<p>Hey, my name is Ryan (from NJ), and I want to start off by saying thank-you to all of you for any help you can give me.</p>
<p>My current plan is to get an engineering degree, get some work experience, and go to grad school to get an MBA. I see myself with a carear more in business than research/real technical stuff. </p>
<p>My main concern is getting a good job out of college. By choosing, say UVA, am I hurting my future or hurting my chances at a great job? UMich is ranked like 6th Engineering and UVA is around 25th. If UVA was a better Engineering school I would choose it no problem. I'm worried that I worked so hard in HS but I'll be "crippling" myself if I don't go to UMich, a higher ranked E program. Northwestern I feel like I can't say no to because it is such a great school. I like the prestige and its hard to say no to a great school like that. It's near Chicago and I feel like I'll have great job opportunities. The social scene isn't so much my thing though and I'd have a better time at a school like UVA or Michigan. I'm pretty much between those two. UVA's campus I LOVED. I don't mind cold weather too much (being from the mid-west) but I'm not a fan of the long, grey winters at Mich. I think of Mich and i think of rain and dreary days. I'd fit in as a UVA "bro" no problem, so saying they aren't too diverse isn't a big deal.</p>
<p>A little bit about me: I have a 96GPA, and got a 2070 on the SAT. In total I've taken 2 AP Calc classes, 2 AP Comp Sci, AP Physics, AP Econ. I live in NJ but spent the first 10 years of my life in IL and Mich. My first priority in highschool has always been having fun. The people I hang out with are always surprised to know I have a 96GPA haha. I'm the kid who is in the "Finish your beer" facebook group, and the "I<3Calculus" goup haha.</p>
<p>A little more info: I've always loved computers and science and math so I figured Computer Science through the Engineering school will be the best fit for my major. I decided this about a year ago though and I am in no way positive this is what I want to do with my life. The thought of countless hours debugging code and stuff makes me cringe. I will most likely stick with engineering at least because sciences, math, computers come easily to me.</p>
<p>i am obviously partial to NU, but I think they are all great choices. Consider yourself lucky you got into NU with that 2070. I know tons of students with that score that would love to attend NU, but unfortunately, got rejected.</p>
<p>Don't focus too much on department rankings. You can get an excellent undergraduate education in Electrical Engineering, Computer Science or Mathematics at any of those three awesome universities. Career prospects when you graduate from any of those universities will be attractive. I would focus more on fit and cost if I were you. Assuming all three cost almost the same, where do you think you will be happiest?</p>
<p>If you are concerned about the 'Quality' of the learning process, then you can go to any of the three you mentioned. In terms of job prospect, Michigan, is the best! Yes, the placements are better than NU. That is what my findings are:-)</p>
<p>I was admitted into all three (and several others, but i pretty much have it down to these three).</p>
<p>The reason I posted here was because I was worried that I would hurt myself in the future by not choosing the school that was best in Engineering. Where you got a degree is something that sticks with you your whole life, so I'm nervous about choosing UVA over Michigan. NU would probably be the best academically but I feel like UVA or Michigan is a better fit. </p>
<p>I'm visiting UVA again this friday to help in my decision (much easier than flying to Mich). My main goal is to see the engineering facilities and see if they are as nice as Michigan's (visited last year). Cost isn't too much of an issue, NU is 10k more than Mich and Mich is about 4k more than UVA.</p>
<p>The grey, more urban atmosphere of Ann Arbor leads me to think i'll be happier at UVA. Also I would probably end up living on Mich's North Campus, meaning a bus ride to/from central campus every time. Not a fan of this.</p>
<p>If you're "crippled" by a degree from UVa, you'll be the first ... :)</p>
<p>I think UMich probably <em>does</em> have a somewhat better reputation for engineering, and Northwestern may as well, but I'm a big fan of saying "go where you'll be happiest." </p>
<p>Good you're making that trip - check out the facilities, and I always recommend checking out the course catalog and schedule (many people don't do this). to make sure the subjects offered appeal to you, and aren't too general, overly broad, or out-of-date (COBOL classes, anyone?) Once you've done this, if you still feel like this is where you'll be happiest, forget the rankings, and follow your heart. </p>
<p>i echo slipper. The US's need for well trained engineers is only going to go up in coming years. These places are so close as to be virtually equal, all things considered, in terms of quality. Go where you think you'll have the most fun and feel most comfortable.</p>
<p>Being from NJ, if you are ok with the "Southernness" then UVirginia will do you fine rather than MI. On the other hand,awfully tough to pass on 4yrs in Chicago @ NU.</p>
<p>Yeah I hear you doctor. I love Chicago. After visiting New York a few times it makes me miss Chicago evern more. When i visited NU i felt like it wasn't the best fit for me, could be wrong though. The campus and location was beautiful. Great place to live but it lacked the college town and excitement that UVA and Mich had. Might have been because NU wasn't in session too lol. I'm originially from IL, about 30minutes from Chicago, and growing up there was great.</p>
<p>Thanks so much for you help everyone. Any more comments? I will be visiting UVA this weekend to ask some questions about the Engineering department. Seems like depending on the hour of day I favor a different college haha.</p>
<p>I'm actually going to Virginia's engineering school next year, and so even though i obviously dont have any first hand experience there have been tons of threads like this (comparing virginia to school x, including another few UVA vs. Michigan threads). From what ive gathered-
1) the average salaries for UVA engineering grads is virtualy the same as those from top engineering schools, so the oppurtunities after graduation will not be lacking, and employers will know the prestige of the school (of course they will know how good Michigan and NU are).
