<p>Ultimate goal is to work in the aerospace industry. At UIUC, I would major in aerospace. At Lehigh, I would major in mechanical and minor in aerospace. Both cost about the same, Lehigh being a little less. Keep in mind I plan on going to grad school. Thanks!</p>
<p>Buuuuuuuump</p>
<p>Definitely Urbana Champaign. Lehigh is mostly for mechanical engineering only.</p>
<p>UIUC. Probably comparable theoretical foundation, but UIUC has better resources, reputation, and draw for this sort of thing.</p>
<p>What if I feel I can better succeed academically at Lehigh? Grad school I would choose UIUC hands down but I feel like undergrad is a slightly different story.</p>
<p>Never assume you are going to graduate school. That’s a fine goal, but in 4 years you have no idea what your grades will look like or what your desire will be, so make sure you go to a school that can help get you somewhere you would want after just your BS. If you end up going to graduate school, great, but better safe than sorry.</p>
<p>Are you saying that Lehigh is not that kind of school?</p>
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Then go to Lehigh. The fact that I recommended UIUC does not mean that Lehigh is not a good school, and if it is a better match for your need then go there. It is better to have a good college career at Lehigh than a mediocre one at UIUC.</p>
<p>Yeah that makes sense. Thanks so much for you input</p>
<p>The schools are very different. UIUC has six times as many students as Lehigh. They rely much more heavily on grad students to teach undergrads. Their drop-out rate is higher and graduation rate is lower than Lehigh. All of that is not to say that you couldn’t have an outstanding experience at UIUC, but there’s a reason why you feel you’ll be more nurtured at Lehigh. It’s because you will. Go with the school that feels like you’ll be most likely to thrive. A degree from either would be good.</p>
<p>M</p>
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<p>No, I am just saying that if you feel like going to either school wouldn’t land you somewhere agreeable in case you decide not to go to graduate school then perhaps you shouldn’t go to that school.</p>
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<p>I can tell you from firsthand experience that this is false for nearly all engineering classes. Sure you may take a psychology class taught by a PhD student, but not many of your technical classes will be, if any.</p>
<p>bone, I’m no UIUC authority. I didn’t go to school there, but I did go to a large Midwest state school, so I presumed a similar structure. I never had anyone but a prof. teach a lecture, but they could be very large classes (+/- 500). All recitations and labs were taught by grad students though until the 4th year. Were all your labs and discussions run by profs at UIUC? </p>
<p>M</p>
<p>Labs and discussions are rarely run by profs at any school, especially discussions. Part of the utility of discussion sessions is the fact that for some people, the TAs are more approachable than the professors are.</p>
<p>I was just at Lehigh and like a dope, I can’t recall how they use TAs. They do pride themselves in the fact that their faculty are focused on undergraduates.</p>
<p>I can say though that the rest of the small engineering programs that we visited, WPI, Olin, Bucknell and Lafayette all use professors for lectures, discussions and labs. Grad students do not teach. The reason to select a smaller program is just that. </p>
<p>I suspect Lehigh isn’t much different. That can be verified with a simple call to the ME department. You’ll likely get Barbara. She’s VERY helpful and friendly</p>
<p>BTW, I did visit the aerospace lab and they’re doing some pretty cool stuff, undergrads included. Below is a link to the Google Lunar X project they are working on with students at Penn State.</p>
<p>M</p>
<p>[Lehigh</a> University:: Engineering & Applied Science: News Story: 3584](<a href=“http://www3.lehigh.edu/News/RCEASnews_story.asp?iNewsID=3584]Lehigh”>http://www3.lehigh.edu/News/RCEASnews_story.asp?iNewsID=3584)</p>
<p>I am honestly not sure I would personally want to attend discussions and labs led by professors knowing what I do now about how they view a lot of those kinds of classes.</p>
<p>I believe that is the difference, the profs at the smaller programs are there because they want to teach. One of the EE profs at Bucknell made it very clear. He said he was there because teaching was his passion. He went on further pointing out that none of the toys, of which they have plenty, were paid for by grants, but rather by tuition. They were only used by undergrads. So, that really is it in a nutshell, what are the top priorities of the people that will be teaching the undergraduates.</p>
<p>M</p>
<p>Personally, I like having professors teaching lectures and TA’s teaching labs and recitations. It gives you the chance of two teaching methods, two interpretations, etc. I have had classes where the professor was rather opaque and incomprehensible, but the TA was clear and helpful. In other classes, they simply complemented each other, each one able to offer insights in different areas. At a good school, the TA’s are rarely anything but knowledgable and (as others have noted) often much closer to the problems of the undergrads.</p>
<p>Of course, I have also had courses where the two were in lockstep in mediocrity, but a solid chance is a lot better than nothing.</p>