<p>Been admitted to both schools and plan to major in Systems Engineering. Having a hard time deciding between the two. Any comments on the academic programs/opportunites, students, campus life etc. ?</p>
<p>For a number of reasons, the University of Virginia. Smarter students, better social life, better campus, more history, much better non-engineering academics and better non-engineering postgraduate options. Don't buy into what VT people will tell you - UVA is not "inferior" in engineering compared to VT in any way other than size (which is primarily what hurts it in rankings).</p>
<p>did you really just ask that question? uva beats vt ANY DAY. besides even if you're only interested in that one subject, the e-school rocks and if you ever want to take a class in something else you might want it to be uva quality.</p>
<p>Virginia Polytechnique and State University sucks balls.</p>
<p>VT's Systems Engineering is not really necessarily better than UVA's, but it's bigger, as with all of its engineering, and better ranked as a result. UVA is superior in almost all aspects to VTech, otherwise.</p>
<p>Yeah...I agree...UVA is better than VT in almost every aspect BESIDES ENGINEERING of course. You'd be outside of your mind if you chose UVA Engineering over VT.</p>
<p>Ignore every response that bashes one over the other or claims one to be superior.</p>
<p>I was admitted to both for engineering and I had to make the same decision. I plan to major in either biomedical or chemical engineering. I chose UVA for a few reasons.
1)smaller classes
2)closer to professors/other students
3)grounds</p>
<p>notice I really didn't mention anything about the academics. This is mainly because I saw parallels with both schools programs.</p>
<p>You need to go and visit both schools, talk to professors and students. In my experience, the profs and students at VT made it seem like (and I agree) their mech and aero dept is unbeatable. In other programs, such as comp sci, systems, elec and comp, and chem eng, I saw no great distinctions. At UVA, the professors PRAISED the comp sci, systems, biomed, and chem programs, and elaborated on the ability to get a better understanding of the basis of the programs and possibility of expanding education.</p>
<p>the decision is yours</p>
<p>Yea, VTEngineer. Tell that to every single student in UVA's engineering school - every one of whom did get in or would have gotten in at VT.</p>
<p>To add some more reasons why UVA's engineering is a good decision over VT:</p>
<ul>
<li>Senior thesis</li>
<li>Final design project is actually from start to finish unlike a very artificial segments done at VT</li>
<li>UVA doesn't have a reputation for weeding out of engineering (at least none that I noticed). However, in the event that you do end up switching.. you have terrific programs pretty much in any major. Plus also keep in mind you may choose to double major, etc in non-engineering discipline.</li>
<li>Ranking wise, some of the programs at UVA are ranked higher while some are at VT. Differences are marginal, and the overall reputation of UVA beats VT any given day.</li>
</ul>
<p>If you want to be obsessed with rankings, please remember to look at graduate rankings. At least those are based on a quantitative formula and not on a survey randomly filled out by the dean of the school like undergraduate programs are. Of course no VT fan will ever tell you that.</p>
<p>My position on this isn't the result of any "RAH RAH GO HOOOOOOS!" attitude. UVA was very much my safety school when I was applying to colleges, and it definitely wasn't one of my top choices. Virginia Tech, on the other hand, wasn't even in the picture. It's an OK school, but it's not on the same plane as UVA by any means. Its engineering program is fairly good. But at the undergraduate level, departmental strength in one area is trumped by school prestige, student quality, and other factors. To argue that VT provides a better UG education than UVA in any particular field is ridiculous. It's not a bad option, but it's probably not the best option. At the graduate level, it's probably different, but at the undergraduate level, the broad needs students are better met by the University of Virginia.</p>
<p>uva hands down.</p>
<p>As an Industrial & Systems Engineering major at VT, I have to say hands down go to Tech. The department is incredible, and we are currently ranked something like 6th for undergraduate studies. VT was my top choice and UVA wasn't even in the picture for its lack of a good engineering program.</p>
<p>Lack of a good engineering program? Please. To say that UVA's program is poor is ridiculous. UVA engineering students are smarter and better students - how could they possibly be worse off than VT students? Seriously. And since when is this such a big deal at the undergraduate level? Please explain this to me. Is VT better than Harvard in engineering? Is VT better than Duke? And what if the OP wants to take non-engineering classes? Or go into a non-engineering field after graduate school? What then?</p>
<p>I'm a systems engineer. I looked at the UVa and VT curricula. The VT major is in "industrial and systems engineering". It includes courses on plant management, inventory control, process design, materials engineering and quaility control. This is the old-fashioned IE major with a sexy new name ("systems engineering"). Where I work, the UVa program matches systems engineering better, including courses on systems architecture and a much larger number of information engineering courses. In fact, the UVa major is called "systems and information engineering." At UVa you will learn about advanced simulations, such as complexity science, agent-based models, and other advanced topics in systems design. Simply put, VT prepares you for a job in the 20th century. UVa prepares you for a job in the 21st. </p>
<p>And, I do not go to either school. I did not graduate from either school. I have close family members at both schools.</p>
<p>Unless you actually went through both curriculums, your opinion is just speculation. Based on your assessment however, UVA "systems and information engineers" would make terrible manufacturing engineers and industrial engineers. VT's program prepares students for incredible opportunities in the manufactuing, health care, service, and government industries as well as industrial engineering consulting work. There's a reason VT is ranked in the top 5 for undergraduate ISE study year in and year out and UVA is not.</p>
<p>I searched the Washington Post want ads for systems engineer. I looked at the 250 openings. I don't believe that VT's program of industrial engineering would prepare you for a single one. On the other hand, UVa systems engineers could walk into a large number of them. I know this because I'm very familiar with the types of jobs in this market. I've been here 30 years. Of course it's "just my opinion". And, a VT student trolling the UVa boards will surely dismiss it. This doesn't change the facts on the ground: jobs in the DC suburbs--among the most stable and lucrative job market in the nation--do not include manufacturing, process design, inventory control, plant management, or quality control in their job description. </p>
<p>Now, does VT turn out good EEs? Aerospace Engineers? Mech Es? Of course, and I have met many working here in Fairfax County. This is just not a good place to work for industrial engineers of the type VT turns out. And, sadly, that is increasingly the story in many parts of the country.</p>
<p>Hey Redbeard,</p>
<p>Here's something that might interest you. You mentioned in another post that you wished UVa had more foreign exchange opportunities for engineers. Well, UVa is now providing more opportunities.</p>
<p>Successful engineers need more than just technical skills, Marshall said. They also need to be able to work in environments in which other considerations social, economic, environmental and cultural affect project outcomes. Study abroad and other opportunities to learn by doing, such as educational internships and team projects for community service, are vital elements of an engineering education. They supplement classroom learning and help prepare students for successful careers as professional engineers.</p>
<p>At the bottom of the article, it goes into detail about the U.S.-Brazil Cognitive Systems Engineering Exchange Program that UVa is a part of. The program is pretty amazing and comprehensive. That program along with UVA's commitment to giving its students international engineering experience would make me want to study systems engineering at UVa.</p>