<p>So Ive applied to 8 schools. 7 were for MEng or MS in structural engineering (Lehigh, Carnegie mellon, UMD, Virginia Tech, U Del, Drexel, and Temple), and 1 was for MS Architectural engineering (Penn State). Ive received 2 acceptance letters so far....didnt get into Carnegie, but got into Lehigh. According to US News and World Report, Virginia Tech is the highest ranked of all the schools i listed for Master's of Civil Engineering programs. However, after talking to some people on here, they said not to necessarily go by US News since the search was for civil (and not more specifically structural). Also, from what Ive been told, Lehigh has the largest structural testing facility in the nation and is very well know for there structural engineering. that being said, I limited my 2 top choices to Virginia Tech and Lehigh. Obviously Im already admitted to Lehigh. Assuming I got into Virginia Tech as well, which would you choose and why? Or if you think another school I applied to is top, please let me know and give your reasoning. Thanx!</p>
<p>Lehigh hands down, they have alumi every where u go (in terms of east coast) the connections are good, i was thinkin about applying there but the price tag scared me at 1st but i should of applied there, o well. VTech i think is ranked high bc of there goetech department, i think im not sure.</p>
<p>cool, thanx for the input. yeah the tuition is rough and they already told me i dont qualify for assistantships. i just gotta rely on loans and grants. i got full tuition paid by grants last semester because now im a 24yo independant who makes crap for money lol. that would be awesome if the state and federal grants paid all of lehigh!!! :D</p>
<p>anymore input?</p>
<p>ok i got into virginia tech now too lol. please someone help me decide!!! :D</p>
<p>Take a look at their curricula, what sorts of research they do at each institution, how many structures professors there are, and who they bring in for their graduate seminars. That might help give you a clearer picture of which one you’d prefer.</p>
<p>well the thing is…im not really concerned about which school i personally like better. im trying to figure out which is the best institution for advancement in the field in terms of job placement/salary/etc. i have no plans on a career in research; i want to be a PE. the above poster mentioned lehigh has a lot of alumni on the east coast, how does VT stack up?</p>
<p>if it ended up that to structural engineering firms a graduate with a VT degree were equally as desireable as one with a lehigh degree, then id decide on a school based on my own preference. this is the question that im trying to figure out. my professors had no input unfortunatley, and my dad whos a land development PE didnt know either. should i try asking local firms?</p>
<p>if it WERE to come down to personal preference, i think id choose VT because of tuition. lehigh is pretty darn expensive and VT is only $8.5k/year for out-of-state graduate tuition, thats really cheap. also, i really dont like lehighs campus. i went to bloomsburg which is on a mountain, but lehighs is on a STEEPER mountain lol. also i wasnt very impressed with the quality of the engineering building at lehigh. i know its a very old school, but given their high tuition and the fact that its an ENGINEERING school, id think the buildings didnt look like a halfway house on the inside. ATLSS and Fritz both looked this way, but thats really the only buildings we were in. one pro to lehigh though is that its like an hour away. VT? like 6+ hours (i dont even know, i just know its far).</p>
<p>oh and another thing, does anyone have any input on which school grades easier? i suppose thats probably an important factor in my decision.</p>
<p>Both are going to give you plenty of career options. One thing to consider is where you want to end up working. You’re going to have the most alumni connections within a certain proximity of the university, because structural engineers tend to stick close to where they went to college. Both have national reputations as being good, solid programs, though.</p>
<p>Do consider that if you end up specializing in something interesting, your future employer might actually like to use you to do that sort of analysis. So even though you’re not planning on going into research, if you pick a place that does useful research that interests you, that might end up being a good “in” with a company that needs expertise in whatever you studied. It’s particularly useful to have an indispensable expertise in this sort of an economy, too… It’ll keep you employed once you actually land a job.</p>
<p>ok thanx. what about the ease of grading between the 2?</p>
<p>I have no idea… There’s probably not a particularly discernible difference between the two, though…</p>
<p>ok. i just asked because ive seen people mention how different school grade lighter on this forum. like i think someone said stanford would grade lighter than some other engineering school, or maybe it was vice versa.</p>
<p>I’ve heard the same thing, but I don’t think it particularly applies to either Virginia Tech or Lehigh.</p>
<p>Ryan, I’ll be applying to VT as well (spring semester '10), do you mind tell me what GPA, and GRE scores you had to get accepted? thanks</p>
<p>P.S. personally I would go to VT if I’m you, on my east coast trip, I saw VT bumper stickers everywhere.</p>
<p>Ha ha, I’m in the middle or reading my lease for the hethwood community down at VT when I got an email saying you replied to the thread :)</p>
<p>My gpa was 3.2 and my GRE scores were 460 verbal, 790 quantitative, and 4.5 analytical writing.</p>
<p>Lehigh is honestly one of the best structural programs in the world. Fritz Lab and the ATLSS program is something way beyond what VaTech will be able to offer.</p>
<p>[ATLSS</a> Engineering Research Center](<a href=“Welcome | Advanced Technology for Large Structural Systems”>http://www.atlss.lehigh.edu/)</p>
<p>Wondering how you’re finding the grad program at VT. Do you think you made the right decision? How does the structural program compare to the other grad programs within the Civil Eng. department?</p>