<p>I've been fully enveloped in college selection for the last month. I've created a list of schools, collected information, weighed importance of factors such as school prestige, engineering rank (yes... usnews :), and distance, I've pondered future career paths and the steps required to get there, and now I'm wondering if I'm putting too much consideration in this thing. At this point, I'm set on getting a b.s.e.e. and a m.b.a., to hopefully end up on the business side of engineering. One of the most important considerations up to this point has been undergrad engineering reputation... How important should it be? I've read some undergrad importance threads on here, and most end with "not nearly as important as grad school". I'm curious if that's the same for eng/MBA combo. Will I miss out on opportunities getting my b.s.e.e. at U.K. instead of say U.T.-Austin or Cornell? Help would be greatly appreciated.</p>
<p>You can be on the management fast track with your engineering degree without ever getting an MBA.</p>
<p>The opportunities will be different, not better or worse. Go to the school that fits you best.</p>
<p>Admission to the better MBA programs requires several years of increasingly responsible work experience. Take a look at the MBA forum for more ideas. Work experience, GPA, and GMAT are more important for MBA admission than the name of the university you graduate from or even your undergraduate major.</p>
<p>If you get an engineering job right out of college, your employer may very well help pay for an MBA program if you study part-time. And, don’t forget, it is perfectly OK to take undergrad business classes while working on your BSEE if you want to approach it that way.</p>
<p>I would agree that the prestige of the MBA school matters more than the prestige of the undergrad engineering school. </p>
<p>Engineering is generally less “prestige” driven than other fields.</p>
<p>You most likely will be around 27 years of age by the time you get your MBA if you eventually decide to go that route. That’s 10 years away from now. Lots of things can change in that time. While it’s certainly good to have long-term plans, I’d encourage you to go to the school that you think sets up nicely for your immediate post-graduate plans. MBA programs accept a wide array of individuals from a diverse set of industries, so being successful in your first job or two after undergrad is the most important. Good luck.</p>
<p>As everyone said, there is no NEED to get into MBA thoughts right now for you. There is plenty of time ahead of you to think about it. Just work on your UG selection first. There are People going back to MBA in their 40’s and 50’s, after they are successful, some of schools call it the Executive MBA program.</p>
<p>My company paid my education for MBA, but it has to be done after work, the selections of schools are limited and all good MBA programs are full time during the day. The degree I got really did not enhance my resume much. VERY few companies now a days will send you to a full time school to finish your Masters(whatever it may be) and return to work for the same company. They know well that once you are loose, you have your choices.</p>
<p>“all good MBA programs are full time during the day”</p>
<p>You think that the evening/weekend programs at Booth and Kellogg are not good? That’s not my take on it at all. I know many graduates of those programs, and they generally get fantastic jobs. I don’t know graduates of the part-time programs at Wharton or Columbia, but I’d be very surprised to learn that they don’t do as well as the Booth & Kellogg EMBAs. Harvard and Stanford don’t do full-time, but they’re not the only world-class business schools.</p>
<p>Based on the majority of the replies, the prestige of the college I attend for undergraduate engineering is an important factor as it will potentially get me a better job…?</p>
<p>My list atm is (in order of usnwr national rank… forgive me):</p>
<p>(15) Cornell
(17) Vanderbilt
(45) U.T. Austin
(55) Ohio State
(58) Texas A&M
(62) Purdue
(68) Clemson
(82) Auburn
(88) Drexel
(101)N.C. State
(124)U.K.</p>
<p>undergrad engineering ranking shifts it a bit…</p>
<p>(09) Cornell
(09) Purdue
(11) U.T. Austin
(17) Texas A&M
(27) Ohio State
(27) N.C. State
(34) Vanderbilt
(52) Drexel
(57) Auburn
(66) Clemson
(95) U.K.</p>
<p>please understand that I’m only using these rankings to paint a general picture, 1 and 10 are the same to me, the difference between 80 and 100 is negligible, etc.</p>
<p>so, obviously Cornell is a good school. I would rather not go up north, but I would (I might even like it…). U.K. is the lowest ranked on both lists, and I don’t want to stay in KY after college (currently residing) – would going to U.K. hurt me (or not help me)?</p>
