<p>I'm really interested in studying mechanical engineering and I have narrowed my choices down to these two schools. I can get into both schools through recruiting, so I'm not worried about my academics.</p>
<p>I'm wondering which one is the better school for my degree and for job opportunities after graduation.</p>
<p>I personally think Lehigh is better, but honestly it depends where you want to work. A Lehigh engineering degree will look much better over on the east coast than here out west. However, if you wish to work out west, a UCSD degree might carry a bit more weight.</p>
<p>Things to consider:</p>
<p>a. Internship and post-graduation recruiting does have a local bias. Is either school in an area that you would like to work at for internships and post-graduation?</p>
<p>b. Specific kind of engineering and strength of offerings. If undecided, how easy or difficult would it be to change majors.</p>
<p>c. Net cost of attendance at each school.</p>
<p>d. If you are being recruited to play a sport, consider when the sport practice and game season is in relation to the academic calendar. UCSD is on the quarter system, while Lehigh is on the semester system. For example, if your sport is only played in the autumn, then it will overlap with 1/3 of the academic year at UCSD, but 1/2 of the academic year at Lehigh. In this case, UCSD would give you 2/3 of the academic year without juggling sport practice and games, while Lehigh would give you only 1/2. But if your sport is a spring sport, the situation could favor Lehigh in this respect.</p>
<p>Ucbalumnus: Your responses are extraordinarily thoughtful, balanced, and helpful.
Every time.</p>
<p>UCSD is ranked higher than Lehigh in overall engineering, according to US News and Times Higher Education
US News
Lehigh - #43
UCSD - #14
Times
Leheigh - Unranked
UCSD - #36</p>
<p>Also in terms of World Reputation, UCSD is ranked #36 at Times, while Lehigh didn’t make the list</p>
<p>Business Week’s College ROI 2012 ranks:
Lehigh #12
Cornell #13
Cal #21 (in-state)
UCSD #40 (in-state)
This is not specific to engineering but considering Lehigh is roughly double the cost of Cal and UCSD for an in state student, Lehigh must be doing some things right.
UCBAlum has it right - net cost (Lehigh gives few Athletic Scholarships - not sure about UCSD). What if you decide, like my D1 kid, to change your major from engineering? Engineering and D1 sports is a tremendous grind. Both great schools, but quite different. Best of luck.</p>
<p>^Lehigh has better ROI because significantly larger fraction (if not most) of the students want to do engineering, not necessarily because they “must be doing some things right”. You also forgot/ignored the fact that they were using COA MINUS grant awards, not just COA. Another problem with the ranking is they are using PayScale self-reported data, which are not proven to be reliable and representative.</p>
<p>Sam, it (the ranking) is just a tool and an example that Lehigh is on the map. Also, I believe only ~20% of Lehigh undergrads are engineering majors, not most. Assuming the ranking has some redeeming qualities, are you suggesting UCSD is lower because they have fewer engineering students than Lehigh? Also, are you suggesting that the net COA for the instate student at UCSD is equal/higher than Lehigh, on average?</p>
<p>36% are in engineering school and 24% are in the business school. Another 3% are in some combination related to business, engineering, computer science.
<a href=“http://www4.lehigh.edu/Media/Website%20Resources/pdf/admissions/LUadmissions_class_summary.pdf[/url]”>http://www4.lehigh.edu/Media/Website%20Resources/pdf/admissions/LUadmissions_class_summary.pdf</a></p>
<p>So you got 63% in either engineering or business. Many schools with such makeup are gonna have decent ROI, let alone one with a student body with the 1350 average on the SAT.</p>
<p>Regarding the COA, my point is the difference is going to be smaller when you consider the net instead of the gross.</p>
<p>OP, Sam and I are agreeing that both are very good schools. I suspect net cost and fit will determine where you go. I don’t think you’d be disadvantaged at either school with a mechE degree. Regional hiring, as pointed out above, would rule the day over program rankings.</p>
<p>Thanks guys, I’ll definitely take all this into consideration. Everything was really helpful</p>