<p>I visited Purdue this past weekend and really enjoyed it - much more than I thought I would. I am seeking a degree in Mech Engineering (at least that is the plan at the moment) and plan on seeking a graduate degree in either an MBA program or an extension of the ME degree.</p>
<p>My initial hopes were to study at the University of Michigan. I was deferred EA and am anxiously waiting this decision. As far as engineering offerings at the undergraduate level, though, I have a hard time justifying the $10-$15 K yearly difference between the two schools.</p>
<p>While finances are not really an issue (nice grandparents), I am wondering whether the extra cost of prestige of an institution is worth the investment. I know that both Universities have great engineering names, but will Michigan ultimately put me a leg up when apply to grad-schools?</p>
<p>I have read up on some of the threads, but am curious as to other opinions. I feel as though I could be very happy at either institution. Now, it is down to overall opportunities (and a hopeful acceptance :D)</p>
<p>Assuming you finish the engineering degree then Michigan would confer no advantage over Purdue. If you dropped engineering and finished in something like business, Michigan would be the winner.</p>
<p>Still, I would say go be a Boilermaker. Great engineering and cheaper for you.</p>
<p>I doubt Michigan will put you a leg up, especially for grad school. People just need good credentials and I don’t think too often the name of the school matters much. What will matter is any research experience you have, grades and test scores and recommendations. </p>
<p>I also want to add Purdue is a great school for engineering and especially for ME. I don’t believe that cost difference is worth it, but you never know! I am sure some other people on here will tell you if it is. </p>
<p>Thanks guys! I am confident in my engineering aspirations, and do not see myself switching out. Purdue seems to be the most logical choice to me, but others on these forums seem to disagree. Other opinions?</p>
<p>Which school makes you happier overall?
Which school has a better atmosphere that suits your personal taste?
Which school has students more on your level (not just academically, but interest-wise)? Which school is located in a nicer climate? (ok, I guess you’re kinda screwed there) </p>
<p>Prestige means very little in the grand scheme of things for undergraduate engineering. It’s one of those things that high school students fixate on too much - name brand, name brand, name brand… Instead, you should be focusing on personal fit, which will ensure that you’re happy wherever you end up going so that you can do well and stay motivated.</p>
<p>If you talk to people from the individual schools, they will largely pimp their own school. If you talk to people who don’t have their eye squarely on engineering, they probably don’t understand how little overall prestige matters for engineers or how, in engineering, the two schools are peers. For engineering, there will be no real difference between the two schools in terms of opportunities post-graduation.</p>
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<p>Shoot, after living farther south for 4 years, I actually kind of wish I had my 4 seasons back, bitter cold and all.</p>
<p>I have lived in both areas and weather is a bit more predictable in Ann Arbor… Not by much. Winters about the same (bad) and summers slightly better in SE Michigan.</p>
<p>Not that engineering students will be outside long enough to notice :)</p>
<p>In terms of prestige in engineering, I think Michigan and Purdue are roughly equal. Purdue is probably about as rigorous as Michigan is in Engineering anyway. Though as was mentioned earlier, if you’re shaky on Engineering and think you might want to do… Pretty much anything else, Michigan is the better school for it.</p>
<p>There’s a lot of good things about Michigan (transportation & parking infrastructure absolutely not being among them - as was mentioned earlier) but I’m sure there’s lots of great things about Purdue also.</p>
<p>In addition, as a money concern, if your options were 4 years at Michigan, that might contrast differently with 5 years at Purdue. If going to Purdue gives you a little more room to spread things out you should consider that as well in your decision making.</p>
<p>@Vladenschlutte
The 4-year graduation rate at Purdue (in the 30 percentile I believe) concerns me. At my visit, I addressed this question to a faculty. I asked if it was due to there simply not being enough available classes when one needs them? Is it more due to the First Year Program? Or is it because many people engage in Coop opportunities?</p>
<p>The lady I talked to said that graduating in 4 years is do-able with ambition. She said that the faculty is there to do allow for the possibility. However, a 30-40% difference between Michigan and Purdue scares me. Knowing that it would be 5 years at Purdue would definitely sway me towards Michigan…</p>
<p>Graduation rates need to be taken with a grain of salt… </p>
<p>Generally speaking, schools with lower entrance stats (SAT/ACT and GPA), such as Purdue, will have lower graduation rates. There is a fairly strong correlaton between the two. However, low graduation rates say nothing about the quality or strength of the program. It simply represents the percentage of students graduating after a period of time. That’s it. They don’t tell you anything about why those that didn’t graduate, didn’t graduate. </p>
<p>In Purdue’s case, the reason for the low graduation rates is almost entirely because of their engineering programs (which are indeed pretty rigorous) weeding out low-to-middling students, of which there are fewer at a school like Michigan where it’s far more competitive to get in.</p>
<p>This makes sense. I just have heard stories about people not being able to find a needed class that was available. This, though, appears not to be the case with Purdue?</p>
<p>Here at Michigan, there are variations between majors too. For instance, ChemE here only schedules their classes once a year because they want everyone to see all the same people in their classes and all that. But the downside is that if someone take a Coop for a semester or fails a class, they’ll be put a year behind rather than just that one semester. Purdue may or may not have departments that are similar in that respect. EECS and IOE (at Michigan) offer their required classes every semester, and I think most majors do the same as well.</p>
<p>In addition, Purdue is very rigorous (about the same as Michigan) compared to it’s admissions statistics (much easier to get into than Michigan). As such, a lot more students fail classes or take light courseloads to keep up with the work than at Michigan. </p>
<p>Given an individual (ie. you, coco222), that individual shouldn’t have any more trouble graduating on time at Purdue than Michigan.</p>
<p>Regarding graduation rates at different colleges, they are very dependent on the students.</p>
<p>You may want to look here for a calculator that predicts college graduation rate based on the entering students. Note that there is a more detailed spreadsheet with more characteristics.</p>
<p>Wow, that’s just sad that someone made a formula out of it. </p>
<p>Personally, I would look at the stats posted by the school instead, as they are going to be more representative of that particular school [obviously]. A quick way of doing this is to search for “SCHOOL<em>NAME</em>HERE sat” on google and click the collegeapps.about.com link on the results page. It usually has a pretty up to date summary of the key applicant profile stats.</p>
<p>FWIW:</p>
<p>Purdue
First Year Student Retention (full-time students): 90%
Transfer Out Rate: 22%
4-Year Graduation Rate: 38%
6-Year Graduation Rate: 68% </p>
<p>Michigan
First Year Student Retention (full-time students): 96%
4-Year Graduation Rate: 73%
6-Year Graduation Rate: 90%</p>
<p>Thanks everyone for chiming in! My consensus is this…
A. Low graduation rates are due to less competive admissions. Necessary classes are, as a general rule, always available.
B. Undergraduate engineering at Purdue and Michigan (in only this field) are relatively equal in quality and will allow for similar grad-school opportunities.
C. Everyone hates cold weather!</p>
On a more useful note, the dating scene in Ann Arbor is better.</p>