<p>Hi, I'm absolutely driving myself crazy over this decision, and any advice would be highly appreciated. I'm trying to decide between Rose-Hulman and Northwestern for undergrad engineering. I'm entering undecided engineering but I'm leaning towards mechanical. I would choose Rose, but Northwestern is offering me very near full-tuition in scholarships, which complicates the decision. Is Rose good enough to make it worth the extra $15,000 per year?</p>
<p>How strong is your commitment to engineering?</p>
<p>Are you absolutely sure it will be your major, or is there a possibility that you might want to switch to something in the liberal arts?</p>
<p>If you might switch, you're better off at Northwestern.</p>
<p>Yeah, that's true. I like engineering now, but if 2 years from now I find that I don't really like what I'm studying, Rose has no other options for majors</p>
<p>By scholarships you mean fin-aid ?</p>
<p>Northwestern is far better option even for the same money, if it costs less- this is no brainer.</p>
<p>I wouldn't go that far DTan. If you don't mind being one of 15 000 then Northwestern might be for you, but if you want a much more personal environment in and out of the classroom, then Rose-Hulman is better hands down.</p>
<p>The biggest con about Rose-Hulman is that yes, you are pretty well locked into engineering, math, or science.</p>
<p>Have you visited both campuses?</p>
<p>Yeah, actually I just visited Rose-Hulman last week and really loved it there, which is what is making this a hard decision... I'm going to visit Northwestern for a second time later this month, because I want to be sure that I'm not basing my decision completely on the money. Like you said in the other thread though, I'm going to try talking to the financial aid dept. at Rose to see what they can do for me.</p>
<p>Another thing is, if you're going into engineering, your student debt isn't nearly as much relative to if you get a liberal arts degree, considering the average salary. That's not to say that you should just throw caution and reason to the wind, but just something to consider.</p>
<p>This post is very strange....</p>
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<li><p>NU doesn't award merit-based scholarship. So I wonder how you got so little from Rose-Hulman.</p></li>
<li><p>NU does have a great engineering school. Do you know its material science, civil, and industrial engineering/management sciences are consistently ranked in the top10. Biomedical/mechanical are also ranked in the top-15. The material science is so well-regarded (top-3) that there are more than enough coop positions given to them to fill. </p></li>
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<p>If you decide engineering isn't for you, then you make a horrible mistake of passing up almost free education at one of the best U in the nation.</p>
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<li>(responding to nic767), there are no 15,000 students. The undergrad population at NU is 8000 (1300-1400 in the engineering school). By the way, engineers' starting salary may look good but their yearly increase is rather slow after that. People don't get rich by staying as engineers (in general). In fact, I'd say CPAs earn more than PEs on average (despite the fact the starting salary for accountant is lower). However, if one pursues engineering + undergrad finance certificate from Kellogg (NU), he/she would have a foot in the door of some elite investment/consulting firm and will get better pay than most engineers. :)</li>
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<p>Northwestern. Honestly. Much better school. Might not be for engineering, but NW engineering is still very good. Prestige. Location. Cheaper. Everything. Go there.</p>