So basically I’ve narrowed down my choices to UMass Amherst and University of Minnesota for engineering.
Here are the pros and cons I came up for each university:
UMass
Pros:
- Commonwealth Honors College
- Job placement in the New England area
- Better faculty to student interaction (do to smaller department and Honors College I think)
Cons:
- Not as well known for engineering
Minnesota
Pros:
- Reasonable reputation in engineering
- Big Ten atmosphere
Cons:
- I’d probably never get to know my professors since the engineering department is HUGE
- I don’t really know about the Minnesota area and most grads end up working there
Both of these universities hahave similar job placement rates and they cost the same for me (factoring in scholarships). I’m also an international student but I’m not so keen being stuck in Minnesota after graduating as opposed to working in the Massachusetts area.
Any input would e greatly appreciated!!
As an international student, you have to assume you’ll have to go back home (after your 27 month OPT) unless you continue to a Master’s. BTW, a STUDENT visa is only given to people who come to the US to STUDY, not those who intend to work there.
This being said, I’d go to UMass Commonwealth Honors College. It’d really make a difference for you, and engineering is good at both. Both programs are accredited and you’ll have more opportunities through the Honors Program.
How would that be as good an education as Minnesota Engineering?
IMO I never knew Minnesota to be a stand-out in engineering. Please, anyone, correct me if I’m wrong. I think UMass is the way to go. You’re in the Honors College plus you’d get to know your professors on a more personal level.
US News ranks University of Minnesota at #28 for engineering and UMass Amherst at #59. UMN is in an urban area, i right in the heart of Minneapolis-St. Paul, whereas UMass is in a college town in a more rural area. As an international student, it will be a lot easier to get on a plane at UMN.
Ok yes to correct you, MN is among the strongest in Engineering.
UMN is better for engineering, but both UMN’s and UMass’ programs are ABET accredited which means that for OP it won’t make a huge difference. However, Commonwealth Honors College WILL make a huge difference - size of classes, personal attention, classes taught by professors not TAs, comfort of special housing, priority registration, acess to research opportunities, special advising, free films/conferences/encounters with important people for networking, etc.
For example: https://www.honors.umass.edu/benefits-commonwealth-honors-college
https://www.honors.umass.edu/cerp
You are correct that MN is better for Engineering. It also has higher accomplished students, profs do teach the classes, housing is great and research is abundant.
^but UMass has all this too. That’s not a differentiator. I’m all for UMN, I think it’s great and the Twin Cities are a thriving area, but for this particular student, UMass Commonwealth Honors is a better choice and fit.
What branch of engineering?
Minnesota is really good for Chemical engineering. Also, because several biomedical companies are located in Minneapolis/Minnesota, you might be able to get some internships through their biomedical engineering for a possible future placement in your home country. Ask if they place students from your country for summer internships.
Honors Programs are better than the regular ones, simply because the class sizes would be smaller, taught by professors, and are more challenging academically. Downside: If you get distracted, it is difficult to maintain your grades.
You may investigate Foreign Students Association of each university & try emailing the student leaders of clubs from your country. You might be able to get a different perspective.
Also check out their career placement office, and ask for industry placement opportunities at each University, as well as paid summer research programs at various labs at each university. These days, it is essential to have some field specific experience, be it at the university or in industry to get a job after graduation.
Wow guys thanks for all the replies! oh gosh its so hard choosing. I want to study either mechanical or electrical engineering. So I guess the general consensus is UMass despite the higher rank of Minnesota?
Only one poster is saying to go to UMass over UMN.
Two: me and @MYOS1634 said go to UMass. Everyone else said go UMN.
Are you coming on F1 Visa? If so, you are allowed to work in the US for 12 months after getting your UG degree. Very few of the employers interview foreign students for summer internships because of the highly bureaucratic nature of obtaining work authorizations. Ask the placement center at each university to assess the level of difficulty in finding an employer who would sponsor a foreign student pursuing an UG education in the US for summer internships. Also look in their Career Placement Centers to get a list of employers attending on-campus career fairs, and see if the same companies have operations in your home country. Since the business operations of the same company will be a separate business entity,different than the US operations, make inquiries at your home country to assess the feasibility of getting summer internship. Because of thinning of ranks of HR departments, there is usually little coordination between US & their overseas subsidiary companies’ HR departments.
Laboratory experience at various labs will mainly prepare you for graduate research.
Also look into support structure in the form of on-campus social clubs from your home country at each of the university. The initial charm of studying in the US soon wears off when the students realize the academic demands of pursuing an education in engineering. At times like these, the foreign students tend to form friendships, and mostly wit their fellow country students. American students are friendly, but they are also going through the tough engineering curriculum. Also, as part of your decision making, assess the number of technical electives offered at each university; sometimes if one specializes in an emerging field, it may be easier to get an employer to sponsor a person on F1 visa. Please note that despite what one may read in the media, the US students in engineering still face considerable challenges in obtaining a decent job after graduation; ultimately they do land jobs. For foreign students, the difficulty in obtaining employment post graduation is several orders of magnitude.
Good luck in your decision.
^ability to find an internship would become my #1 criterion indeed. ask for precise information, numbers, etc. Do they maintain a list of potential services/groups/companies that will have F1 interns?
ohhhh ok I’ll keep that in mind. I just talked with my parents and they are now willing to pay extra to send me to Virginia Tech. I also got into the honors at Virginia Tech so I was wondering, do you guys think its more worth it to go to Tech over UMass?
Do your homework and stop relying on superficial rankings! Both VaTech and UMass have very good engineering departments. VaTech is excellent overall. The UMass expertise in Polymer Engineering is unsurpassed. Investigate thoroughly.
If your parents can afford to pay extra and you got into Honors at VTech, then yes it may be worth it, but do email both Umass and UMN to ask what I suggested above, plus what Trinity7 said about internships.
LakeWashington’s right about Polymer Engineering, look into it!
All in all, your choices are all good. I’d place Honors College at VTech above Honors at UMass above UMN 'regular" but do investigate whether, for instance, you could get into Honors at UMN, or the internship situation for internationals.
alright thanks so much everyone!
http://admissions.tc.umn.edu/honors/review.html
Review the honors student profile for CSE at U of Minnesota. Averages are 99% high school rank, 34-35 ACT, 2250-2330 SAT. They aren’t that high at UMass or VTech. That is because the student body at Minnesota’s CSE is that strong. You don’t need to be in the honors program there to be around a very strong student body.