I got into Virginia Tech’s general engineering program 3 days ago ( out of the waitlisted pool) and committed into Purdue’s Exploratory undecided to get into electrical engineering route,
I am looking at purely from me this is the best possible engineering school ie Purdue ( Top 10 vs Top 30) an, national brand, and leaning towards Purdue. I understand Purdue has tough grading.
I visited both school and have time 5/2/2022 5 PM EST to switch to VT COE. My parents worried about the roundabout way vs direct admission. I visited the VT campus through a private tour of my HS senior who is a current student but unable to give up Purdue.
As much as I love Purdue, if you are already in CoE at VT, I’d take that route over exploratory studies at Purdue. You run the risk at Purdue of not getting into your major, regardless of GPA, if it turns out to be a year where EE is at capacity.
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First - remove your contact info please. Second, this is a no brainer - unless you have a serious dislike of Va Tech (which is as nice a campus as there is), it’s a fantastic school and direct admission.
For what it’s worth, my kid turned down Purdue engineering with merit for Bama…you don’t always need to go to the “top” school - and you’ll find engineers from all schools.
But if you don’t study engineering - you won’t be an engineer.
There’s really not a decision to be made here IMHO.
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Undergrad engineering rankings per US News- Purdue 10, Virginia Tech 13. These are both well known and respected engineering schools.
Good luck with your decision!
Purdue and Virginia Tech were my son’s top two schools when he was deciding last year. He was accepted to both for engineering. They had just about everything he wanted and were close to the same in cost. We visited both schools and he liked Purdue, but loved Virginia Tech.
You can’t go wrong with either school, but how hard is it to transfer into engineering from undeclared at Purdue? At Virginia Tech you’d be in the engineering department right from the start.
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I’m a big believer in direct admit programs and would take VT for that reason.
I’ve seen too many students attend a college only to find they don’t get accepted into the major of their choice down the road.
What is BAMA?
At VT, if you are in CoE, you need a 3.0 college GPA to be automatically admitted to the major of your choice. Below 3.0, admission to majors is competitive based on whether there is space available in each major.
At Purdue, if you are in Exploratory Studies, you first need to change into First Year Engineering, which is competitive based on space available. Only after you are in First Year Engineering will you be in a system similar to that at VT, except that the automatic admission college GPA is 3.2.
In other words, VT has fewer hurdles to get into your desired major. Even if you desire Purdue engineering more, that does not help if you are unable to get into your desired engineering major.
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Despite advice here if you still prefer the Purdue route , please keep in mind that the weeders for the engineering major tend to be the math courses. You need to be comfortable that your math is up to snuff in order for you take the risk.
Also there is less difference in engg programs across the country because they are all ABET accredited, vs non accredited courses of study such as a math major etc
Except this student wasn’t accepted into the College of Engineering at Purdue. That means they need to transfer to first year engineering before being able to transition to their major. FYE is often closed/at capacity, regardless of a students GPA. It’s also more difficult for a student to register for any engineering classes outside the college.
We have an engineering ad com on our Purdue parent page who routinely advises students with a direct admit elsewhere to go there. That is a change in the last 4 years.
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Hi,
@tsbna44 @neela1 @Catcherinthetoast @flyawayx2 @ucbalumnus
I was originally admitted to Purdue Polytechnic - College of Technology and FYE was my first choice major. I spoke to admissions in person( admitted students event) in April asked about transferring to FYE. They suggested that going from exploratory to FYE is the best option. I applied to change of major to exploratory in April and got accepted.
I only plan to major in electrical engineering which is less competitive. Only Biomedical, Mech and Aerospace are the most competitive as Purdue. For electrical engineering the cut was 3.0.
I also spoke to Purdue College of Engineering professor who informed me that gpa of 3.4 will guarantee any major after FYE.
I spoke to Purdue exploratory counselors and current students who moved from exploratory to FYE.
If you cannot move move into FYE after that first semester you can automatically move into college of engineering to preferred major if you get the gpa and space. (I have written confirmation for this).
@momofboiler1
Can you please point us to ad Purdue parent page who routinely advises students with a direct admit elsewhere to go there?
Why take a risk when you already got direct entry into a world class school that will bring you similar outcomes ?
I agree Purdue is awesome. But how will you feel with a physics or math degree instead?
Many a top HS student fails to get a 3.0 in college. In fact nearly half the kids that start in engineering won’t make it and will have to pursue another major.
Time for a risk assessment. You can bet on yourself but why bet when you don’t need to ??
My kid chose a lesser college due to a nicer dorm and getting his own room. He got his dream internship last summer and is going back. VaTech is world class. You are losing nothing (except cost if more) by going there.
It’s a closed FB group for parents of admitted students from the class of '18 but the contact in exploratory studies is: Sr. Recruitment Manager, Jo Boileau.
I will private message you.
Both are great choices. I think most would tell you, Virginia Tech is a nicer campus. Blacksburg is a nicer college town. The mountains, rivers and lakes surrounding Blacksburg are fantastic, when you need a break from your EE studies. It really is a very marginal undergraduate rankings difference between PU #10 vs VT #13.
https://www.usnews.com/best-colleges/rankings/engineering-doctorate
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I got * Purdue gear*, got room mate , did lot research and put a lot of effort Purdue. I feel like the rigor will be painful and there is a risk. I spoke to my current HS who went from exploratory to Engineering transfer at Purdue feel confident I can do the same. I want to start taking engineering pre-requisite course summer at Purdue. I see the direct path at VT but unable give up Purdue. I wish we can talk over phone for advice not sure how to do this in the forum.
What advice are you still looking for? You’ve already committed to Purdue ( you said you would have had to switch to VT by 5pm yesterday). Enjoy Purdue!
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That’s the sunk cost fallacy (and not very big costs at that).
BUT- as @sevmom pointed out, the window has closed on VT, yes? so it’s not longer a choice or a question. What are you still conflicted about?
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@sevmom @collegemom3717 - I have till Friday 5/6 to accept VT. My parents are concerned passing direct admission for a comparable school that has engineering admission. Purdue does not guarantee engineering.
we negotiated to additional time to 5/6.