Tell me about the ISU engineering program

Hello all, I want to know how the program is at ISU. The undergraduate acceptance rate is about 87% so it’s fairly easy to get in. But with a engineering program ranked higher than Rutgers, how could the university accept many applicants? I assume there be a lot of competition but there really isn’t. Now, I am not saying this to offend anyone but I am asking this to honestly know how.

My daughter’s boyfriend is pursuing his mechanica engineering degree and just added a minor in, I think, bio-medical engineering . We were recently talking to him about this very topic and his point of view is that, yes admission is not difficult. But he said freshman year can be really tough and that’s when they separate the wheat from the chaff.

I can’t say enough good things about ISU. My daughter just started her senior year and after three years I’m of the opinion that ISU has to be one of the most under rated schools around.

@DesignDad Alright, so how will the prestige of ISU engineering with a 87 % acceptance rate look to a future employer, despite being a top program?

Most employers are (and should be) more concerned about the skill level upon graduating, not the acceptance rate on the front end. So the question is whether you believe that Iowa State will prepare you well for a career in engineering? My advice would be to stop concerning yourself with prestige and find the school that is the right fit, for you. And then bust your tail - which will take you farther than any prestige.

@DesignDad Can you message me? I would like to know more about you daughter’s experience at ISU, if that’s okay.

To answer your question, Iowa State is a land grant college and it’s mission is to provide a college education for any student that meets their RAI formula vs. an enrollment managed school (such as U Minn, Ohio State, Purdue, etc.) You can call and speak with their enrollment services and they can provide you with more information on their mission and how that impacts or not their engineering program. I can tell you that my son choose Iowa State over the other ones stated above, because he liked what he saw and their mission on education. Yes, he may be in engineering classes with kids who maybe didn’t get as high of an ACT score, but he liked that because that is how life is. Like DesignDad stated you need to find the right fit for you, what fits your budget so you don’t come out with lots of debt, and what college is also good for what you want to study in engineering.

Here is a great source on engineering that another parent shared with me last year:

best-engineering-colleges.com

Yeah, I’ve looked into the rankings for ISU engineering. It’s well respected in the midwest. Coming from the northeast, I’ve had some concerns as to why it is so easy to get in. But after reading several posts about the overall atmosphere of ISU, it certainly seems like a good fit to me. My only question is if I graduate from ISU with an AE or a ME major, what will be my job outlook when I return home to NJ? Will it be higher or lower? Or does it even matter?