8 Cornell University Ithaca, NY
9 University of Michigan–Ann Arbor Ann Arbor, MI
10 Virginia Tech Blacksburg, VA
11 Carnegie Mellon University Pittsburgh, PA
12 Texas A&M University–College Station College Station, TX
13 University of Wisconsin–Madison Madison, WI
14 Northwestern University Evanston, IL
15 North Carolina State University–Raleigh Raleigh, NC
16 Pennsylvania State University–University Park University Park, PA
17 Princeton University Princeton, NJ
18 Lehigh University Bethlehem, PA
18 University of Florida Gainesville, FL
20 Clemson University Clemson, SC
20 Iowa State University Ames, IA</p>
<p>For Schools Without Graduate Programs (Liberal arts schools, undergraduate-only schools)
1 Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology Terre Haute, IN
2 United States Military Academy West Point, NY
3 Bucknell University Lewisburg, PA
4 Cooper Union New York, NY
5 California Polytechnic State University–San Luis Obispo San Luis Obispo, CA
6 Harvey Mudd College Claremont, CA</p>
<p>thanks the responses guys. also, im thinking some sort of business/management job would be better and I was thinking about engineering then MBA, but now that i think of it i feel like it would be better to major in something else. Would bussiness/econ be a better bet? or maybe finance? I think i would enjoy an engineering job but I’m still unsure because i have never actually taken any engineering classes.</p>
<p>well after you get an engineering degree, a lot of people go and get their MBA’s afterwards. It really depends what you’re interested in. Don’t major in engineering unless you don’t like it. I would start out in an engineering degree since you’re not sure what you want to do but if you don’t like it, don’t stick to the engineering route and go the business degree way.</p>
<p>With all due respect, don’t get a business degree - even if you’re interested in business. Take a look at the past boards on here, I believe there’s even one up now… a lot of people with business degrees come back school for a second degree in engineering because they have almost no job opportunities. Don’t fool yourself, probably close to half of all recruiting at engineering fairs is for business related positions - consulting, supply chain, operations, analysts, etc… There’s probably not a single job in business that you can’t get with an engineering degree - and there’s TONS of jobs in both business and engineering that you can’t get with a business degree. It might not make a lot of sense, I agree, but that’s the way it is. Save yourself the time and money… don’t get a business degree unless you’re at one of the very best schools in the country.</p>
<p>well if the OP ends up not being interested in engineering, it makes no sense for the OP to get a major in engineering (potentially bad GPA, waste of time etc…). It would make sense in that case to go get a business undergrad degree.</p>
<p>I completely understand your reasoning, but I disagree with your advice. I say that even if you dont think youll end up being an actual engineer, youre still better off getting an engineering degree. Going off of US news rankings Purdues Krannert School of Management is a top 20 undergraduate business program however, the opportunities coming out of there are [generally] low paying, lower management positions at retail chains, food chains, and other things of that nature. Occasionally a few will get on with a decent consulting firm but youre going to have to be one of the very top students. A middle of the road engineering student will have better opportunties at most schools than the top business student.</p>
<p>thanks purduefrank and pierre. you pretty much answered all my questions perfectly. Yeah i was thinking that if i was actually not even into engineering i should have a backup and maybe accounting or business is the way to go. also, what do you guys think about UCSB. I could probably get into a better school but i really want a social life too in college. Which leads to another question… would my college like be substantially less fun as an engineer major??</p>
<p>I’m an engineering major and I’ve found that if you manage your time well (don’t procrastinate, stick to a strict study schedule), you will have plenty of time to have fun in college.</p>
<p>Just to jump in on the debate about majoring in engineering or business…</p>
<p>You should major in what you are interested in or you will regret it for the rest of your life. Job opportunities should be a secondary, not a primary, concern.</p>
<p>Im not going to completely disagree with you here, but one size certainly doesnt fit all. My opinion is that people think of business degrees as something theyre generally not, namely, a solid way to get into business. Personally, my engineering degree is a means to fund my own businesses. Ive started three, own one now, and in the future my paycheck will go towards capital investment for others. Meanwhile, the paycheck itself will come from an operations position(business), a position that I certainly couldnt get with a business degree. Its backwards, I realize this but its the truth. If you can end up in a better business oriented position with an engineering degree, making more money, why do otherwise? The only thing youre missing out on is a few accounting/econ classes that you can easily get the fundamentals from with a minor or better yet, just teaching yourself. </p>
<p>If your passion is writing, dont kill yourself to get an engineering degree just for the money. But the argument that you cant pursue a business passion with an engineering degree is faulty from the start.</p>
<p>^^^ I don’t think you’re giving business a fair appraisal. I think there’s more to it than you think. If you legitimately like business theory (or think you’d like it, or have an academic interest in it) there are things you’d learn by majoring in business that you wouldn’t in engineering. I believe that’s true. I mean, even business majors are taking classes, whether or not you think they’re worth anything or not.</p>
<p>Of course, I agree, if a student is majoring in business for career-oriented reasons, I disagree with the reasons. However, your entire frame of reference seems to be predicated on choosing a major for the career it will lead to… and for me this is faulty from the start. Anyone starting from this frame of mind cannot understand the advice I’m giving, in principle. I encourage people to forget what they want to do for a living and start thinking about what their academic interests are. If you don’t have any academic interests… call be a purist, but don’t go to college at all, or stick with your choosing majors for the career and forget that life can be more about worrying how you’re going to buy food tomorrow.</p>
<p>thanks again guys. just another quick question…</p>
<p>say i choose mechanical engineering… would this be more robots and stuff or some more practical stuff like cars and machines? which eng. major would you guys think is more related to design?</p>
<p>one more thing: I’m strong in algebra and solving equations but when it comes to geometry and remember all the shapes/angles and rules it gets tougher. is this going to be a big problem?</p>
<p>Sorry for exploiting your thread briballdo, but I have a somewhat stupid question about an engineering degree providing more business-related opportunities. Is this applicable to engineering degrees only? Like, does having a say, applied math or a science degree lead to same path? If not, why?</p>
<p>Well almost. I guess engineering is probably all going to be about designing but I’m really into creating new and better models and machines sorta. Sorta like legos. I used to love making new lego designs and building newer and better models of them. I might be wrong but i think most engineering is about this stuff… is there one that’s more like it than the others?</p>
<p>Engineering in general is (usually) about optimization and practicality. I don’t think you can go wrong with mechanical engineering if you’re interested about that sort of stuff.</p>
<p>I respect your statement and will whole heartedly admit that I am not the person to give advice about academics. You seem to have a passion for academics, something that is truthfully foreign to me. In any case, you make a valid point. I personally have just known too many people whove floundered through four years of college only to graduate in a major that they cant find a job with, and finally moving on to worry about how theyre going to buy food tomorrow indefinitely, to ever give this advice.</p>