Should I choose the Engineering program from a small Liberal Arts college (LAC) with relatively good ranking in engineering or from a big researched university like WPI, Baylor, etc which focuses on research?
It is hard for me to decide because I am not sure what I will major in, but 90% engineering.
The pros of LAC’s engineering program is that students are educated broadly with interdisciplinary knowledge and lifelong skills which are important in the future and get personal attention from professors, and there are no teaching assistants. The cons of LAC’s engineering program is that it is not as recognized as that in researched university although the program is accredited by ABET.
The pros of the researched university’s engineering is that students get hands-on experience, participate in many projects but will know mainly in the expertise with no well-rounded education. Moreover, students will get less personal attention compared with that of LAC.
I am an international student studying in the US for the first time. It will be very helpful for me to choose my suitable higher education in next four years should I get useful advice.
Thanks!
Search this thread for LAC engineering. You’ll find that the benefits you think it would give you really aren’t that different from any engineering program. As for universities that focus on research, that advantage is not real either. Most of the research opportunities are created for the graduates. You can certainly do research as an UG, and it’s important if you want to go to grad school, but where you go it isn’t life changingly important.
Instead, focus on what the UG teaching will be like. That can be very good at schools that offer PhDs. WPI is a great example. If can also be very good at large schools. Cal Poly (no PhDs) and Iowa State (does have PhD) are two examples.
The take home message is that the distinctions you feel are real based on LAC vs. not aren’t actually that big, if real at all. Good luck.
Don’t go to a liberal arts college for engineering. Engineers traditionally go to uni and their experience with liberal arts begins and ends with the gen-ed requirements.
“Don’t go to a liberal arts college for engineering. Engineers traditionally go to uni and their experience with liberal arts begins and ends with the gen-ed requirements.”
In a word…No! Like most things, it depends on what you make of it.
If you enroll at STEM university and hope to explore your interest in Homer, Saint Augustine, Bernini, Frank Lloyd Wright and Toni Morrison, you can easily do so.
There are pros/cons to different paths.
Universities (and some LAC) offer large variety of course selection, but there will not be a lot of room in the schedule. for humanities electives.
WPI awards me just a small merit package, and I think so far WPI is not a reality for me due to financial difficulties.