Is there really a big difference for comp. sci or engineering majors?

College Search & Selection
1

<p>Is there really a big difference for comp. sci or engineering majors? </p>

<h2>Copied thread from misposted category of SAT scores, sorry...</h2>

<p>Most of us know US News has ranked various engineering and comp. sci programs and a lot of people recite the list from memory. I am a parent of a high school jr. Many people are basing their college selection strategy, at least in part, by these rankings. The rankings seem to go from 1-100..The question is...Is there really a big difference in certain schools from the perspective of academics (learning, subject matter relevant to your degree) as well as the ability to obtain employment (ie, how well recruited is the school and will the student have more employment post-college opportunities) ? In other words, by the time the student "walks away" from the university and you are evaluating how much debt you are in (vs. how much debt you have avoided) vs. the job opportunities you are afforded vs, how much you have learned, is their really a difference and if so, how much of one?</p>

<p>We can leave college quality of life issues out for the time being as a separate subject (not to say that this is unimportant).</p>

<p>Although a broad discussion is interesting, a couple of more specific questions that would be me...</p>

<p>Is University of Illinois and Georgia Tech (ranked really high in these areas, say #5-#10) or Carneige Mellon (high) or Purdue (high) that much better (looks like tons better on a ranking list )than, say Case Western reserve (#35) or RPI ?
Or what happens if you go to, say WUSTL, ranked high overall, but way down
in enginneering or comp sci.</p>

<p>The rankings give the perception that there are "huge" of "significant" differences in engineering or comp. science colleges. Is this true ? Or are there breakpoints where there are no significant differences between some of these insitutions ? </p>

<p>If someone can provide some insight as far as comparing these schools from the perspective of the above questions, it would be much welcome.
By the time you compare the classes side-by-side (which all seem similar to me), it is hard to see the big differences in some of these schools.</p>

<p>Although a broad discussion may be interesting, I am curious how U of I compares to Case Western.. If U of I is ranked, say #5 and Case Western
ranked in the 30's (with seeming similar type admissions policies, thus the students caliber is the same?), is U of I really that good (in light of the questions raised in the first paragraph.</p>

<p>My first "guess" is that U of I/Purdue/GA TEch classes must be very large and a lot of TA's are running around, and that perhaps the students don't get as much individual help. U of I out-of-state tuition for these majors is roughly $24K (I think they charge according to majors), which seems out of sight to me for a state school. Are the employers flocking to these higher ranked institutions or will the kid be "that much smarter" ? Is this whole game overrated? Are employers flocking to higher ranked colleges to recruit from with each student having a lot more opportunities?</p>

<p>What are the significant breakpoints on computer science/engineering colleges to where there are significant differences ? If someone is bored, I be curious how people would rank computer science/engineering colleges by group where there are no significant differences, in order that breakpoints would be more visible. The quality of life and costs seem to be much easier to ascertain from there....</p>

<p>Thanks for reading a large post !</p>

2

<p>I have been a hiring manager for a number of years for a large defense contractor, mostly CS and EE. From my point of view, there is some difference, but not a lot. If you are aiming for pure research or grad schools, there may be more difference. For a good job, no. Most managers will hire from good regional programs before looking long distance. The first reason is retention. At least in our area, around Dallas, we believe we have a better chance of keeping an employee long term if they are from the region, rather than east coast or west coast. There are a number of very good programs in the area, including UT and A&M, North Texas, UTD, TAMU Commerce, Letourneau, OU, OSU, etc. Recruiting dollars go further without excessive travel. The course work taken is far more important to me than where it was taken. The second reason, we see more of these grads and know the program and quality, whether they are ranked or not. I would say look at the region that has the most appeal after college, and also has a quantity of jobs in the area you are interested in. Colleges in the region of the employers will have a steady stream of recruiters. They will also be likely to offer work study or interships that lead to employment after graduation. I highly recommend work study for engineers of all types.</p>

3

<p>bandit_TX :</p>

<p>Your comments jive with my own personal experience, and are important words for engineering types to understand. Regional hiring is very important in engineering, and a program in a firm's region can be a bigger advantage than a "better" program far away, in quite a few cases. People should be made aware of this. Thanks.</p>

4

<p>Thanks for the good input.....</p>

5

<p>bandit_TX,</p>

<p>Would you say that your comments are still valid, for -</p>

<p>1) Large multinational firms like Exxon or Texas Instrument?</p>

<p>2) Engineers with Master's degree or higher?</p>

6

<p>I'm also a hiring manager for a major aerospace company. We maintain a proprietary list of preferred schools from which we hire based upon historical data of on-the-job performance across 10s of thousands of employees. That list has over 50 schools on it, and we will certainly hire from schools off the list as well. Don't agonize over these rankings you see posted...for the most part, they are way over-analyzed and often don't agree with our internal data anyway. Just find a solid school that is a good match for you that you can afford (do not overlook quality publics). After that, focus and do well, and the rest will take care of itself.</p>

7

<p>Most multi-nationals hire out of local plants. Some hire nationally and then parcel the new hires out, but not many that I know of. Local plants operate like other regional firms for the most part. We have been independent and part of the number 2 in the defense segment, and now back as an independent division of anther corp. The hiring process hasn't really changed. As Rogracer said, many of our best schools are small regionals that don't make anybody's list, and we prefer it that way. Ever heard of cherry picking?</p>

8

<p>Thanks to everyone for their replies. Insightful information beyond
the gates of colleges...</p>

9

<p>In addition to regional hiring, globals (e.g., major oil) also recruit talents nationwide on regular basis. Traditional engineering schools like Purdue, Michigan and many others have long lines of recruiters from Fortune 500 companies coming on campus every year.</p>

<p>In ChE (and specifically the petroleum industry), I see hiring practice more in line with what rogracer described above.</p>

10

<p>Just some general comments.</p>

<p>If you just want to land a engineering job, any decent engineering school will do that for you, let alone a nationally ranked one, because that is the reason why they still exist:) But competence in most of engineering jobs is only small part of the requirements for an engineering student to graduate, and it won't make an engineering major among the hardest ones on any campus.</p>

<p>Most engineering curriculums will teach you the language, and the basic skill set. The difference between great and a good one is whether the students have potentials to invent, to make a change on a higher level or larger scale. Of course anyone can be innovative, but you will constantly find the best ones are from the best schools. They learned that from their top-notch professors, and their motivating peers. I knew a lot of people who got into Berkeley were not the brightest at the beginning, but they mostly came out with chips on the shoulder want to be the best in their field, and some did.</p>

11

<p>Any more comments?</p>