<p>pierre wrote: "However, for the OP (who wants to later transfer to a school like MIT), Purdue might be better "</p>
<p>Is that really true?</p>
<p>YouTube, I only said that because since the caliber of Purdue students is not as good as JHU, it may be easier to get “ahead” of the curved grading system than at JHU. This results in a higher GPA which is important for a transfer student.</p>
<p>The academics at Purdue in engineering/sciences are excellent and comparable to JHU. However, grading is done on a curve in college so you have a better chance of “succeeding” at Purdue.</p>
<p>You keep flip flopping. First purdue is more rigorous, and now it’s equally as rigorous as JHU. How can you make such assessments without ever having taken a course at JHU? You can say I’m biased, but the fact of the matter is I know most of the incoming mechanical and civil engineering students here at Stanford, and a slew of EE students. I’ve met a substantial amount from JHU, Cornell, Carnegie Mellon, Berkeley in addition to the usual masses from MIT and Stanford. I’ve also met one or two from random schools like George Washington, and Catholic. I’ve yet to meet a single purdue student. Are you going to tell me they are just hiding?</p>
<p>How is this a dilemma? I would choose JHU without a question.</p>
<p>Blah2009, engineering is a professional field. Many people only get a Bachelors degree and then head into the work field. </p>
<p>My next door neighbor got her engineering degree at Purdue and is now a professor at MIT. My cousin would definitely go to Purdue if he had the chance as an international student for engineering.</p>
<p>Pierre, Grad schools aren’t stupid. A Purdue student who wizzed by on a curve and scores the same scores as a JHU student is going to get rejected five times out of six BEFORE a JHU student of comparable statistical value.</p>
<p>JHU >> Purdue in terms of getting students into elite graduate schools PERIOD. Even for engineering, JHU is very well respected and succeeds at pushing their students into fine top institutions. JHU has been a feeder for these top graduate schools for numerous years and decades, including to its own engineering school. From Purdue, you would have to worry about whether the said individual can even get INTO a JHU Master’s or Ph.D program for engineering…much less MIT or Stanford…</p>
<p>hey whatever, I’m not gonna fight this any more because clearly I’m outnumbered but overall Purdue has the better engineering program than Johns Hopkins at this point period. Johns Hopkins has the better overall reputation than Purdue. It’s the OP’s choice of which one he wants.</p>
<p>Thanks for the replies, guys. I’mma let you know of my decision! :D</p>
<p>
Please do yourself a favor and wander over to the graduate school forum, where you will be promptly disabused of those notions.</p>
<p>The prestige of one’s undergraduate institution matters only indirectly in graduate admissions…primarily in the availability of research and the credibility of letters of recommendation. Purdue and Hopkins students with similar applications will be treated similarly. In fact, most of the applicants who went to the PhD recruitment weekends with me were NOT from elite universities.</p>
<p>Speaking as an electrical engineering student at Purdue, congratulations on being able to consider two highly respected universities like JHU and PU! That being said, I would like to correct some of the incorrect statements in this conversation. Wherever you choose, the curriculum will be rigorous! Both JHU and PU are well known for their extremely difficult courses that challenge most students to their cores! Each one will have their difficult parts and it is pointless to speculate which university is harder because no one has first hand experience at both.</p>
<p>That being said, both universities have summer research opportunities available through the school. ISIS and EPICS (Engineering Projects in Community Service) both have a large number of slots available and a lot of them remain open through the summer months. On top of that, many professors decide to stay and research over the summer in West Lafayette, often taking on undergraduate researchers (as long as housing, etc. is not a problem) to help. I’m sure many professors do the same at JHU! The opportunities are there at both universities, you just have to be a little more proactive at Purdue due to its large size. As of 2007, Purdue University was rated as the fourth best place to work in academia, and that includes the many researchers (undergrads included) that perform research there. </p>
<p>In terms of quality based on the rankings. The top 10-20 in any category are comparable. Very few universities have runaway programs that shatter every other one in the nation. In general, you will be no better off nor worse for choosing one over the other. You should instead base your decision off which university would be the best fit for you because it is a hugely expensive and life changing commitment. If you can, try and visit each university, talk to current students and recent graduates (they have a lot of good information that helped me choose Purdue over Yale, Harvard, Brown, and Princeton, but of course the in-state tuition helped), but most importantly, go to the university that will offer YOU the most. It may be that JHU would be a better fit for you and at that point, I wish you the best of luck in your college endeavors!</p>
<p>You won’t be able to transfer to Berkeley in a year no matter where you go. Nearly all of their transfers are junior transfers, and nearly all of those are from other UCs or community colleges.</p>
<p>My son is an '08 graduate of JHU with a computer engineering major and a business and entreprenuership minor. His classes were extremely rigorous. He had close relationships with his professors, small class sizes, tons of research opportunities and relevant class projects. He is going back for a masters in the next few years (while working). After graduation he was offered all 3 positions with the companies that he interviewed with- and is currently earning a “Master’s degree” level income. He has an excellent job with a top ranked company that clearly states that they only consider hiring the top 10-20% of engineering graduates. He had an 8 hr interview with this company- and they asked him extremely technical questions- had him writing code , etc. The name of JHU was perhaps a plus in securing the intial phone interview- but the QUALITY of the education that he has received- is SECOND TO NONE!</p>
<p>“Different from going to the library and looking up stuff.”</p>
<p>You have no idea what research means if this is your viewpoint. ;)</p>