What kind of graduate program are you talking about?
A PhD program, or a terminal master’s degree program?
In engineering, or in some other field?
Admission and funding may work very differently depending on the kind of program.
Overall 4 year or 6 year graduation rates can be found in each school’s Common Data Set (section B), or on web sites such as Kiplinger’s (http://www.kiplinger.com/tool/college/T014-S001-kiplinger-s-best-values-in-public-colleges/index.php). TAMU’s 4 year graduation rate, according to Kiplinger’s, is 51%. Purdue’s is 42%. These are overall graduation rates. The rates for specific majors or schools/divisions may be significantly higher or lower than the overall rate. If you know exactly what your kid wants to major in, you might want to contact admissions or the department chair for graduation rates in that program.
What kind of graduate program are you talking about? MS or MBA… probably
A PhD program, or a terminal master’s degree program? Masters…
In engineering, or in some other field? Difficult to guess at this time, but may be Engg.
I know a number of engineers from India, China, and other countries who did undergraduate work in their home country and graduate work at well known schools Including MIT. I know several others who did graduate work at Tx Tech, Purdue, UCSD, New Mexico State, you name it.
I know one person (US citizen) who did an undergrad at a modest LAC and did a graduate engineering program at GA Tech.
So, no, I don’t think an expensive undergraduate degree is necessary. But if you can afford it and the school is a good fit, it isn’t a crime either.
Is it possible to specify in tangible terms - what are the things a higher ranked (and usually more expensive) college can provide to an engg undergrad student that a lower ranked (and usually cheaper) college cannot provide?
USNWR engineering rankings are based solely on subjective peer assessment surveys. It’s hard to know for sure what the “peers” are considering.
Higher ranked colleges tend to be more selective in admissions than much lower ranked colleges. Attracting more talented and motivated students may affect the quality of classroom discussions, extracurricular activities, team projects, intercollegiate science/engineering competitions, etc. It may create a “honey pot” that attracts good professors or corporate recruiters. It may also mean that instructors can teach at a faster pace. However, these effects may or may not be strongly evident in specific programs at the schools on your list.
You might want to visit schools on your list, or contact departments that interest you, to investigate what kinds of companies recruit (or offer internships) at each one.
For those of us in academia, peer assessment is really the main thing we care when hiring new faculty or admitting new PhD students. Many people on this site whole-heartly embrace holistic admission at the undergraduate level, in a way peer reputation is our holistically assessing our professional/academic peers.
For PhD admission, the evaluation criteria can include many things such as undergraduate institution/department reputation, reference letters (and reputation of referrees), research experiences, course rigor and GPA, test scores, etc.
For international students, it is not easy to get H1 visas with only BS degrees.
I would choose between Purdue and Texas Tech. The labs, research opportunities, and peer quality, will be better at Purdue. But Texas Tech is no slouch and is much better than the other, lower-priced options.
Did your son get into the Honors College anywhere?
@MYOS1634 Thanks… I was also looking at Texas Tech… it would also be so much cheaper. Moreover, the Texas weather would also be just fine for him, being an Asian. Texas Tech or Texas AM. And no, he hasn’t applied yet to any of the honours programs, though IUPUI has asked him to apply. I don’t think he has yet to decided on the hons programs. But will an hons degree carry distinct weightage while applying for grad study?
I have seen how some of them, while responding to msgs, are able to reference particular lines in the previous msg and reply. How does one do that… just wondering…!
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