<p>I've been admitted into a few schools. Northeastern University, Purdue University and UMass Amherst. I'm quite confused as to which to attend. Cost is not an issue. NEU has a wonderful co-op program and plus it's in Boston, plus I'm leaning towards it..but maybe that's because I've been researching about it too much. Purdue, I know is a well ranked university for engineering, and so is UMass Amherst. Any help? </p>
<p>p.s- I've applied for Computer Engineering. Either I'll end up doing CE or maybe Electrical Engineering.</p>
<p>Where do you want to work when you finish your degree? Northeastern and UMass will limit you geographically more than Purdue will, but if you want to stay up in the New England sort of area then you are probably fine going to either of those two.</p>
<p>Also, FWIW, just because a school doesn’t require a co-op as part of the program does not mean that there aren’t tons of co-op opportunities. If that is what is keeping you away from Purdue, then don’t worry about it. Purdue students get co-ops all the time if they want them, they just are not required as part of the curriculum.</p>
<p>I only intend to do my undergraduate from either one of these universities. Probably going to do graduate from some other place. So I’m not entirely sure as to where I’ll end up geographically in the work field. I understand that Purdue students also receive co-op opportunities. It’s just that for some reason, NEU itself, as well as it being in Boston attracts me. What I was wondering is, which is a ‘better’ university to attend. In all aspects, like overall college experience, academics, as well as future job prospects.
Purdue is well ranked in the engineering rankings, but rankings don’t entirely mean anything right?
Completely confused.</p>
<p>That’s fine. If you like Northeastern better then more power to you. I just wanted to make sure it was clear that co-ops are not unique to Northeastern and its peers.</p>
<p>Anyway, rankings sort of matter. In engineering fields, engineering prestige matters more than overall prestige, so, for instance, you are more likely to get a job as an engineer at Boeing if you went to Purdue than if you went to Harvard. That said, the rankings only really matter indirectly for jobs. It is all about which companies recruit at which schools, and the “top” companies tend to recruit from a combination of the “top” schools nationwide as well as the good schools in their region. As long as the types of companies that you want to work for recruit at the school you plan to attend, you ought to be able to get that job you want more easily. If they don’t, you might have to go work for someone less than ideal for a bit to get some experience and then try to move to the companies you really want. After your first job, your undergraduate institution rarely matters.</p>
<p>For graduate school rankings matter slightly differently. Going to a lower-ranked school won’t keep you from getting into a top graduate school, however, going to a program that is perceived as better can absolutely help make up for things like a lower GPA. The top schools will typically have more research opportunities (though not always), which look very good for graduate school admissions.</p>
<p>The last thing to keep in mind is the list of elective courses offered. ABET ensures that every program will meet the same basic requirements, but you will have a handful of electives to fill, and the variety of classes you can take to fulfill those tends to be greater at the larger and more well-known programs.</p>
<p>On the other hand, Northeastern is in Boston and will have smaller class sizes and, by all accounts, seems to be a pretty good school.</p>
<p>Anyway, just something to think about.</p>
<p>You just gave me more to think about, hahaha. But seriously, thanks for helping me out!
If you had to make a choice, which college would you have gone for? And why?
Just curious.</p>
<p>If I was choosing between the two, I would choose Purdue. I am personally a much bigger fan of the larger and more diverse programs, I would value the ability to go and watch division 1 college sports, I would like the breadth of research going on there and I personally have no problems with large class size, which typically isn’t an issue after your first year and a half or so anyway.</p>
<p>That’s just me, though. Most people who know me would be able to guess that though. I did my undergrad at UIUC, which is similar in many ways to Purdue, and now am doing my graduate work at another large research school, so it has already been my MO.</p>
<p>Good luck!</p>
<p>UIUC? Wow! Got rejected from there, haha.
Right, so basically it comes down to personal choice?</p>
<p>More or less. It is a combination of personal preference, career goals and finances.</p>
<p>Oh man. Decisions decisions.
Well, I guess you’ve helped me out as much as I could ask for. Thank you so much, I really appreciate it! </p>
<p>Sent from my GT-I9300 using CC</p>
<p>Finances aren’t an issue. Personal preference, I’m kind of leaning towards NEU. Career goals is the part I need to think about. </p>
<p>Sent from my GT-I9300 using CC</p>