Imperial College London Vs University of Michigan. Where do I go ? =S

Parents Forum
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<p>Firstly, I would like to start of this post by thanking CC and all it's members for guiding me through my college admissions process. </p>

<p>I am an International student. For me the location doesn't matter neither does the cost of attendance. </p>

<p>I want to attend the best possible institution from where I can get a good job and a possible HYPMS grad degree with full scholarship (Since I will have to pay for myself for my graduate degree). </p>

<p>My college applications statuses are as follows:-</p>

<p>United States of America:-</p>

<p>University of Texas - Decision still pending
UIllinoi - Deferred
UMichigan - Accepted
Purude - Accepted</p>

<p>United Kingdom:- </p>

<p>I have been offered conditional acceptance at all the below listed universities with 1),2),3) asking for 75% and above in my Board examinations and 5) asking for 85% and above. </p>

<p>1)University of Bath - Accepted
2)University of Southampton - Accepted
3)University of Bristol - Accepted
4)University College London - Offer still pending. I have my Interview this month end.
5)Imperial College London - Accepted </p>

<p>*Criteria :- *</p>

<p>1)Money - I have it covered . My parents want to send me to the best possible university.</p>

<p>2)Major - I am planning to do a minor with my major or a double major, But I do not know which of the universities would allow that . Mostly an engineering degree ( Mechanical engineering) with a possible - International relations or Economics or....</p>

<p>3)Jobs - I want the university to have the best job placements .</p>

<p>4)Quality of education - The best among the 5 mentioned above.</p>

<p>5)Campus size and weather - Size doesn't matter (that is why I applied to public universities). I currently in Dubai and I lived 4 years in Canada. So temperature ranging between -40 Degree Celsius and 50 Degree Celsius is manageable.</p>

<p>6)Top notch facilities and faculty.</p>

2

<p>Well Michigan is supposed to be one of the top few schools for Mechanical Engineering (I imagine the two that are better are something like MIT and GATech or CalTech or some other tech school like that) and the Econ department is highly ranked (not sure how high, but probably not as highly ranked as LSE…) so it’s good combo of a good school for Econ and Engineering. </p>

<p>At Michigan you would want to be enrolled in the Engineering college, then you could do a dual BA and BSE which would allow you to major in Mechanical Engineering and Economics. There’s also a EGL program which includes classes in a foreign language, foreign culture, and business school classes (Ross business school at Michigan is very highly regarded, especially for undergrad). That’ll likely require you come in with some credits, take some summer classes, and take a 5th year, but something like that can be done. </p>

<p>It’s never been below -40 C or above 50 C at Michigan as long as I’ve lived here (about 5 years) but if that’s the range you’re looking at you should be good at any of those Universities. Not even on the hottest day in Austin or the coldest day in Ann Arbor. </p>

<p>As for job placement, if you plan on going to grad school I don’t see why it matters. If it’s a just in case type of deal, I would imagine UIUC, UMich, and UT all have about the same job placement records, and all better than Purdue. If you want to work in England, you should go to an English University, if you want to work in America you should go to an American University.</p>

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<p>Agree with the last line in post #2 (as well as the rest of the post). Choose the country/continent you most want to spend your life in and go to a school there. Your education will prepare you for a job in that country and not necessarily translate well to other areas. Engineering principles follow laws of nature and hence are universal, but the application of those physical laws will vary. Metric versus our cumbersome units comes to mind for practical matters in some engineering fields. As a graduate of an American college you would find it easier to make the American grad school adjustment/transition. However, if you intend to live/work in Europe why bother with the US? Do not assume that the top US grad schools are necessarily better than those in Europe just because they may be more well known internationally. You probably need to talk to some people in the fields you are interested in about US training for European jobs.</p>

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<p>If you want to leave the option of grad school at HYPMS open, then you’ll have best chances by going to the best US university that you can.</p>

5

<p>I would amend fogcity’s comment to “attend the best school you get into regardless of geography and do extremely well”. The graduate schools you list will be well aware of the reputations of your undergraduate college whether in the US or the UK. Admission into HYPMS etc. will be based on your undergraduate performance and your work experiences.</p>

<p>In my opinion, Michigan is the top US school on your list given your interest in Engineering and Economics. It is a globally recognized name and will be useful in getting that first job. I suspect that UCL and Imperial will do the same in the UK, though will be less well known in the US, (job-wise).</p>

6

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<p>Nah, any graduate or professional school that you would want to attend, will be extremely aware of the high calibre of both schools…they are not US-centric as posters on CC. </p>

<p>Given its four years out of your life, you should visit both (I assume if you can afford either, you can afford to visit). Very different schools in so many ways. Focus on engineering when you compare the two. Your minor is irrelevant.</p>