Hi,
I’m having a hard time choosing between the undergraduate Mechanical Engineering programs of these 4 universities.
I’m an international student, so getting that first job is of paramount importance to me. Any input would be appreciated (especially from an alum).
You’ve picked some of the very best engineering programs, by reputation, so from that standpoint you are in a “no-lose” situation.
The schools are in different settings and regions which you may variously prefer.
I went to Cornell a million years ago. Engineering there is very tough, because there are a lot of bright students.
But it was well recruited, and graduates did well in terms of jobs and subsequent destinations. It is part of a great university, and many other great students attend the other colleges there as well. The university’s general reputation probably played a role in my ability to transition into investment banking later in my career.
The others are state universities that are each among the very best engineering programs. But they are bigger IIRC, to a point where it could be undesirable IMO. I Imagine they may need to “weed out” some during the first year. But after that the work and the students are probably not very different.
I’ve met a number of very successful and excellent U Illinois grads during my career, so they must be doing something right there. But in terms of overall university reputation, aside from engineering, I would give the nod to the others on your list.
Here in the NY area, or at least at my kids’ schools, Michigan is considered a step down in selectivity from Cornell’s endowed colleges. But truthfully not many from here go to Michigan for engineering. Or Berkeley, Or UIUC, either. There is a regional aspect to college attendance. And recruiting too, for that matter.
There was a CC poster who attended Cornell undergrad and Berkeley grad, in engineering, who recommended Cornell engineering for undergrad.Then there was another poster who attended those schools in the opposite sequence and recommended Berkeley. Maybe all one can conclude from that is people develop more loyalty to their undergrad college.
I will follow that tradition and recommend Cornell. The others are overly large IMO. Cornell offers more resources to undergraduates than Bekeley does according to the poster who attended both.
But reasonable people may differ.
I would agree that these are all excellent schools with fantastic recruiting - if you have trouble getting a job after graduation, it would not be because of the school! I would suggest looking at what the faculty are researching and considering whether or not you want to work in a related area - no school is big enough to handle all specialties well, and you can make more out of your degree by doing classes and research in those areas where the department is strongest.
Thank you so much for your input! I picked University of Michigan because I wanted to immerse myself in a massive-college environment. Plus as I was researching the faculty and a couple of the professors’ research caught my eye.
^^^^Good choice! Go Blue!
excellent choice! I was choosing between cornell/michigan for engineering as well. Ended up choosing michigan, go blue!