<p>So far I've been accepted to the IBE honors program at Lehigh, the 5-year Engineering and Management degree program at Bucknell, the Business and Engineering Program at Drexel Honors College. Where should I go? Which school/program is best? (in terms of prestige, research opportunities, atmosphere) Thanks!</p>
<p>Lehigh is very strong in both engineering and business, and the IBE program is a very good one. If you can afford it, I would go there.</p>
<p>I’m biased towards Lehigh, but even if I weren’t, I would still say that Lehigh is the best given your situation. In terms of (engineering) prestige and research opportunities, Lehigh wins. It’s hard to compare the overall prestige of Lehigh and Bucknell because Lehigh is a research university and Bucknell is a liberal arts college. Both schools however are definitely more “prestigious” than Drexel. The biggest difference between Lehigh and Bucknell in terms of atmosphere is where they are. Lehigh is on the side of a mountain in the city of Bethlehem, which has suffered since the downfall of the steel industry. Bucknell is in the middle of nowhere, but is very beautiful and picturesque. Drexel is, of course, in the heart of Philadelphia. The student body at Lehigh and Bucknell are also going to be pretty similar – the preppy wealthy northeastern type. That’s obviously a generalization. I don’t know too much about the Drexel student body however. You should also consider cost. Even if you prefer Bucknell, is an extra year of tuition worth it? But since you didn’t mention affordability, I’ll assume that isn’t a major aspect of your decision.</p>
<p>So yeah, I definitely think Lehigh is a no brainer in your situation.</p>
<p>I’d go with Bucknell.</p>
<p>The five-yr program will prepare you for not only an engineering degree but a career in management. It will eliminate the need to get an MBA somewhere down the road. Every single person I know who has gone to Bucknell has been incredibly hard-working, smart, nice and successful. </p>
<p>(I’m a parent and I must know half a dozen people of varying ages who went there.)</p>
<p>Yeah I also think Bucknell is better. I think it has better atmosphere.</p>
<p>Thanks everyone… some great advice. </p>
<p>VeryHappy I’m pretty sure you can stay a fifth year at Lehigh and get your MBA or BES in addition to the BS in Integrated Business and Engineering. I would probably do this, as I’ve heard companies often require a full engineering degree.</p>
<p>Also, I just found out I got into University of Virginia! How does it compare?</p>
<p>Lehigh and Bucknell are much more engineering focused than UVA</p>
<p>I may be wrong, but Lehigh used to have a policy whereby you could stay for a 5th year at no cost. You should check to see if they still do that.</p>
<p>Yes, that is still a thing. I believe you must maintain a 3.75 GPA in order to qualify</p>
<p>Do you have any idea of want you want to do when you graduate? </p>
<p>If you want to go into management/finance, UVA is the most prestigious of those you’ve listed, and would probably give you the best connections. Lehigh’s IBE program is really strange. It sounds great, but after talking to some people who worked in the engineering/business world and had experience with Lehigh graduates, they’ve told me that you’re better off doing a standard engineering bachelor’s and then going back after a few years to get your MBA. Nobody really wants to hire someone for management directly out of college (ie when they have little to no professional experience), so you might be better off waiting. You can read more about this if you search something along the lines of “Get an MBA after undergraduate or get a job first?”.</p>
<p>I’m guessing you’re not as much interested in hands on engineering/design since you applied for IBE, but if you are, Drexel may actually be the best. They also have a 5 year program, but it involves 3 co-ops (6 month work periods) instead of more school. It gives you the best idea of what working as an engineering is actually like before you graduate. You’ll also probably get a more engineering focused education. Lehigh and Bucknell are great if you want to get involved with the above mentioned preppy Northeast kids and try for a career in high management, but their program sacrifices some practical engineering applications. The program director for my major got his BS at Lehigh and then went on to do his PhD at MIT, and he said he felt really behind the other students at MIT in math because Lehigh focused a lot on management/lucrative careers. That’s not a bad thing per se, but just know that at Lehigh you’ll feel more like a business man than an engineer, and they won’t be afraid to hide it during your classes.</p>
<p>^ I guess experiences vary and care must be taken with generalizations, but I got my SM at MIT following my BS at Lehigh, and in no way did I feel compromised in my math and engineering preparation. In fact, I was surprised at how much better prepared I was relative to many of my classmates.</p>
<p>Thanks again everyone!</p>
<p>In response to TaciturnType
You’re right. Although it’s aligned with my aptitudes, I am not as attracted to traditional engineering. Still, I’d like to utilize my proficiency in math and science in the “business world.” As for what I want to do when I graduate, being some kind of engineer with financial acumen or a technically savvy businessman would be great… a few fields I’ve been researching are systems engineering, quantitative finance, and operations management. Any other suggestions?</p>
<p>Some of the graduate programs that fit my interests are LFM at Sloan, MMM at Kellogg, EGL at the Tauber Institute (UMich), and the dual MBA/ME at Darden. I’d like to go somewhere that can best prepare me for such programs. Thoughts?</p>
<p>ps. this thread raises some interesting points <a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/engineering-majors/88583-combined-business-engineering-graduate-programs.html[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/engineering-majors/88583-combined-business-engineering-graduate-programs.html</a></p>
<p>Hi kwfog7,</p>
<p>I would recommend Drexel’s B&E program per your comments above. If you want to be a technically-oriented businessman than you do not need to spend a large amount of your undergraduate coursework in engineering classes. </p>
<p>Drexel’s B&E program is part of the LeBow College of Business so you will have a strong business degree with about two and a half years worth of engineering classes. The B&E program is tied to the Decision Sciences department at Drexel and obviously bodes well with systems engineering and operations management.</p>
<p>The Drexel co-op program will allow you the opportunity to explore some of the aforementioned paths above, such as quantitative finance, instead of going into the business world “cold” after a traditional four/five program with no significant work experience.</p>