2) One of the strengths of Virginia's engineering school (and one of the reasons i choose it) was that it also requires a good amount of liberal arts related courses to graduate, and in my opinion produces worldly, well rounded graduates.
3) All the schools are so close in academic quality so i agree with other posts, its really all about fit, such as location, campus, social life, etc</p>
<p>Thanks so much for that reply. I think I need to get over myself and NU. Idk if it's exactly what i'm looking for in a school. I find that the reason I can't just forget about it, is its high ranking and prestige. It's dumb of me to care so much about that.</p>
<p>I too liked the flexible course selection. The idea of getting a business minor is extremely appealing.</p>
<p>Personally I think undergrad doesnt really affect your chances of getting a great job because ultimately, I believe, that your grad school will matter the most. My uncle has even agreed with me and he's a VP of a computer software company. </p>
<p>UVA is a great school; my brother goes there for Computer Engineering. Their business school is in the top 5 for public schools I think. But NU and MU are also awsome schools that I would say is better, if not equivalent. </p>
<p>The parties at UVA though are not the best, I can say personally. Maybe it was just a bad experience. Although I would say about 35% of the girls are really pretty.</p>
<p>It pretty much should come down to, where do I want to spend 4 years of my life? I mean NU has the advantage by being next to a big city, UVA is in a medium sized town (ranked one of the best places to live a year or two ago I think.)</p>
<p>Hah are you serious? That seems strange that they would just say, "No calculators allowed." Most of the calculus I've done is non-calc anyway so it's not that big of a deal.</p>
<p>In my S's case, he had used calculator in AP calc class. Got a 3 on the AP exam, and was placed in 2nd semester engineering calc. 3 weeks after starting school, he realized he was going to fail, so he took the one time "withdrawal" option (you can do this one time at UVA apparently). He said he might have been ok if he had been in Calc 1, but Calc 2 was too much. Rather than bust his ass and have to try to catch back up to his peers (he would have to take Calc 1 in spring, and Calc 2 in summer before sophomore year), he just gave up on engineering totally. Plus, I think he realized how hard it was going to be, too!</p>
<p>Ironically, he said the intro to engineering class was his favorite class his first semester. They had to design a water system for Machu Pichu as their class project.</p>
<p>They are all great schools, and you seem to be basically career-oriented, so choose the cheapest one for you. Take the one with the most bang for the buck.</p>
<p>"In terms of job prospect, Michigan, is the best! Yes, the placements are better than NU. That is what my findings are."</p>
<p>Uhh - hardly.</p>
<p>"I love Chicago. After visiting New York a few times it makes me miss Chicago evern more. When i visited NU i felt like it wasn't the best fit for me, could be wrong though. The campus and location was beautiful. Great place to live but it lacked the college town and excitement that UVA and Mich had. Might have been because NU wasn't in session too lol. I'm originially from IL, about 30minutes from Chicago, and growing up there was great."</p>
<p>Not being in session has a lot to do with your impression.</p>
<p>Having said that - you'll get a great education at any of the 3 schools. Just go for the one that you feel fits you the best.</p>