<p>At Silly Puddy… I may have exaggerated a bit… The community I live in, it is difficult to find people who make under 200k. Of course I do not know the actual $ amount these IIT grads make, but it is CLEAR they make a lot. Above that they are so down to earth… If IIT teaches ONE thing that NO OTHER college can, it is hard work.</p>
<p>Edit: Don’t worry, I am not overstating the case. An IIT grad I know, due to his connections from IIT, got to go on a long trip with Mukesh Ambani. Who, until this December, was the richest man in the world.</p>
<p>1) University of illinois urbana
2) University of texas at austin
3) University of maryland
4) University of arizona
5) Virginia tech
6) University of southern california</p>
<p>None of these, except maybe UA, are backup schools.</p>
<p>You sure do embellish a lot. I’ve never heard that man’s name but he’s never cracked the top 3 in Forbes for sure. I don’t know how stratified the education system is in India, but to say that every grad makes 400k+ is asinine to me unless you’re talking in rupees.</p>
<p>Anyway Raunaq, your list looks fairly complete. I do not believe there is such a thing as a backup list for an international, at least at a state school.</p>
<p>Well I live in the US, so I am sure (unless I have become an idiot) 400k is in dollars. GO check him out… Not every grad, the AREA THAT I LIVE IN. I repeat. NOT EVERY GRAD. At the moment he is 7th richest in world, and richest in asia… Mind you, I dislike him and everything he does not stand up for. Also, for reference check out Reliance ltd.</p>
<p>If I wanted to embellish, I would say something along the lines of “went on a philanthropic mission with Bill and Melinda Gates”.</p>
<p>IIT is certainly no Harvard , Yale or Princeton. It is hard to get into, yes, but only because close to a million apply.</p>
<p>In terms of academic strength, it probably compares more to schools like NYU, Georgetown, etc, and falls behind other schools like Uchicago, Northwestern, MIT, Duke, JHU, Cornell, etc.</p>
<p>It’s probably a great school, but the only selling point where it is better than American schools is its selectivity. In academic areas that matter, such as faculty caliber, etc, the school is not to be compared with HYPSM</p>
<p>I can agree with that, to a degree. Again, HYPSM will provide a far more comprehensive education than IIT can dream of. What it cannot provide, however, is that selectivity. People who go into IIT start “training” from 8th grade for the Joint Entrance Exam, innumerably more difficult than the SAT… After this, out of a HUGE pool of applicants, in which about 70% are academically admissible (though the institution claims it is more), they select a small few. </p>
<p>Also, in the Indian market, what IIT can provide is incomparable to what HYPSM can provide. Unfortunately, the international renown is not what HYPSM has… In spite of this, most IIT grads do very well. If you want a secure and good job in India, and you get into IIT, I would consider it…</p>
<p>The caliber of the faculty is actually very good. I do not live in India, but I have met a few faculty members (as I have that of Princeton and Harvard) and they blew me away. In the areas which IIT excels, few schools can compare. Again, IIT is NOT for everyone… Most Americans (including myself) would not survive an hour in IIT.</p>
<p>I haven’t been in India for long, but I know that the IIT acceptance rate is in low single-digits (say, 1.6%) It absolutely makes sense to aim for US schools, if you can afford it.</p>
<p>I’ve heard for certain things it can be in the .xx%, which is what makes it so amazing. SO def, apply to US schools but don’t take the IIT with a grain of salt.</p>
<p>You may want to try running this search engine with a few more variables in it. What kind of weather do you want? What part of the country would you like to be in? How much can you afford to pay? What specific field of Engineering are you interested in? Do you care about the size of the school?</p>
<p>To a great extent, engineering is engineering because in the end, if you want to be licensed you will have to pass the professional exams. As an international student, you must never underestimate how much a school will actually cost to attend, and you must never overestimate your chances at getting financial aid. Find out to the penny (that is .01 US Dollar) just exactly how much money you truly will have available to pay for your education before you start making a list of “reach”, “match”, and “safety” schools. For an international applicant with financial need, there is no such thing as a “safety” school. There are only “reaches”.</p>