<p>As the title suggests, I was accepted to University of Pennsylvania, UCLA and University of Michigan- Ann Arbor. I wish to study either Chemical Engineering or CIS. I was told that for engineering UCLA or UMich would be better, but if for future graduate school, either in engineering or for something else, or for a future in business related sector, UPenn would be the better choice. But, if I want a pure engineering experience, UCLA and UMich would be better. I was wondering if these are true. I am currently leaning towards UPenn because I heard it provides great opportunities and for an undergraduate student the college name matters more than the department ranking. So, in short, I was told UPenn with it's overall name, connections and graduate level advantages would be better. Is this true? Or am I making a mistake choosing UPenn over universities better known for their engineering? I heard UPenn engineers are always highly sought, but are they worse off than their UCLA or UMich counterparts?</p>
<p>Again, most of what I have stated are things I have heard and could be completely wrong. Please do not misunderstand, I am not stating these as facts, but as opinions and wish to know if they are at all correct. I am simply stating things FOR UPenn because till now that is my decision based on what I was told.</p>
<p>Can you afford Penn without taking a life ruining debt ? If you can, go for Penn. UMich is also cool but their tuition is same as a top private school’s tuition. UPenn is not the best for engineering in the ivy’s (Cornell is), but its an elite institution overall.</p>
<p>Yes, I can afford Penn without the debt InshaAllah My main worry was for grad school to be honest, and if I try for an elite engineering grad school (like Stanford, though it’s just a dream), whether my Penn engineering degree would look less impressive than an engineering-based university one. Do you know if this would be a problem?</p>
<p>This is the weirdest thread I have ever read. For graduate school Penn would be better but for “pure engineering” the others are better? That makes no sense. </p>
<p>They are all good schools. And you are comparing different majors. Which one? The fact is these 3 schools are considered all in the top 20 probably for both majors. So don’t worry about the prestige. Worry bout the soft factors that can affect your decision. Do you hate the snow? Want to live on the east coast? Which one will cost the least?</p>
<p>Sorry if I was being unclear, my own lack of knowledge on the subject makes it a bit difficult to explain What I meant was, I heard that if I want to work in engineering related fields, others would be better, but if I want to work in finance or go to a graduate school in something unrelated to Engineering, Penn’s prestige will help. Again, not facts, simply what I heard, and they can be entirely wrong.</p>
<p>As for the soft factors, I have lived in Bangladesh my entire life so those aren’t really things I am considering, as I don’t really understand them so well. But, the Penn life sounds very interesting and the University sounds like an experience I won’t regret. My fear was for the years AFTER my 4 years of college life from the “Social Ivy” :P</p>
<p>My major is undecided, I want either Chemical and Biomolecular engineering or Computer Science.</p>
<p>I do not know much about UCLA’s engineering, but I’m sure that, due to the school’s overall reputation, it is very good. Honestly, you can’t go wrong with any of these schools whether you’re going for graduate school or not. I’m no expert, but I would expect that, for jobs and grad school, having experience (interships and research) and a good gpa are more important than school choice, so long as the schools are regarded similarly (all of your choices have great reputations). So while UMich (and UCLA?) have higher ranked engineering departments than UPenn, UPenn still has an amazing reputation, and so long as you do well it shouldn’t matter which school you choose.</p>
<p>Like someone else said, I would focus more on the non-academic factors. Since you are from Bangladesh, you are going to have to fly to school no matter which one you choose, so distance shouldn’t really matter too much. Also, UCLA and UMich are both very big schools (25,000+) while UPenn is mid-size (about 10,000 undergrads). UMich will be colder and have more snow during the winter, while UCLA will have decent weather year round, and UPenn is kind of in the middle. Do you like enjoy sports (UMich)? I know you said factors like these do not matter much, but for academics and connections, the three schools are so close that it should really come down to this.</p>
<p>If I were you, I would choose UPenn, but I am biased. UPenn mostly fit what I want in a college: mid-size, great academics, close to home (hour and a half). I was rejected early decision, and am now most likely going to UMich. I wasn’t really disappointed because, as I’ve been saying (in too many words), they are both great schools, it’s just that UMich is a lot farther for me and will be colder.</p>
<p>So yeah, in short, don’t fret much about academics and such because they are all great schools. Pick based on the smaller factors; you can’t go wrong with any of them.</p>
<p>Well if you were wondering Michigan has a Top 10 business school as well. Top companies recruit at all 3…both engineering and Business. They are all feeders to business and consulting companies. So yes, you were told wrong. Penn has the best business school on campus (Wharton) but Michigan is not far behind (Ross) and UCLA (Anderson) is top 20. </p>
<p>To put in reference Goldman Sachs will have interviewers on all 3 campuses and if you wanted to go into finance, any of the schools will get you interviews if you have top grades in engineering.</p>
<p>I would go with Penn. Although UMich has a higher ranked engineering program, it is really expensive OOS for a huge public school. Plus, Penn has ivy-league prestige and is a better school overall.</p>
<p>Thank you very much All of you have really helped me make what just a few days ago felt like an impossible decision. I will go to UPenn UPenn fits perfectly with my wants, my fear was only in terms of academics. Since all are highly regarded, UPenn seems like the clear choice now.</p>
<p>? Better school overall? Says who? Michigan is one of the “public” ivys. There are more noble prize winners from Michigan then there are from Penn. </p>
<p>Penn is an ivy but to say it is better than Michigan is false. They are of the same caliber. </p>
<p>At least Michigan will never get confused with Michigan State :)</p>
<p>But if you like Penn, you will get to your goals. It’s an amazing school.</p>
<p>Hey! I’m sorry, I rarely check this thread so just saw this. I was accepted RD. I’m probably never going to check this thread again, so I’ll give you my Facebook ID if you ever need help (or any other Bangladeshis, I know how annoying the process can get) :)</p>
My main worry was for grad school to be honest, and if I try for an elite engineering grad school (like Stanford, though it’s just a dream), whether my Penn engineering degree would look less impressive than an engineering-based university one. Do you know if this would be a problem?</p>
What I meant was, I heard that if I want to work in engineering related fields, others would be better, but if I want to work in finance or go to a graduate school in something unrelated to Engineering, Penn’s prestige will help. Again, not facts, simply what I heard, and they can be entirely wrong.</p>