<p>I'm wondering how the Engineering program at UVA is.</p>
<p>I heard that e-school is the easiest to get into among all the schools at UVA. Does that mean its reputation is not so good?
What are the chances of getting into a good graduate program like MIT or Berkley?
What would you say in comparison to BU's College of Engineering?
I applied to the school or Arts and Sciences at UVA. Should I transfer to e-school right away? Can I do that in the first place?
Thanks for the help! I appreciate it.</p>
<p>The e-school offers a superb education. Applicants will only apply to the e-school if they're a good candidate. This explains the e-school's high acceptance rate.</p>
<p>You should transfer early if you prefer an e-school education. Many of the courses--even science courses such as physics and chemistry--are specific to the e-school.</p>
<p>You can get an idea of where e-school grads go for graduate school in the SEAS career services site. Check out the document called the "annual survey".</p>
<p>I've had very positive feelings about the UVA e-school and its systems program in particular attracted me. UVA has probably been my top choice all along. But I recently talked to someone who teaches there (probably not full-time, maybe assistant or something) and says that UVA engineering isn't all that great (and nowhere near the top) and that VTech is much better in comparison. He even said that many students aren't very bright (he said this in a very indirect way though) and just "want to join their parents' companies after graduating." After realizing he said a lot of negative things about UVA engineering, he said on the bright side the UVA e-school is making a strong push to be one of top e-schools. I don't really know how to take this; naturally I want to not believe it but he must have had some credibility.</p>
<p>Is there any info on where the graduates went for grad school?
I'm thinking either UVA e-school or BU College of Enginereing, and the chances of getting into a exceptional grad school is an important factor to consider.</p>
<p>Chill90, let me offer you some contrary evidence. I'm a systems engineer, and my son will graduate next month as a systems engineer. I've had a close look at UVa's curriculum, at the quality of its instruction, and how well it matches the needs of industry. I think the match is superb. UVa systems engineers are well versed in modern quantitative methods to support the types of decisions that must be made in designing large, complex systems. They know how to design and run models and simulations, and how to analyze the results. They know the tools of optimization. They understand information systems design, how to capture and analyze requirements, and how to plan for the deployment of a new system. I'm not alone in this assessment. After reviewing my son's academic resume, ten companies wanted to interview him, and he chose from a wide range of lucrative job offers. </p>
<p>He doesn't know anybody who will be working for his parents' company. (That's the first time I've heard that criticism!)</p>
<p>Of course, if your source is a faculty member, I'm not surprised. The relationship between faculty and undergraduates is not warm. I've written about this before. They do not offer encouragement and rarely help. They are always quick to criticize, as you noticed. </p>
<p>But that problem is more than counterbalanced by the quality of the education, the warm friendships, the great cultural experience, and the broad diversity of education that you get at UVa. </p>
<p>Tomu: as I noted two posts above yours, go to the SEAS career center website. Look at the annual report. It lists the graduate schools that UVA engineers go to. That's the official word.</p>
<p>Thanks redbeard. I checked the report earlier but I didn't really understand it. Now I took another look at it and sort of grasped an idea of where the grads are going. However, looking at the schools, it doesn't really tell me how I will do (where I'll end up). No one went to MIT for a phd degree. Does that mean MIT is exceptionally difficult to get into? Or is it that UVA's level isn't as high.</p>
<p>Also, another important thing is that I got a half-tuition scholarsihp at BU College of Engineering as an Engineering Scholar. So I'm thinking either BU or UVA. Which do school do you recommend? I haven't really decided on what type of engineer I'll be quite yet.</p>
<p>MIT graduate school is exceptionally difficult to get into. This would be true whether you went to BU or UVa, and the difficulty is about the same. </p>
<p>I have to say, however, that I think you're getting ahead of yourself. Straight through freshman-to-PhD is an atypical career path for engineers. Some go that way, to be sure. But, if you don't yet know what kind of engineer you want to be, then you probably don't know if that's the right path for you.</p>
<p>It is far more common for engineers to spend time out of academia after graduation. Solve some real-world problems. Make some mistakes. Help build a team. Go to the awful "process" seminars. Suffer fools gladly. See what you like (and what you hate). Only then are you armed with a sense of what specialty you should focus on for graduate work and for the rest of your career. In some instances, the company will pay for the graduate work. (That worked for me!) </p>
<p>Engineers are much more effective, and their designs are much more robust, when they have some real-world experience.</p>
<p>As for the BU (half-tuition) vs. UVa (out of state?), I think I would lean towards BU. But note: Boston (along Commonwealth Ave) is very different from Charlottesville, VA. Have you visited both campuses?</p>
<p>I see. I agree that I might be thinking way ahead of myself. I have never considered working before going on to graduate school. If you ever do so, and then go onto a phd graduate program, would I be an old guy before I could officially start working?</p>
<p>I also would like to get a job with high-pay. Is it a must to get a phd for a job with good salary? One thing I'm worried about phd is that it might take too much time for me to start working. Also, working before going to grad school also sounds long, not that I'm impatient. My preference is to start working in my twenties.</p>
<p>Tomu
One can't have everything in this world.
