<p>I'm an international student with mediocre stats, keen on getting an American undergraduate education. I was just wondering what kind of reputation Penn State(university park) has in engineering. Is it well known for engineering? Although I have heard good things from friends and relatives about Penn State Engineering, The US News top rankings don't seem to rank Penn State well in any engineering specialties. Any ideas?</p>
<p>What area are you applying for? I was going to apply but they told me they don't accept Mech. Engineering majors as transfers.</p>
<p>I don't know which rankings you are looking at...Penn State is ranked pretty damn high in almost all of the specialties</p>
<p>Penn State's a great school and has one of the largest alumni networks in the country. I've got a bunch of friends that went there for undergrad and loved it.</p>
<p>Is it worth the out of state cost with no financial aid? I don't believe International students receive any financial assistance from the university.</p>
<p>Undeadpaladin: engineering-undecided</p>
<p>What kind of average salaries can be expected upon graduation from Penn State with an undergrad degree in engineering in general? ~$60k per annum?
Will I be able to pay off student debt of approximately 140k?</p>
<p>The salary of engineers varies widely upon which field you got your degree in. As a civil engineer I think you'd be pretty hard pressed to find a job that'll offer you $60k while if you're a computer engineer you'd have much better luck. I think the average starting salary for engineers is around $50k nationwide at all schools.</p>
<p>Personally, I can't think of any school that's worth $140k in debt just for a bachelor's degree.</p>
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As a civil engineer I think you'd be pretty hard pressed to find a job that'll offer you $60k
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<p>Um... actually... You can wrangle a good $50K for a non-structures civil degree, but with a masters in structural, it's possible to get up to mid-sixties in your first couple of years on the job.</p>
<p>Moving along... doot de doo...</p>
<p>$140K debt is a lot of money. There's not a lot of difference between most of the top engineering programs. I'd go for whichever one you like that's most affordable, and you'll end up as an engineer at the end of it all, just the same. No need to put yourself in a ton of debt just to get an engineering degree.</p>
<p>140k is a lot of money....first off</p>
<p>but PSUs rep is very respected among companies. You definately could make 60k out of school, as long as you're not the "average" engineer (internships, coops, high positions within bigger organizations, research, GPA, etc.)</p>
<p>
[quote]
Um... actually... You can wrangle a good $50K for a non-structures civil degree, but with a masters in structural, it's possible to get up to mid-sixties in your first couple of years on the job.
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<p>The numbers I was giving was for going straight out of college, not experienced members of the workforce. For example, Raytheon offers starting ECE people $64k a year to start straight out of school (I know a few people at different locations from different schools that have gotten this offer, so I imagine it's fairly standard for the company). I actually don't know anyone from my undergrad class in materials (usually somewhere on the middle of the payscale of engineers) that was offered under $55k.</p>
<p>psu is one of the top engineering schools...if you're majoring in chem E- even better....because they're building a new chem E building..so its going to jump up in the rankings more than likely...it will probably be in the top ten....</p>
<p>Agree with all the above but graduating with a debt of $140000 is insane. Even if you make around $60000 out of school. Don't do it.</p>
<p>racnna - Right now, I am tending towards ChemE so thanks for the news!</p>
<p>The debt is the only negative factor. Will it be possible to pay it off after a few years work? </p>
<p>Another thing that I am worried about is the availability of a job for international students with American degrees. Suppose I do graduate from PSU with an engineering degree. Will an employer even hire me/sponsor me for visa as I am an international? And don't employers only sponsor highly specialized internationals, because their skill set is actually hard to find?</p>
<p>Or is it better that I do a bachelors degree and try to do a masters degree at an American university?</p>
<p>...A lot of stuff is flying around in my head right now...</p>
<p>check out a loan calculator
FinAid</a> | Calculators | Loan Calculator
Are you planning on living at home til you pay it off? Then it might be doable.</p>
<p>ALso something to think about.....160k is assuming that you dont get any scholarships while your in school.</p>