Purdue Engineering vs NYU Engineering

@KrishSC if you plan to attend grad school, I would contact both schools and inquire about grad school placement for engineering students. Also, in case you decide later on not to attend grad school, contact both career placement centers and find out where engineers work after their undergrad. I would suggest not focusing on salaries without context. If you work in New York City, you better make a lot more than if you work in the Midwest, except maybe Chicago.

I work for a global engineering company. We recruit at all the top Engineering schools in the country. NYU is not on our list. In addition to the obvious (MIT, Stanford, etc.) we recruit at most of the Big 10 schools, meaning Purdue, Illinois, Wisconsin, Michigan, Ohio State, Penn State, etc. I would not consider Purdue engineering and NYU engineering to be peers.

Yes, NYU is more selective in general. That does not tell you the whole story. Getting into Purdue isn’t that hard. Succeeding in their engineering curriculum is.

I can’t answer your question regarding your finances. I am simply pointing out that Purdue is widely respected as an engineering power house. NYU is not. I am not saying a degree from NYU is not valuable. I am not saying you would not find a job. I am just saying most of the world would rank Purdue engineering well above NYU engineering, and for good reason.

You have a lot of knowledgeable people on this forum telling you that Purdue is superior to NYU in engineering.

“Hard fact is that I am in fact attracted by the reputation and I’m not going to lie.”

If you are going to base your decision on reputation, make sure you know which one truly has the best reputation.

I’ve never seen so much angst about a perceived slight to Purdue. Yes, it’s an excellent school. But with COA the OP has at present, it doesn’t make any sense to pay more for that education. Both schools will provide a good engineering education. There’s a reason why Poly’s graduates have such a high rate of return on their educational investment.

Manchester is excellent for engineering. One of first office got a PhD in engineering. UCLA is good too, but Purdue is more affordable. But if you worry about prestige, why ask us about your choices. Just go with NYU period.

Prior to the full merger, Polytechnic Institute [of NYU] was pretty much all engineering majors, and had good financial aid (unlike NYU in general for those not getting merit scholarships), so its ROI as a standalone school was high.

NYU may very well be the better choice for the OP, but probably not for the reason the OP thinks it will be.

Exactly. He will pay less for NYU (btw, is that aid guaranteed?), and get a solid accredited education, but don’t expect the “NYU Engineering” name to open any doors.

@Chardo, NYU Poly has many foreign alumni who graduated decades ago and are now in high positions in those countries. There are active alumni networks in places like China, India, the Middle East, etc.

^ But it was not NYU Poly decades ago. Those people went to Polytechnic Institute, a solid engineering school without the perceived prestige of NYU. The NYU name did not open any doors for those people, and they would enjoyed the same success from any number of other schools. My point is that NYU Poly is nothing more than a branding attempt to elevate an ordinary engineering school into something perceived to be better, and for NYU to show the world that they have an engineering school (even though it’s 15 minutes away).

OP, check out NYU Price Gouging thread in the parents forum.

Weren’t financial difficulties the reason for Polytechnic agreeing to be merged into NYU? Of course, this reverses what happened decades ago, when NYU had to sell its engineering division to Polytechnic because of NYU’s financial difficulties.

Although NYU is expensive with poor financial aid in general (and significantly worse than Polytechnic had before the full merger), the OP has a scholarship that makes it significantly lower cost than Purdue.

Post #49, why do they have to give merit money if NYU is more prestigious. My kid only got $10k per year from Purdue.

@Chardo. I don’t really care whether people call it NYU Poly or just Poly. Most of the alumni polled said they still refer to it as Poly, and were not in favor of the merger. IMHO the whole line of thinking about prestige is nonsense. But the result is still the same, a good education leading to good future earning potential. Given the OP has a scholarship, it’s a no-brainer.

@KrishSC, I did my Mech Engg undergrad in the late 80s from one of the original IITs. Purdue was very well known then as it is now in India. From my graduating class, some of the highest achieving folks applied for their Masters/PhDs there.

I have been in the US since the early 90s (came here for an MBA) and can categorically tell you that Purdue is way up there when it comes to Engg., be it here or India. I had my D2 apply to Purdue last Fall, she is in GTech now for ChemE. Though I am not directly associated with the Engg. field, my associates and IIT classmates will give the thumbs up for Purdue over NYU Engg. Just coz it is easier to get into Purdue, does not imply that the competition or the competency of Purdue’s Engg. students is any less. I live in Manhattan, BTW.

Well, pick NYU because it’s the most cost effective is fine as Novadad suggested but don’t pick it because of prestige or if there is anything less about Purdue engineering.

If you’re a reputation guy pick NYU, if not just pick Purdue.

A “reputation” for what exactly, @NASA2014? And he should pay more for “less reputation”?

It’s a solid engineering school, as everyone has said. But I ask the OP, would you be interested in the school if it was still called Polytechnic Institute? Has the NYU badge, which is little more than marketing, clouded your opinion?

I would like to see the fine print on NYU’s offer. Given that school’s reputation he may give back the 15k differential a few times over.

Yes the NYU badge seems to have clouded my opinion for the reason that new faculty signings and the facilities ’ quality increased only after the of merger. Apparently another friend of mine who’s going to Purdue this year told me the estimated expenditure is 45k and yeah the 20k makes a difference. @iO12575 I’m sure of clearing the JEE advanced but I don’t want to study in India. Would you say NYU Engineering is better than at least iit engineering even though it isn’t as good as Purdue Engineering that even the ivies fail to match upto?

I would not say NYU Poly engineering is better than IIT. Everything I’ve heard about IIT and the people I’ve met who graduated from there would lead me to think its equal in the US is MIT.