<p>Currently I am an undergraduate student admitted to Arizona State University. ASU is not exactly considered an elite engineering institution. I have the SAT scores and GPA to get into a "better" engineering program although probably not a top engineering program.</p>
<p>My questions are the following:
1. Suppose I work very hard, do various internships, undergraduate research, honors, etc. If I get out of ASU with a great GPA and a good GRE, what are my chances of going to a top engineering graduate school? How do those chances compare with a student from say, MIT?</p>
<ol>
<li><p>What effect does going to a school that is not in the top ten have on employment? Does program reputation make any difference if I'm an excellent student?</p></li>
<li><p>Will going to a top program make you a better engineer than going to a lower ranked program?</p></li>
</ol>
<p>I have some of my own thoughts on this subject. During high school I spent all of my time at the local community college and earned about 65 or so credits. I had one excellent associate math professor who was also a very successful engineer. He asserted that the quality of education at MIT would not necessarily be as good as is purported; comparing his lectures to some of those given by professors at MIT confirmed this view for me, as not only were some of the lectures not as good some of them were even terrible! He himself went to the University of Michigan and mentioned that, as a result of his working very hard, he had many excellent employment opportunities. Of course it is probably not a good idea to base too much on a single person's views, but it would be interesting to see the thoughts of others on the subject.</p>
Your chances are decent - “top” engineering graduate schools accept students from all over the place. That having been said, for a variety of reasons students from “better” undergraduate programs seem to have an easier time getting into those programs. </p>
<p>
If you are a truly excellent student, it makes little difference. Realize that different companies recruit at different schools, and companies usually apply to a range of schools. For example, my employer from about 30 different schools, and will take many students from the “better” schools but only a few of the best from the “worse” schools. If you are one of the best you will get a solid job, but if you are in the middle school rank can matter.</p>
<p>
It can, but there are no guarantees. Top programs have more resources and open more doors, and usually teach to a higher standard. For some people this is detrimental, and they will learn less than they would at a lower-ranked program. For others, this really helps them to be better.</p>
<p>
Teaching methods at different schools can be quite different. Among other things, professors at higher-ranked schools often focus so much on the research side that their teaching really is terrible. Also, they have different expectations as to how their students learn - while most schools expect students to learn in class, top programs often expect the students to more or less teach themselves, using class-time for clarification and to reinforce select points. It is very easy to find yourself at a program where the teaching style is at odds with your personal learning style, regardless of rank.</p>
<p>BTW, Michigan is a pretty good school on its own…</p>
<p>Thanks for the response cosmicfish, that was very informative!</p>
<p>So for me, I decided that ASU would be better than Berkeley because it is cheaper and not significantly different. Attending ASU is essentially free for me, and all of my community college credits transfer, so it seems like a good deal.</p>
<p>I guess the question then would be, if you were in my shoes, which would you go for? The better school that is going to put you in debt, or the local public university that will be very cheap and convenient?</p>
<p>if you would only be graduating with something like $10k worth of debt, thats not a big deal. but if you would be graduating with something like $40k then you made the right choice.</p>
<p>Everyone I’ve ever known in engineering says “as long as you co-op, network, and work hard, then you will get a really good job”, and I think that is the case with ANY major. I know a kid who got a mech. engineering degree from Georgia Tech but he didn’t co-op or intern and now he lives with his parents. </p>
<p>Essentially,
MIT grad w/ no experience
Vs.
ASU grad w/ plenty of job experience (co-op/intern)
= ASU grad for the win!</p>
<p>So basically, engineering is a booming business right now, and if you make good grades, seize opportunities as they arise, and meet people, then you WILL have a good job lined up once you graduate. (oh, and most engineering curriculum is taught from the same textbook at all schools)</p>