Will doing engg from an ivy help me in the future? Does an ivy degree in engg have different effects for those going for grad school and those not doing so. (I want to continue till Masters at least)
No it will not. Make your decision on the best program when it comes to engineering.
You may like the big state schools better anyway. For many students the instate flagship is a top engineering school.
There are schools that have very respected engineering programs that are not Ivies.
The only ivy that has engineer is Cornell. Try looking at some of the big 10 schools
While the Ivies are not really known for engineering (for the most part), the best of them (in order) would probably be Cornell, Princeton, and UPenn. Cornell has good connections to companies and I believe they offer a 5-year BS/MS program with their engineering school (dont quote me on that). Princeton offers a B.S.E (my favorite) and allows you to somewhat “customize” your undergraduate experience with certificates (Applications of Computing, Materials Engineering, Engineering Physics, Engineering Biology, etc.). UPenn also has interdisciplinary programs with their engineering school and also offers the B.S.E.
Look out for Harvard, too. They are trying to expand their engineering department as best they can, and could possibly be adding ChemE and actual engineering disciplines (instead of Engineering Science) in the next couple years.
If I were to apply early this year to one of the ivies…which would you suggest? Cornell’s ED is not so attractive to me…
Also, I am also edging towards public schools as their student life might be more suited to me.
Well the most recent EA/ED rates for those schools are:
Cornell: around 30%
Princeton: 19.9%
UPenn: 24%
Oh, I also forgot Columbia Fu Foundation. But a lot of other colleges offer intercollege programs with it, so eh.
Your best bet is Cornell, but the others suffice as well.
Public schools could be your best bet. Might I suggest UT Austin, any of the UC’s, UNC-Chapel Hill, Rutgers, and Penn State?
Yes like Michigan, Purdue, Wisconsin, Georgia Tech, Virginia Tech, Rutgers…
Yes go have fun too. Paint your face the school colors and yell at the football games!!!
WSJ ranking of majors by job recruiters- i.e. the people who hire
http://www.wsj.com/articles/SB10001424052748703376504575491704156387646
Of course I’m biased, but UT-Austin has an outstanding engineering school. It is flush with money from donors, too, so they are building new facilities like crazy. If I could afford it, I would go back to school! 
One of my fellow students was 48 when he went back to school. He ended up getting a PhD and becoming a professor.
It doesn’t matter whether you go to an Ivy for any type of degree. For engineering, the big state schools are better I think. Besides Cornell Engineering (and maybe Columbia), UMich, UW Madison, UT Austin, Purdue, and Rutgers are great options.
For engineering: UCB, UCSB, UT Austin, MIT, Caltech, Stanford, Purdue, Penn State, Harvey Mudd… Are all better or comparable to the Ivies in engineering.
The answer may depend on whether the engineering graduate wants to work in engineering versus elite consulting and finance after graduation.
Actually, they all have engineering majors with ABET accreditation, though options for type of engineering, in-major electives, etc. may be more limited than at some of the bigger universities known for engineering. (Also, the ABET-accredited engineering degrees typically take more than 12 quarters at Dartmouth.)
Yes, I’m very much interested in umich,Purdue,penn state,georgia tech,uiuc, UCs,but I am concussed where to apply early…I want to apply early to at least one very selective school…also I’m an international…
Stanford early is just hopeless for me…so I am really confused right now
The UC admission period is November. It is not ‘early’ it is the only period they are open. You don’t get a decision early. Please explain what the issue is with Cornell ED so we understand why it is not attractive.
As someone who hires engineers I have a bit of a different take. Having and Ivy League degree is a VERY strong plus in your favor. If I see a degree from an Ivy League school then I know the candidate got a good all around education AND a good engineering education. This can not be taken for granted at many schools, especially the big state schools (most graduates from big state schools receive a good education, but not all).
To put it another way, going to a great engineering school (MIT, Stanford, Cal Tech, etc) will almost certainly get you noticed in the large stack of resumes and get you an interview. A degree from an Ivy league school is almost as good. It’s actually better if we are looking for engineers that also need writing or people skills. After that, degrees from non-Ivy league schools with good reputations (Williams, Oberlin, UVA, etc) are a help, albeit not as much of one. Frankly, after that where you got your degree (or even IF you got a degree) isn’t a big factor as long as you have some way to show that you can handle the work.
However, that just gets you an interview. After that you have to prove that you know what you are talking about and, equally importantly, that we think you’ll be a good person to work with on a team. Of course, having a recruiter vouch for you who we’ve worked with before and has given us successful candidates in the past is a sure way to get an interview and won’t set you back $200,000+.
Since I also have some acquaintance with grad school admissions I can say that for the professional degrees (law, medicine, business) an Ivy degree is as good as a degree from a top engineering school. The engineering school might have the edge just because they see so many fewer of those applicants.I honestly can’t say for sure regarding post-graduate engineering programs but I’m certain that if you have taken the right courses and done well at an Ivy your chances of admittance will be very good.
@Troyus How do you view kids from Harvey Mudd? (LA but focused on STEM, not really near any “big” engineeringg firms) or the ither Coaremont colleges for that matter? Just curious.
Given Brown’s minimal general education requirements, it is less assured that a Brown engineering graduate got an all around education than an engineering graduate from most other schools.
MIT has significant greater writing requirements than most other schools.
Williams and Oberlin do not have engineering.
Apply EA to Michigan, UIUC, Purdue, MIT. They have various level of selectiveness, some are rolling admission.
Take a look at Carnegie Mellon. My dad is an executive in a major oil company and he does a lot of hiring interviews. He and his coworkers are always very impressed with CMU students/grads.