I saw a post dating back to 2010 with a similar title but I am not sure if the discussion has changed. Would it be worth attending Purdue Engineering assuming I graduate and get decent grades?
I am an out of state student and have gotten some cheaper offers, but Purdue is my most prestigious acceptance. Any thoughts on that? Also, are there available options for financing for out of state students since I’ve heard you are only awarded Pell Grant which really isn’t much. All help is appreciated!
It depends at least in part on what other options you have (if you got into Purdue, I would expect you were also admitted at other schools with good engineering programs) and what you are looking to do.
That’s what I was thinking. I’ve heard by some people though that the reputation of the school merits that cost, but I am not exactly sure if that is true or not.
I have also been accepted to a few 3-2 programs with full scholarships and also some state schools where I wouldn’t pay anything. I’m just not sure whether it actually matters whether I graduate with no debt from a state school or with debt from Purdue.
As a general rule I would say absolutely not. There may be ways to eliminate some of the loans such as a coop, however, most ABET accredited engineering programs will offer you the education to become an engineer. I would suggest if you are interested in becoming an engineer then get an engineering degree and not a liberal arts degree with the intent of studying engineering later. Check the engineering forum for opinions as to why.
If you were going to be a doctor or lawyer…a profession without an income ceiling…there may be some benefit of taking on that kind of debt to go to Harvard or John Hopkins. Engineering is different. You may have more opportunities with a degree from Purdue, but the minimal additional earning potential it may bring simply doesn’t justify that kind of debt. My daughter is in a similar situation with nursing. She’s gotten nothing form Purdue but substantial scholarship offers from Marquette and Ohio St making them much more viable options. Think about it this way…you’d be paying roughly $12k/yr in student loans for the next 10 yrs. An engineering degree from Purdue won’t make up that difference. Also after 5 years or so in the industry, you’ll be compensated on your experience and the quality of your work…it won’t matter where you got your degree.
Companies hire engineers from every type of school. All they care is that the program is ABET accredited. When you go into the workforce, the Purdue student with $100k of debt will be paid the same as the UA full tuition scholarship student with $0 debt. You do the math.
If your goal is Silicon Valley, it matters at the grad school level as most of the companies have preferred engineering schools they visit and give special salaries to. This was the case at Cisco. Everyone at my current company knows how good Purdue engineering is, but we consider it from a grad school perspective. So unless your going to be a top student there, go somewhere else for undergrad, they go to Purdue for grad.