<p>First of all, I know this is a UMich section, yet I thought I could come in here and hear some wise opinions about my current issue.</p>
<p>I have been recently accepted at UMich to the Aerospace Engineering program. Meanwhile, I'm still waiting on my decision from Purdue University. I intend to take the most challenging courses available at the institution I end up at, which makes me think about enrolling in a honors programs. With my current stats, I believe I should get in the Honors program at Purdue.</p>
<p>I looked up for the honors programs they offer at UMich and I found out that they are generally weak when compared to other universities' [honors] programs (which was also said by some members here in CC). What I heard is that such UM's programs basically just add some business classes to the engineering major.</p>
<p>Finally, predicting a scenario in which I will have to decide between Purdue's Honors Program and UMich's one, I would appreciate hearing some suggestions and insights to better take a final decision. If you have any real experience with any of the forementioned programs, feel free to discuss it.</p>
<p>Michigan and Purdue are pretty much peers in engineering, with a slight edge to Michigan. However, Michigan is more prestigious as an overall institution and Ann Arbor has it all over W. Lafayette. If you have a choice, and can afford it, go to Michigan. Honors programs for engineering schools are not really all that important from what I have heard here on CC.</p>
Michigan’s CoE does not offer any undergraduate honors program. The only program Michigan offers is the Engineering Global Leadership Honors Program (EGL), a 5-year program where you earn a Bachelor’s and a Master’s in Engineering. </p>
<p>o 2nd-year foreign language proficiency
o 12 credits of international coursework
o 12 credits in the Ross School of Business
o EGL & Tauber Leadership Programs
o Tauber Institute Team Project (paid internship)"</p>
<p>“Job Placement
Employers recognize that EGL students are not typical Masters Degree graduates and that they do not fit into the traditional “engineering” job role. In response to this, some companies are creating new positions and job rotation programs specifically for EGLs to take advantage of their unique skills and talents… Roughly 45% of EGL 2008 graduates joined consulting firms; roughly 25% accepted operations management positions; roughly 30% in various other fields.”</p>
<p>Michigan and Purdue (Illinois in this case) are pretty much peers in engineering, with a slight edge to Michigan (Illinois in this case). However, Michigan is more prestigious as an overall institution and Ann Arbor has it all over W. Lafayette (Urbana-Champaign in this case).</p>
<p>Honestly. It’s silly to choose any of these schools soley based on USNWR engineering ratings, however if you do Michigan is the highest ranked program in your desired major. </p>
<p>They are all three great engineering schools. The overall quality of The University of Michigan and Ann Arbor are the big differences here. Ann Arbor is one of the best college towns in the entire nation and has easy access (about 20 miles) to a major airport that has non-stop connection to Brazil (Sao Paulo). The other two schools, particularly Illinois, are located in the middle of no where.</p>
<p>Thank you for your important opinions, guys. Of course I don’t plan to pick a university by its rank on the USNews website, and that is why I came here to ask for more elaborated ideas.</p>
<p>rjkofnovi, while researching I came to the same conclusion as you do in your above statement. UMich seems to be more recognized than both Purdue and Illinois. In the education world, we know recognition means a lot. Essentially, I’m looking at the greatest number of opportunities. So far, UMich seems to be my output.</p>
<p>I went to Purdue, got my engineering degree from there and now work at UMich. These are two very, very different schools. It may seem like they interchangeable, but nothing could be further from the truth.</p>
<p>Purdue has a superb Aerospace engineering program. In many rankings they are top five, in one I found, they were #1 (in Aerospace). Neal Armstrong was a Purdue grad, many other astronauts were also grads. Purdue also has a regional airport where a lot of aeros/astros take flying lessons. Purdue is also basically in the middle of a cornfield. It does not have a cosmopolitan social scene and the people are very down to earth. It is also very safe. I spent far more Saturday nights studying than I did partying. It is more conservative in culture than UMich and also far, far less arrogant (sorry, Michigan fans, but it’s true–you are an arrogant bunch).</p>
<p>UMich has a more urban feel. It has a bazillion bars and restaurants. It is more expensive to live in Ann Arbor than West Lafayette, but stuff (healthcare, shopping) is really convenient. The overall culture is more liberal and alternative lifestyles are well tolerated. There is more serious crime in AA (overall, it is pretty safe, but you have to be smart). I was never a student at UMich but they are a pretty competitive bunch. The aero program is ranked basically equivalently to Purdue’s. As far as prestige, the farther you get out of the Midwest, the less it matters. Both schools are heavily recruited by defense companies. The weather at both schools is roughly equivalent.</p>
<p>What you have to decide is what you are looking for in a university. How important is the social scene, the local amenities, do you want to obtain a pilot’s license, how much do you want to spend in living expenses, etc. Good Luck.</p>
<p>I should also mention campuses. Purdue has a park-like campus, with lots of green space and immaculately maintained buildings. It is contiguous in nature and the food in the dorms is outstanding. You will do a lot of walking from one place to another, because the campus center is closed to cars.</p>
<p>Michigan’s campus is split up–there is the main campus, the North campus and the medical campus. You can spend a lot of time on buses getting from one campus to the other and I have heard the food isn’t all that good. The food at the hospital (where I work) is okay, but expensive.</p>
<p>I am big believer than when you finally get into the work force, it will be what you can DO, not where you went to school, that will matter. I believe that the Aerospace Engineering education one can receive at both Michigan and Purdue are very, very good. Both universities are heavily recruited by employers. Both are excellent pathways to advanced degrees. </p>
<p>Michigan is not the end-all or be-all of the universe. The world does not turn on the University of Michigan’s platter. There are other good universities out there at which a motivated, intelligent person can get a degree, and Purdue is one of them. No matter what your piece of paper says, if you can’t do the job, you won’t last long in any kind of engineering. That is the most important thing to remember.</p>
<p>mkbs40, I really² appreciate your entry on this thread. Your real experience with both universities gave me a singular touch of what to expect from both of them. </p>
<p>I am currently a private pilot student in Brazil, so yes, I do plan to keep on flying on college. It is nice to know that Purdue offers such possibility.</p>
<p>My top priority, however, is to decide which school would give me the greatest ammount of career opportunities as an unexperienced Aerospace Engineer. Internships, research work and good career fairs should be part of that. As MLDWoody stated above, I believe there is some importance in the point you start, and what I’m mostly looking for is exactly a good starting line to set me in a good position for the market.</p>
<p>I’ve seen that both Purdue and UMich have superhigh-achieving alumni, which makes me even more undecided…</p>
<p>“Michigan is not the end-all or be-all of the universe. The world does not turn on the University of Michigan’s platter. There are other good universities out there at which a motivated, intelligent person can get a degree, and Purdue is one of them.”</p>
<p>No one ever stated it was. The biggest difference between the three schools discussed here is the overall quality of the university and the overall location/pleasantness of the college town. This is where I feel Michigan and Ann Arbor beats the other two schools mentioned. Call me arrogant or call Ann Arbor unsafe, a remark I completely disagree with btw, but those are the facts as I see them.</p>
<p>Here is an interesting bit of information comparing graduation rates at the three schools. Notice which of the three has the lowest 6 year graduation rate. This can be attributed to, among other factors of course, to the quality of the student body and the availability of resources.</p>
Michigan can certainly match Purdue in terms of astronaut alum. Apollo 15 carried an all Michigan crew - James Irwin, David Scott and Alfred Worden.</p>