<p>First off, I'm an international student who applied to 8 univs, got rejected at 6 and accepted at 2, namely Trinity U and SUNY Buffalo. I'm a prospective engineering science major at Trinity and aerospace engineering major at UB. I don't mean to brag but I believe I'm a competitive applicant (2360 SAT Reasoning Test, 800 on Math II, Physics and Chemistry Subject Tests) and I was rejected at my other universities because I asked for a large amount of financial aid (3 of the 6 mentioned this in their rejection letters). Both Trinity U and UB are wonderful schools, but I'm worried about the quality of engineering education at these universities. As I'm an international student, and have never visited the US, I don't know much about the reputation of these universities. Could you please help me compare them on the following factors?</p>
<p>1) Facilities available
2) Quality of faculty - From what I've seen on their websites, both universities have well-qualified faculty in their engineering departments
3) Personal attention - Trinity wins hands down here.
4) Opportunity for undergraduate research
5) Internships/work experience
6) Placement into grad schools/Reputation</p>
<p>Btw, I've been invited to join the Honors College at UB. Also, financial aid is a big factor too. Trinity has awarded me a substantial merit scholarship which covers my need. UB however, has not awarded me any merit aid yet, because I sent in my application on Dec 23, which apparently is too late. An international admissions counselor at UB told me that scholarships for international students are yet to be announced. Assuming I'm offered a scholarship which meets my need, which university would be the better choice?</p>
<p>DEAR sIR,
I am a senior now and I got accepted to UB’s aero engineering program. I have the exact questions that you have asked about UB. I am confused. I would just like to know why did you go to or not go to UB? If you are currently attending UB, please share your review.</p>
<p>I’ll do my best to comment on these for UB:</p>
<p>1) Facilities available - There are tons. I don’t know how they compare to other schools though. </p>
<p>2) Quality of faculty - the engineering professors are extremely chill, and almost always a treat. Don’t be surprised if 70% of the class is failing after the first half of the semester. That’s how they run things. </p>
<p>3) Personal attention - freshman are helped into engineering through a brilliant student excellence initiatives program run by Professor Wild, one of the coolest people you could hope to meet. There are small groups for teaching calc 1, calc 2, physics 1, and chem 1, in a smaller class setting which are lifesavers since the intro physics/chem/calc classes are typically lectures of about 200-300 people. </p>
<p>4) Opportunity for undergraduate research - this is where UB excels. There is tons of research going on, and with a little effort, I guarantee you will find a research positions. I just walked into a professors’ office and asked if I could do research with him. </p>
<p>5) Internships/work experience - UB offers a one credit course called ‘Engineering Career Institute’. The goal is to help engineering students develop the soft skills and leadership required for success in a work environment. They also teach how to design a resume, ace an interview, and ultimately become the ideal job candidate… and the ideal employee. After finals week, I think something like 35 experts from industry and academia will be presenting in a week-long seminar. UB has a very large Career Services department that will record practice interviews to perfect your technique as well as revise your resume and cover letter. They really help out a lot. </p>
<p>6) Placement into grad schools/Reputation - I don’t know about this. Not many people from UB go on to top 10 grad schools that I know, but there definitely are some. </p>
<p>UB is a big state school, so you get to see all sorts of crazy stuff… but it really has a very decent engineering program and all the opportunities are there to be amazing. Plus, it is dirt cheap for an engineering education if you are in-state. As an international, I’m not sure how the price will be affected.</p>
<p>Trinity’s only engineering major is a general engineering science major; electives can give some emphasis to mechanical, electrical, chemical, or materials engineering subjects.</p>
<p>Buffalo has specific engineering majors in aerospace, chemical, civil, computer, electrical, environmental, industrial, and mechanical engineering, which likely means a greater depth and breadth of courses and research opportunities in each specific engineering area.</p>
<p>Check course catalogs and school web sites for more information.</p>