<p>Here's the situation:
I've always had my heart set on Notre Dame; however, it may be financially unrealistic. Based upon my financial aid and my parents' contribution I will graduate with a minimum of $50,000 in debt and possibly over $100,000. On the other hand, I have a full ride to Auburn and was accepted into the honors college there. My question is should I sacrifice Notre Dame to go to Auburn? Is Notre Dame job placement really going to outweigh the financial burden I will inevitably incur? Also FYI, I'm interested in majoring in Engineering with a business minor. I'm looking to go into the managerial side of engineering. I don't know how this factors in...I realize Notre Dame engineering is mediocre (ranked #43 by USNEWS) but at least it's better than Auburn (#57). Any help would be greatly appreciated.</p>
<p>Like you said, ND is not known for engineering and the honors college is quite good at Auburn and with a full ride, I'd say Auburn.</p>
<p>Auburn is the CLEAR choice here. That's just far too much debt to take on.</p>
<p>but is the notre dame brand name worth the $50,000 debt? will it make up for this burden when it comes to job offers?</p>
<p>First, do any of the folks saying Auburn know anything about the school and its reputation in the South and in Alabama? It's not a college that is written about much on CC. </p>
<p>Second, do you know where you plan to live and work after college? If it's not in Alabama, I'd lean strongly to Notre Dame. If you want to go work for something like NASA in Huntsville, then Auburn would be the better choice.</p>
<p>Engineering is a very "democratic" major. You aren't going to see any salary difference coming from Notre Dame engineering vs. Auburn engineering. That being said, employment opportunities are more regional, and recruiters will tend to recruit more heavily from local/regional colleges. </p>
<p>Look at the career center's for each college and see what companies actively recruit on campus. I suspect Auburn will be more heavily recruited by southern and Texas-based engineering firms...</p>
<p>If you want employment in an engineering field I would save the money and go to Auburn. Work for a few years after you get your BS in engineering then shoot for your MBA. </p>
<p>BS Engineering + MBA = golden ticket</p>
<p>Auburn engineering is among the best in the South. I live in Alabama myself, and it's common knowledge that, for in state, if you're leaning towards engineering, Auburn's the place to go. </p>
<p>I also received the Spirit of Auburn Scholarship (full ride), but turned it down for Duke instead. Had the situation been different, I would have loved to go to Auburn.</p>
<p>My dad works in management for General Electric and in the past with Harris and has a masters in engineering himself (Florida Tech). </p>
<p>I am looking seriously at Auburn (not for engineering), and his first words when I mentioned it were, "there are a ton of Tigers at work, seems to be a great school for engineering but don't know anything else about it".</p>
<p>Like I said, he did not graduate from Auburn, so there is no bias in that statement either. I'm not sure of ND other than the fact that it's prestigious in overall rankings, but know that an Auburn degree pulls some weight in the Southeast.</p>
<p>We live in FL by the way.</p>
<p>I am a graduate of Auburn and currently have a soon to be JR Engineering student at ND. All I can say is based on our experiences so far with ND, the international reputation of ND and its Alum base far outweigh Auburn. If it is your intention to stay in the south, then go for Auburn. But, for our student, he wanted more and was not interested in the South. The Engineering fairs at ND so far have been phenomenal with recruiters from all of the top companies including GE(whose CEO? is an alum), Boeing, Lockheed, Raytheon and a host of many more. In fact, summer after his freshman year, he did an internship with an IT company and they wanted to know if he knew any other ND grads. They had plenty of Auburn and AL grads, but wanted more. It was clearly evident to our student that they must have been impressed with his ND education thus far. Yes, I know I may sound like I am knocking Auburn, but I just happen to believe that ND is a better school. You basically get what you pay for. Of course, the debt issue is something to think about and I would have never sent our student to ND only to graduate with a $100,000 debt load. But, the ND reputation cannot be beat and I think it has carried our student a long way up to this point. Have you visited Notre Dame? That might help you with your decision as well. We have not been disappointed in the least with ND and the academics are challengining to say the least. There is a reason for their ranking and minimums with regards to SAT/ACT-GPA as admissions guidelines. Debt is something to seriously consider, but, if you qualify for Financial Aid at Auburn, I am sure ND can offer you similar awards. Hope that helps!</p>
<p>PS--ND also offers a 5-year Eng/MBA program. The Mendoza School of Business at ND is ranked #3, I believe. If you are interested in Eng/Business, that might be something to consider!</p>