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 is famous for engineering. UW is more know for CS and medicine.
Did you get directly into UW’s engineering program or are you in pre-engineering? If you are in pre-engineering at the UW but are accepted directly into aerospace engineering at Purdue then I would choose Purdue. There is an aviation/STEM focused high school here in WA state and many of its graduates go on to Purdue. The overall reputation of the school isn’t nearly as important as the reputation of the field you want to major in. As far as overall reputation, Purdue and UW are comparable.
@JoanneB That was extremely helpful, thank you. I got into Pre-Engineering in UW and First year engineering in Purdue. Will the transition from Pre-Eng to AE be more of a challenge than that from First year engineering to AE at Purdue? Will Purdue’s low overall rank have a negative impact on my future job prospects or does its reputation in the AE field actually make it a better option? Forgive my naiveness, haha.
Both are comparable so don’t worry about the reputation/status etc. in the eyes of employers. Is money a factor? Have you visited the places yet?
@TheDidactic Money, weather etc are not factors I’ll be considering. I can’t exactly visit the two places so what I know about them is basically from whatever I’ve gathered over the internet. Since their reputation is somewhat the same, does it make more sense to go to Purdue since it seems to have a more solid AE program, or UW owing to its higher overall ranking? As you’ve possible gathered, I’m a confused mess right now. :3
OK. Purdue is a stronger program; I would choose that over UW.
@TheDidactic Fair enough. Thank you!
Hi, my cousin who is also an international student is pursuing engineering and goes to Purdue University. She came from Ecuador and currentley has a 4.0 GPA. The international students at Purdue are a little secluded to the Americans; but she’s been having such a great time! A lot of the Internationals are Arabic and they all come together and share their cultures. She’s doing well and having a good time although a little homesick.
ALSO! And I’m not sure if this was only for Ecuadorian students but Any International students are allowed to travel anywhere in the United States for a fair price or discounted. I do know though, you have to actually pay to go back to your home country. It’s some sorr of tax or something. But still, not sure if this applies to all international students
@beetryinghard Wow, that sounds great. Thank you for sharing!
Do any of you guys know anything about the pre-engineering thing at UW? Is pre-engineering to AE in UW a harder transition than first year engineering to AE at Purdue?