<p>I've been searching and searching for an answer to this question and still haven't found one. I've narrowed my college search down to Notre Dame and UMich. There's things I really like and things I don't like about each university, and they're pretty equal in my mind right now. I'm basically having a really tough time deciding between the two.</p>
<p>My major will be engineering, so I was wondering which university would be better for engineering. I specifically want to go into chemE. Also, I want to consider study abroad opportunities (Notre Dame apparently gives grants for this), career opportunities (the Notre Dame network is huge, but I haven't heard as much about UMich career opportunities), and just the universities in general. Any help will be GREATLY appreciated.</p>
<p>My opinion is that a big state school (such as your UMich, U of I, Ga. Tech) is where you would choose to study engineering at a graduate level if that is what you ultimately decide on. You’ll almost definitely get more personal attention and mentoring at ND, and the smaller environment means you won’t be seen as just a number. ND has several programs for engineers who want to study abroad, both during the year and during the summer, and will grant financial aid for abroad semesters if appropriate.</p>
<p>Bottom line, UMich is ranked higher, but ND is still a top 50 engineering school, just built a new engineering building ($60 mil + I want to say), and may offer a more personalized undergrad experience. Just as a for instance, my buddy is a ChemE and played intramural football, has been on student government and will be the #3 guy next year, and will study in London this summer. So there are all kinds of opportunities. Career center and alumni network is also phenomenal.</p>
<p>I have the exact same problem and have narrowed my choice down to these two schools’ engineering program. Both have offered me scholarships, and i get the impression that both programs are on the rise. Michigan’s facilities are very impressive, and I really feel their program will overtake others in the near future. On the other hand, Notre Dame has spent more money on engineering recently and has nowhere to go but up.</p>
<p>Michigan’s engineering department is also completely removed from central campus. I guess it isn’t too big of an issue, but when I visited I hated how removed the engineering campus at UMich was from the rest of campus.</p>
<p>I agree with most of the posters above. Graduate school is what will ultimately matter as an engineer (assuming you go for a master’s), so go to the undergraduate school where you will get a better experience and better faculty attention. You will have no trouble getting into top grad programs coming from ND if that’s what’s worrying you (as long as you do well of course). At Notre Dame, not only will you have a brand spankin’ new building to work in, you will be part of a much smaller engineering school and will have much better interaction with faculty. I feel like engineers at ND will be much more integrated into the rest of campus at ND than at UM, and you will have an amazing four years living the ND experience in South Bend</p>
<p>Michigan probably has a stronger engineering program, plus from my discussion with my brother (current ND student), your study abroad options are pretty limited. Granted, none of his engineering friends have had trouble getting jobs with top firms (Boeing, GE, Lockheed, et. al.), but I do think that within the scope of engineering, UMich carries more prestige. In other fields, I definitely think ND trumps, especially beyond the Midwest. A big consideration in the current economic envrionment is certainly scholarships. If you’re risk-averse (i.e., worried you might spend 4 years in college and not get a good job on the other end), then it would make sense for you to pick the significantly cheaper option, which would probably be Michigan.</p>