I’m an international student who is keen on pursuing aerospace engineering. From what I’ve researched, Purdue ranks about 5th for AE while UW ranks 14th. However, UW is ranked 25th overall while Purdue is 102.
- Is a higher ranked department more impressive than an overall well ranked university?
- Which of these universities is better reputed in the aerospace field?
- Which of these universities is more impressive to potential employers?
ALL CONTRIBUTIONS ARE MUCH APPRECIATED. Please share anything you know about these two AE programs that will make my decision easier. Thank you so much!
Purdue’s better, by a long shot.
That’s a bold, definitive statement coming from a person who hasn’t even started college yet.
@boneh3ad
Yeah, sorry for the hasty reply, had to run out, didn’t have time to compose a longer one. And yeah, “long shot” was definitely not the right choice for that 
Anyways, I know a few people who work in the aerospace industry (there are multiple plants near me), and they rave about Purdue grads. Over 4 years, it’s also $20,000 cheaper than Washington.
Too bad it’s a misleading statement. From the point of view of a typical undergraduate, the two programs are likely indistinguishable. Both are highly-regarded, well-funded, and have many ties to industry. Purdue is certainly a fantastic program. So is the “William E. Boeing Department of Aeronautics and Astronautics” at Washington. When it comes to comparisons like this, it ultimately comes down to finances and personal fit to decide which is best for an individual student.
What are the costs of each for you?
Thanks for replying, everyone! I am not considering factors such as weather, costs etc. I am basing it primarily on which university will be more attractive to potential employers. Since both of these programs are equally good, will it make more sense to pursue UW since it has a higher overall ranking than Purdue? Basically, will Purdue’s low overall ranking result in lost job opportunities? Or, will Purdue’s reputation as an ‘engineering powerhouse’ actually make it a better option? Purdue’s overall ranking puts me off and I’m just worried employers may look down upon it as a low-tier university. I’m probably being extremely naive about this whole thing so please feel free to share whatever opinions, thoughts and experiences you have had with regards to these two universities!
The overall ranking is essentially meaningless for engineers. Engineering companies are pragmatic in that they care about the quality of engineers that a program tends to produce, not what the school’s overall name brand says about their English program and law school and everything else.
@boneh3ad Fair enough! Thank you so much.
If each of you were to decide between these two for AE, which would you choose and why? Just wondering, haha.