<p>Does anyone know particularly how good the Engineering at Vanderbilt is? It doesn't appear in many national rankings, but I was just curious because I would love to go here. I also want to be a ChemEng major, but I haven't heard much about the type of program Vandy has. I've been accepted to the University of TX-Austin as a Chemical Engineering major, and the program there is ranked 7th by US News. I would love to go to Vanderbilt (if I get in), but I just don't know if it would be stupid to pass up ChemE at UT.</p>
<p>Great question! I am trying to figure out the same thing, except for mechanical engineering. I love everything about Vandy but I think my state flagship (UF) might have a better quality engineering program and research opportunities.</p>
<p>Visit the engineering school if at all possible, so you can meet with professors, administrators and students and ask about research opportunities and quality of the courses available. If you cannot visit in person, take a close look at the web site and find out what kind of research profs are doing, then contact professors directly and ask them if undergraduates are regular participants in research programs.</p>
<p>My son's experience in the engineering school has been excellent. He has been involved in research since his first month on campus, and was invited to stay over the summer after his freshman year to do research full time. His courses have been rigorous and the professors accessible. He feels he made an excellent choice.</p>
<p>There can be significant differences between very large public universities and a mid-size private school like Vanderbilt. For some students, those differences are significant, while for others they are not very important. </p>
<p>I won't pretend to be an expert on research opps for the ChemE or MechE, but one of the deans told me that every engineering undergraduate has the opportunity to do research by junior year, many by sophomore year, and some at freshman year.</p>
<p>Speaking as a parent, I have found the administration of the engineering school to be uncommonly accessible and informative, and highly concerned about the fate of every student. This is one of the differences I was alluding to above.</p>
<p>I have the exact same dilemma. I love everything about vanderbilt. However, I am also an automatic admit to UT austin (probably/hopefully e honors), and TAMU.
In October I went and visited vandy's e-school. Heres what I liked:
Before I went, someone gave me the email address of the a professor of ee. Before I knew it, I was connected with a professor whose class I sat in on, a mechanical engineering professor who I met with for about an hour and talked about the school, a senior who led the rocket team, and a senior who showed me the Formula SAE car team. I was thoroughly impressed.
The class I sat in on was an intro to engineering for freshmen. As far as a class goes, it was excellent. Small, interactive, not boring.
Everyone I met with was very personable and the e school didnt seem excessively nerdy like most.</p>
<p>I have also had tons of exposure to UT Austin since I live in Austin. Its highly ranked, but from what I have heard is that you are just a number there ( and I have had friends that transferred because of that). If you dont mind the HUGE classes etc, its a great school.</p>
<p>Here is something I am quoting from an email from the prof I met with:</p>
<p>"P.S. It is not worth coming out of school with $100K of debt just to go to Vanderbilt. The honors programs at UT are excellent, and would be cheaper by far, I am sure.</p>
<p>P.P.S. Tell ~~~~ that Vanderbilt REALLY looks at a student's service, and his personal statement . Competition is tough, since we only admit around 350 students each year. Last year our composite average SAT score in the E-School was 1450, and all students were in the top 5 % of their class. He must keep his grades up, and do well on the SAT. "</p>
<p>Thanks so much for everyone's input. All very very helpful. I am going to visit Vandy this month so I will most definitely see if I can get connected with an engineering class/professor before I go. By personal statement, are you refering to the essay we wrote on the common app? </p>
<p>Even though I'm into that program at UT, I still consider myself very borderline for Vanderbilt because my test scores are low. So, I would just be incredibly happy to get in there. If not though, I definitely feel assured I have another great option.</p>
<p>UT is definitely a great option. So is Texas A&M, if you prefer that setting, which I personally do. And I'm not sure what is meant by personal statement, but I think it means your essay and character related stuff (probably also letters of rec?)</p>
<p>Personal statement is why Vandy? Vandy puts a lot of weight on the essay because grades dont give the whole picture of who you are. And they can tell if you really want to go to Vandy and what type of person you are. My son is in engineering. In his first class, he made a prosthetic arm for a patient in the Children's Hospital. It was an awesome experience of actually working with the patient and his parents to develop this device. I think the main difference at Vandy is that you become a better well rounded student where engineering schools are more intense engineering. But Vandy makes up for that with small class sizes and working with teachers and research at an earlier stage. It Vandy you are not just a number. My son has had lunches with most of his teachers for one on ones. The Vandy admin. knows that you are spending a lot of money in order for your child to go to Vandy. They bind over backwards to help their students and their parents in understanding where their kid is and offer tutoring help all the time and advice at anytime. It is an unbelievable support system in place.</p>