It sounds as if you want to do everything, start making money after college, getting a phd, all at once. Ask yourself what you really wanna do more than anything else. If you want phd, then you need to focus on getting it while holding on to other dreams in the mean time. If you want to make money right away, then your phd will have to wait.
You said your priority is to start working in your 20's. Then you should plan accordingly. You can finish your phd before you turn to 30. That is absolutely possible. And you also need to rethink how you view your life and career. One shouldn't live to work, rather one should work to live. Life is a journey and one has to try to enjoy every moment of it.</p>
<p>Back to your question of BU and UVA engineering programs: someone famous said that it is be better to be a diamond with a flaw than a pebble without.
UVA has a much better reputation than BU overall. That will help you in the long run to get what you desire. I know many people who went to UVa engineering and got a job at some of the best companies in the world.
If money's a big factor here choose the one less expensive. If not, then UVa.</p>
<p>Before you decide either to start working after a bachelor degree or continue with higher education, you need to ask what type of engineering work you want to do and what industrial sector do you want to be in. If you are not interested in r&d or teaching, then a phd in not necessary. Most engineer will be able to get job with a bachelor degree (in US not sure about Japan) in industrial sectors such as sales, manufacturing, production, construction, testing, maintenance and design. After have been working in the field some may design a higher degree when involved in design, adminstration, marketing..., but not necessarily a phd. You may end up being over qualified for certain jobs with a phd.</p>
<p>I agree with other, UVA over BU. If you rally want engineering in UVa, you should transfer riight away. I believe the engineering school has core curriculum and some of the arts & science courses you take may not be tranferable.</p>
<p>I am a UVA Engineering alumnus and I feel that their program prepared me very well for grad school and a career in industry. I was hired by Bell Laboratories (pre-divestiture) right out of school and sent to another well-known technical school to get a Master's degree. In all but two or three classes there, most of the material seemed to be stuff I had already learned in my undergrad years at UVA. I realize that things change a lot over the >25 years since I graduated, but I have been favorably impressed by the changes I have noticed when visiting.</p>
<p>As others have pointed out, transfer as soon as possible if you want to study Engineering or you may have to take an extra semester to complete the curriculum.</p>
<p>BassDad:
I too was an UVA graduate and was hired by Bell Laboratories. I am now with a telecommunications company.</p>
<p>The "well rounded" UVA engineering education really helped my career. As much as I hated them at the time, doing a thesis, taking humanities courses, taking communications courses (writing and speaking) really prepared me for the "soft" aspects of engineering: team work, leadership, etc.</p>
<p>That is true. I myself feel that I am trying to achieve everything I possibly can. That is partly because I only have a vague idea of how the future will look like; I'm trying to stuff it up with all the good things. I guess, at the moment, I would like to have a good education in engineering, either at BU or UVA (Forget the phd stuff because that will come when it needs to be dealt with). I know some people say UVA, and others say BU, so it will eventually be my decision. And I do not expect my decision to be the right one, for I feel that there are good and bad in both choices. I will regret about not choosing the other in both cases.</p>