Hello, guys. I am international applicant recently accepted to both Purdue and UMich. I am going to major in Aerospace engineering. Can you guys tell me the pros and cons of the universities?
Thanks.
Exact Same here. I visited Purdue but not yet Michigan.
What I can tell you, is Purdue is cheaper than U Mich, 10k less per year. Purdue has a compact campus and has a small airport next to the campus which is nice if you have a PPL or want to get one. And the Aerospace program is very good.
But Honestly, I wasn’t really excited. The campus is isolated (closest big city is indianapolis 120km away or something like that), and West Lafayette is not very attractive. From what i’ve seen Purdue seems like a Nice place for the study but seems to lack socially in many aspects. And I was told many students go home during the week ends because they live in indiana. I prefered UIUC over Purdue.
About Michigan, It has a great program, it probably has advantage over Purdue in terms of overall prestige, but not that much. Ann arbor is a great college town and Michigan seems to have a great school spirit ( if you like big sports like american football, UMich has a 109 000 seat stadium). And Michigan has Detroit 20 Miles away, which is great for international flights, internships and going there on the week ends, all of which you don’t have at Purdue. The major negative aspect for UMich is that a lot of engineering classes (not first year though) or at the North Campus, which is 2 miles north of Central campus, so you would need to take a bus for classes (you can live where ever you want, but you will still probably have classes on central and North so you will be taking the bus anyway I suppose. But I didn’t visit Michigan yet, so this is only what I can say about it on Paper.
Both schools have pretty cold winters, and both schools are big state schools.
Overall I would say, go to Purdue if you hardly care about anything else but your degree and save 50 000 thousand dollars. Since both are extremely close in terms of value of education for AE. But if cost is not a problem, UMich probably wins this.
Are you going to visit ?
Thought I should pitch in my 2 cents!
I’m from Southeast Michigan, and I’m currently attending Purdue as a freshman in AAE. Unfortunately, I was not accepted to U-M (Don’t ask me why; 32 ACT, 3.97 unweighted GPA, #3 in class), but I am highly familiar with the area. To keep things short, I’ll just list the category and the winner in each.
Best College Town: Michigan
West Lafayette (and most of Indiana in general) is SO boring. There is definitely a social hub around Lafayette, and it is in close proximity to Indy and Chicago, but there isn’t much to do in the immediate vicinity. This is compounded by the fact that freshman aren’t allowed to have cars on campus.
Ann Arbor on the other hand, is a very nice, relaxing place to live. In the immediate area there are some niche shops and general college town fare, but if you venture just a few minutes out there are outlet malls, parks, and other attractions at all times of the year. The city is absolutely beautiful in the fall, too.
Best Value: Tie
This is simple, if you’re in-state, go to that one. If you’re out of state, the cost difference doesn’t actually turn out to be that great.
Best Engineering Reputation: Purdue
Purdue wins for the best engineering reputation hands down. We are known for our hard work, dedication, and work ethic. While many will say Michigan’s reputation is amazing, once you get out of state, it isn’t as important as they make it out to be.
Best Overall Reputation: Michigan
Purdue’s engineering program is better, but that’s all it has over Michigan. U-M easily has the better liberal arts degrees, etc. I can’t really comment about science and other degrees though because I don’t know enough about them.
And I think that covers the basics! If you’d like to know more just let me know! Oh, and I should also mention that I landed an internship with GE Aviation within 1.5 months of being at Purdue. If job opportunities are you thing, Purdue does well in that area too.
Boiler Up! Go Blue! Whatever you prefer!
IndoorSnowStorm, I agree with most of your post except for two points:
- Engineering reputation: I don't see how Purdue has a stronger Engineering reputation (or is better) than Michigan. Both are rated the same in most publications. According to the most recent ranking, Michigan's CoE was ranked #7 and Purdue's was ranked #9. In Aerospace Engineering, Michigan was #2 and Purdue was #5. Looks pretty even to me.
- Best value: I actually think Purdue is a better value if money is a concern. If money is not a concern, then it does not matter.
It boils down to money in this case. If Nocto’s parents will struggle to pay $60k/year to attend Michigan, I would definitely go with Purdue and save his parents $10K+/year. It is every bit as good as Michigan in Engineering (and Aerospace Engineering in particular). If Nocto’s parents can easily afford paying $60k/year, I would recommend Michigan because it is better overall (nicer and more convenient location, stronger overall reputation etc…).
“While many will say Michigan’s reputation is amazing, once you get out of state, it isn’t as important as they make it out to be.”
Perhaps you are thinking about the area around Lafayette? For engineering, they are peers. For almost everything else, Michigan is better. It comes down to what you can afford.
Here is an old quote from a CC thread in 2009. I recalled reading it and thought it was perfect for this discussion. This is someone else’s opinion btw, I don’t necessarily agree/disagree with it:
“whoever says michigan engineering and purdue engineering programs are about the same… i don’t know what they are smoking or sipping on. usnews rankings wise, probably similar, but in reality, it’s not. nobody picks purdue over michigan unless it’s a significant money difference. engineering profession isn’t prestige driven, so if you are happy to be an engineer in the midwest working for GE, you’ll probably achieve the same result whether you goto Michigan or Purdue, if you want the ability to meet recruiters for other high paying jobs, i would not pick Purdue unless the difference is like over 50k.”
Here is another post from an old thread in 2013 about retention and graduation rates. I assume things haven’t changed too much:
"Purdue
First Year Student Retention (full-time students): 90%
Transfer Out Rate: 22%
4-Year Graduation Rate: 38%
6-Year Graduation Rate: 68%
Michigan
First Year Student Retention (full-time students): 96%
4-Year Graduation Rate: 73%
6-Year Graduation Rate: 90%"
This indicates to me that Michigan clearly has the stronger student body for engineering. That four year graduation rate at Purdue is a reason for concern. I hope it’s because of a weaker student body and not because of a difficulty in getting necessary classes. An extra year of attending college at Purdue will wipe out a cost saving advantage over Michigan.
1 Like
Purdue engineering is equal to Michigan engineering.
However, on EVERY other measure, Michigan beats Purdue hands-down.
The only way I would go to Purdue over Michigan is if it is significantly cheaper… how much cheaper will depend on your personal finances… for me, I would only go to Purdue if it were at least $10K cheaper per year. Otherwise, I’d gladly pay a little bit more to attend Michigan.
Hey guys, thanks a lot.
I am very sorry but I forgot to include that I am accepted to the Masters program, haha.
In the end, I decided to go with Michigan. Thanks all!
Congrats Nocto73! Go Blue!
Congratulations and good luck!