<p>Any thoughts on other schools on the list?</p>
<p>What about a 5-year ENG/MBA? (assuming school offers)</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>Perhaps I shall say, when I was considering MBA programs, none of the good schools in the area offer part time MBA programs. That was 35 years ago. And I could not commute to Booth(it was not called that) from Central Jersey, can I? :)</p>
<p>Clemson is a fantastic engineering school. I am majoring in civil engineering and engineering is the most popular major here and I have had a great experience and there are tons of opportunities for engineering majors! Our business school is also very good so if you want to pursue an MBA or decide that engineering isn’t for you and want to do business, you’d be able to do that and get a great education at Clemson. We are ranked #29 among public universities for business (BusinessWeek magazine), our accounting program is #13 among public universities (BusinessWeek). For engineering, in a Wall Street Journal survey of recruiters at 500 large companies, we ranked #17</p>
<p>Let me know if you have any questions!</p>
<p>If you are looking at Cornell, why not look at the school in bold below:</p>
<p>My list atm is (in order of usnwr national rank… forgive me):</p>
<p><a href=“1”>B</a> Princeton<a href=“15”>/B</a> Cornell
(17) Vanderbilt
(45) U.T. Austin
(55) Ohio State
(58) Texas A&M
(62) Purdue
(68) Clemson
(82) Auburn
(88) Drexel
(101)N.C. State
(124)U.K.</p>
<p>undergrad engineering ranking shifts it a bit…</p>
<p>(09) Cornell
(09) Purdue
<a href=“11”>B</a> Princeton<a href=“11”>/B</a> U.T. Austin
(17) Texas A&M
(27) Ohio State
(27) N.C. State
(34) Vanderbilt
(52) Drexel
(57) Auburn
(66) Clemson
(95) U.K.</p>
<p>After the last few days in contemplation, I have removed N.C. State, Drexel, and Cornell. N.C. State fell to Ohio State. Drexel’s benefits are not worth the distance, and Pennsylvania is not my ideal city. Cornell is not fully out, I’m still applying.</p>
<p>So, that leaves me with the following and a few more questions. :)</p>
<p>Vanderbilt – I like Nashville, close to home, highly regarded school; very expensive
U.T. Austin – Top notch engineering, Austin looks pretty legit, big network, lots of recruiters; very far away
Ohio State – Top 30, campus looks good in pictures (tour soon), Columbus is cool , perfect distance from home; not sure how much money I’ll be offered
Texas A&M – decent NMF scholarship, top 25, seems to have a good reputation; very far away
Purdue – right distance from home, top notch eng; money might be hard to get
Clemson – has to be one of the best campuses on earth; not many automatic scholarships
Auburn – huge NMF scholarship, aunt says campus is very nice; its in Alabama, a little far
U.K. – lots of money here, close to home, friends are going; they barely make the rankings</p>
<p>First question is: How much more is the education worth at a top ~10 (eng) school versus, say… Auburn (i.e. Is it worth it to have $x,000 in debt to attend a better school).</p>
<p>Second question: How much is it going to matter where I got my education after working that first job for ~5 years? (When does work experience become more important to an employer than the college attended)</p>
<p>Third question: How far away should I go for school if I would eventually like to be working ~5 hours from home? (meaning, is, say U.T. Austin’s reputation going go help in Tennessee or Kentucky or Ohio?</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>Engineering employers often recruit at local universities’ career centers, although they may travel to a more limited selection of well known (in the major subject) schools.</p>
<p>So while Texas may be one of the targets for traveling recruiters, a good (in your major) school local to employers you would like to work at may be more convenient for both you and the employers.</p>
<p>“Ohio State – Top 30, campus looks good in pictures (tour soon), Columbus is cool , perfect distance from home; not sure how much money I’ll be offered” +1</p>
<p>Besides solid academic reputation both in Engineering and Business School, TOSU offers arguably the best recreation facility (RPAC), main library (Thompson) and student union in the country. The campus is currently undergoing quite a few major construction projects (Medical Center Expansion, Dorm Renovation, just to name a few…), but you should have no problem navigate through the campus at ease. Despite its enormous size, the campus is very well layout imho. Plus the Engineering and Business College are located right across from one another. You should have no problem finding them. G’Luck & Enjoy your tour!! :)</p>
<p><a href=“http://www.youtube.com/user/ExperienceColumbus[/url]”>http://www.youtube.com/user/ExperienceColumbus</a></p>