Hi Everyone,
I am currently a freshman at UMass Lowell, and I am wondering if it’s the right fit for me, or if I should transfer to another school. I am considering state schools for financial reasons, and I was wondering if it would be worth it to transfer to UMass Amherst? Transferring to UMass Amherst would add to my financial burden, as I am currently a commuter student at UMass Lowell, which helps to keep my costs down. I am also enrolled in the Honors College at UMass Lowell, which I am very impressed with so far.
My main concern is the quality of my education when comparing the two schools, and I know that everyone’s default answer is to say that I should transfer to Amherst. My question is why this would be true? Obviously UMass Amherst is a larger school, and most of the classes will be larger. I’m wondering as far as engineering labs are concerned, if anyone happens to know if the courses still have a large number of students in them.
Unfortunately, all I hear is constantly conflicting opinions as to which school provides a better education for mechanical engineering. Some say that Lowell is drastically underrated, and others say that Amherst is a far superior education. If anyone has any first hand knowledge, your input would be greatly appreciated.
The last option that I am considering is attempting to transfer to Virginia Tech, if that is possible. My concern is that it would cost quite a bit more money, but I do understand that it is ranked much higher as far as an engineering school.
Lastly, where all of these degrees are ABET accredited, is there a huge difference in educational quality? I am considering pursuing a master’s degree as well, and I was wondering if my choice in schools now will affect my chances for admittance once I graduate. Thank you in advance for your input!
The Mechanical Engineering Department lists the open house on their events calendar, so I suspect that they will be participating. Go check it out for yourself.
Both UMass Lowell and UMass Amherst have worthy mechanical engineering programs, so I think you can choose based on which program you and your family can afford. You are impressed with the honors college at Lowell, so you might be happiest staying put. Either way you go you will be well prepared for a career in engineering.
If your only concern about Lowell is the quality of education, know that as an ABET accredited program, you will have the same career opportunities available at so-called better schools. Just within the greater Boston area, there are many companies hiring engineers from all accredited programs. I know BAE Systems has a big presence with Lowell, recruiting there and sending their own engineers for grad programs. My son interviewed for their engineering leadership development program, their top recruits, and his interview group included seniors from Michigan, Wisconsin, and Cornell, as well as Alabama, Wentworth, and UMass Lowell.
I am familiar with both schools, but not in mechanical engineering. I know someone in ChemE who had to take a leave from her regular school and spend a semester at home for medical reasons. She took one class at Lowell in the morning and one at Northeastern in the afternoon, and found a drastic difference in the quality of the students and the depth of the classes. She found the Lowell class to be very elementary compared to the Northeastern class, yet found more Lowell students were having trouble than in the much harder Northeastern class.
If you are not finding your classes sufficiently challenging, then you might consider UMass-Amherst. I don’t see Virginia Tech as being appreciably different with regards to the student body they admit.