<p>"They are rated #1 by US News for undergrad engineering and they are focused on their students' success. "</p>
<p>Please do not mislead everyone else. They are NOT rated #1 for undergrad engineering. They are only rated #1 for undergrad engineering amongst colleges that do not offer Phd. Nice try.</p>
<p>Note that most rankings for engineering are GRADUATE degree rankings, which is why there is a separate ranking for schools without graduate degree programs. Rose-Hulman is also the only private school on your list, so it doesn't matter what state you live in (however there are Indiana state scholarships that allow students to go there) so students come from all over the country. Personally, my advice is to get out of Michigan and in any case don't go to a huge state school. But Rose-Hulman is also very expensive, so I recommend Missouri S&T.</p>
<p>The salary data isn't useful because not everyone has to report what salaries they earn. If someone graduates and gets a job at Wal Mart, I doubt that they're going to be reporting salary. Anywho, here are the 75th percentile Math SATs: </p>
<p>Michigan: 740
Rose Hulman: 720
Missouri S&T: 700</p>
<p>So the student bodies are pretty similar stats wise, but Michigan is clearly on top.</p>
<p>"Note that most rankings for engineering are GRADUATE degree rankings, which is why there is a separate ranking for schools without graduate degree programs. Rose-Hulman is also the only private school on your list, so it doesn't matter what state you live in (however there are Indiana state scholarships that allow students to go there) so students come from all over the country. Personally, my advice is to get out of Michigan and in any case don't go to a huge state school. But Rose-Hulman is also very expensive, so I recommend Missouri S&T."</p>
<p>Actually you are wrong. The US News has undergrad and graduate engineering rankings for research universities.</p>
<p>There are a bunch of Rose-Hulman engineers where I work and a couple Rolla people as well. A lot of Rose-Hulman people because we're only 45 minutes from Terre Haute. What I'll say is that I'm glad I'll be coming out of school with a Michigan degree. Rose-Hulman and Rolla have regional reputations. Michigan has a national - if not global - reputation. I feel better about my chances for advancement with the Michigan degree.</p>
<p>Why do you feel better about your chances for advancement with a Michigan degree? I don't even see why that would be a factor. You will be judged by your performance over everything else. A RH grad will be promoted over you if s/he brings more to the table.</p>
<p>Perhaps if you switch fields that may be true though.</p>
<p>ken285, exactly, all else being equal (gpa, interview skills, ECs) I will have a lot more exit opportunities than a ross hulman or missouri S&T grad because the recruitment will be national and I'll also be able to get into consulting/ibanking easier</p>
<p>I do not disagree with initial opportunities upon graduation. What I disagree with is advancing up the ladder is easier because of your alma mater.</p>
<p>ken285, it might matter less and less... but it's still not entirely true. Say if you get tired of engineering and want to switch to consulting/banking or just something else, you will have a much larger and prominent alumni network who can spread your resume around for you...assuming you do some networking</p>
<p>also initial opportunity is kind of a big thing because it's easier to advance from a good job than from a bad job all else being equal</p>
<p>
[quote]
ken285, it might matter less and less... but it's still not entirely true. Say if you get tired of engineering and want to switch to consulting/banking or just something else, you will have a much larger and prominent alumni network who can spread your resume around for you...assuming you do some networking
[/quote]
</p>
<p>Again, I do not disagree with that, but I am not talking about switching fields.</p>
<p>but many people might start out all passionate about engineering and end up want to switch field.
Also, even within the engineering field, it's still good to have a good alumni network..</p>
<p>
[quote]
but many people might start out all passionate about engineering and end up want to switch field.
[/quote]
</p>
<p>That is not what I'm debating. I was responding to a post that implied that going to Michigan over Rolla will help one go up the ladder at one company. It mentioned nothing about switching fields. That was the premise of my argument.</p>
<p>
[quote]
Also, even within the engineering field, it's still good to have a good alumni network..
[/quote]
I agree.</p>
<p>I agree with what you said...a competent person will have all the opportunity in the world. But I am happy that I will start out with a degree from Michigan.</p>
<p>Something I would like to add about my current co-op. As I said, we are about 45 minutes from Terre Haute, the pay is awesome, so I think it would be an extremely desirable position for Rose-Hulman students. Here is the breakdown of where the current engineering co-ops go to school: 2 Michigan, 1 Wisconsin, 1 Louisville, 1 Michigan Tech. </p>
<p>With that said, I have to say that it is the winter semester right now, so I wouldn't be surprised if a lot of Rose-Hulman kids come in to intern during the summer because they are so close. But I'd like to think that bringing in two co-ops in from Michigan when great engineering schools like Rose-Hulman, Illinois, Purdue, etc. are much closer shows that employers actively want to recruit Michigan students.</p>
<p>Rose-Hulman does not emphasize co-ops - they would rather have their students do summer internships and graduate in four years.</p>
<p>I have friends from S&T working in...</p>
<p>Australia
New Zealand
New York
California
Texas
Seattle
Michigan
New Mexico</p>
<p>All recruited from S&T (formerly UM-Rolla) to those various locations.
Not exactly Midwest or national recruits only.</p>
<p>I have friends from S&T that have gone on to get Masters & Phds and M.Ds and J.D.s from various top-notch grad schools around the country (some are now professors at those schools).</p>
<p>I was recruited from S&T by 17 companies and chose one in Texas when I graduated.</p>
<p>Also, this is interesting info...</p>
<p>No. 1 in the Midwest and 12th in the nation among public colleges for getting rich (Forbes.com, August 2008).</p>
<p>Best starting salaries in the Midwest and top 25 in the nation, according to PayScale Inc.s survey of highest average starting salaries for graduates (PayScale.com, July 2008).</p>
<p>I go back to my original premise. All three school you mentioned are top-notch and excellent reputation and you can't go wrong with any of them. What is the best fit for you and your situation? Go with it, work hard and you'll do great.</p>
<p>That's such a small sample size... there is no way you can make that assumption.</p>
<p>fireflyscout has a point. Absolutely nobody at my school did a co-op, but everybody did summer internships.</p>
<p>"Best starting salaries in the Midwest and top 25 in the nation, according to PayScale Inc.’s survey of highest average starting salaries for graduates (PayScale.com, July 2008)."</p>
<p>that's going to be true for a college specialized in engineering because engineering has the highest starting salary...look beyond the surface statistics..that's the first thing they teach you in statistics classes.</p>
<p>The relevant comparison is to compare starting salary for michigan engineering and S&T, which I did earlier that shows michigan engineering has higher starting salary for every discipline except for one (chemical engineering)</p>
<p>Geological
Geophysics
Petroleum
Mining
Metallurgical</p>
<p>Oh.. I forgot.</p>
<p>you cant compare disciplines that we dont offer, just like I didnt compare disciplines that you dont offer.. and your previous point did not address my point about career in alternative fields. I highly doubt companies like bain, mckinsey or Morgan Stanley would ever think about going to Missouri S&T career fair, yet they all flock to Michigan engineering career fair. Your reputation is limited in the engineering field.</p>
<p>
[quote]
I highly doubt companies like bain, mckinsey or Morgan Stanley would ever think about going to Missouri S&T career fair, yet they all flock to Michigan engineering career fair.
[/quote]
</p>
<p>People who go to a small specialized engineering school tend to be more sure that they want to go into engineering, so employers in other fields would probably have a lower success rate recruiting. </p>
<p>So to some... the less exposure to other industries is offset by the smaller size of the university. It's a tradeoff that some decide to take. I would not say outright that one is better than the other.</p>