UMD vs. JHU Mechanical Engineering

College Search & Selection
1

Was just wondering whether UMD or Johns Hopkins has a better Mechanical Engineering major/minor.

I am mainly interested in CS for a major, and UMD has the better ranking(16 from US News) but I don’t know how their Mech. Engineering program is. On the other hand, JHU has a lower CS ranking(I think it was 20 from US News) but it’s T20 and a school that’s well known for engineering in general(not so sure about Mech. Engineering exactly).

I was just wondering so that I have an idea of what school should be higher on my list.

Thanks

2

16 versus #20 does not matter. For both CS and ME that is essentially the stratosphere. There are lots of jobs for graduates who went to schools in the ~100 range, and after two years no one will care where you went to university.

You should check that they are ABET accredited for ME. I am pretty sure that they both are.

The school that should be higher on your list is the one that you can afford.

1 Like
3

The degree of precision in USNWR rankings is not as great as you seem to think- and much, much less important than 1) what you can afford and 2) which suits you better. I am a fan of both JHU & UMd - in general and for ME- but they are really different places to study.

And, not to put too fine a point on it, but until you have (affordable) offers from both, it doesn’t really matter where you put either of them on your list.

4

Rankings should not be your concern - both colleges have very strong programs. Fist see where you get in. Second look at each school’s affordability. IF you are accepted to both colleges and can afford both colleges then choose the one with the overall environment you prefer.

5

Thanks for all the tips, I appreciate them!

6

Note that fit includes academic fit, such as how well your academic interests and preferences align with the organization of the curriculum, any in-major and general education degree requirements that may go beyond the minimum, and what in-major and out-of-major elective courses of interest to you are available.

Also consider whether the specific majors of interest are difficult to change into if you enter the college in a different major.

7

Apply to both of them. If you are admitted to both, and the financial packages make you costs equivalent, then that is the time to worry about which is “better”.