Hello! I (f) am a high school senior deciding between Purdue and Virginia Tech for BME/ME. Does anyone have any input on which school to choose?
A few things I am considering but all advice is appreciated-
Student life. Are people happy? Obviously engineering isn’t a stress-free major but I want to be able to enjoy college and stay involved in athletics
Opportunity. I currently live in the southeast, and would like to be able to at least have the option to get back there during my summers and after graduation. Also job offers
Flexibility. I don’t want to stress over getting my classes and major
Accessibility. Of professors for both teaching help and relationships/connections/research opportunities
In todays world, the geographic limits are minimal. My son is at Alabama. He had an offer for Massachusetts, unknown in the MW (rotational- likely Iowa or Missouri), Atlanta but with plants in the SE and MW, a national - could be placed anywhere - and the job he accepted - a rotation with hq out of Cleveland but his first rotation in Utah.
With LinkedIn and indeed plus the school’s listings via handshake, getting to where you want geographically won’t be an issue - except if the BME jobs are not located in the SE.
You can look up BME jobs today - maybe with rotational or entry level - on indeed to see where they are.
But if they’re out there, you can get them from both very fine universities. In fact from most.
This is a gut feeling choice. A lot gets made about the barrier to move forward at Purdue, but my niece was a BME and didn’t have stellar grades to get in. I’d choose the one that checks the most boxes, knowing that both will have weaknesses. All schools do, often not discovered until the student gets there. She’ll do great at either!
Has she visited both schools? These were my S21’s top two schools and after visiting both campuses he chose Virginia Tech. He was very impressed with Purdue’s engineering program and liked most things about the school, but in the end Virginia Tech felt like a better personal fit overall. Class registration has been easy each semester and he got his first choice major (BME). He attends office hours sometimes for certain classes and has developed connections with various professors. The food is highly rated and game days are so much fun. He has a few friends in engineering at Purdue and they are very happy too. I don’t think you can go wrong with either school!
I forgot to answer the accessibility question - Purdue profs are VERY accessible! It’s easy to do research on campus. My d has been on first name basis with some profs since freshman year.
VT and Purdue were my oldest daughter’s top 2 choices, for MechE.
She obviously hasn’t attended both, but she was very happy with her 4 years at Purdue. Her sister is quite happy as a Freshman.
Like most schools, job offers tend to concentrate close to the school at Purdue. I suspect VT is similar, so I would expect their outcome data to show more Southeast employment. Having said that, my daughter’s internship and full-time employment was in North Carolina, where she now lives. And her roommate/best friend wanted something close to North Dakota home, and she’s in Minnesota. So it’s available.
I don’t recall either having issue with majors (one MechE with Entrepreneurship minor, one CS/Math double major with Film/Video Production and Gender minors) or course selection.
Professors/TA’s were always accessible and Purdue has a very large Supplemental Instruction program to get through those core engineering courses.
I suspect VT would be quite similar, based on several visits and research. Hopefully you can/have visited both, including admitted student days. Ultimately, my daughter’s decision just came down to which felt right.
Thanks for sharing your daughter’s experience. Very helpful. We have seen both, but couldn’t do admitted students say at Purdue (just tours and drop ins).
We are most impressed by Purdue’s communication and information availability. Full time staffing of the Office of Future Engineers, the fact that someone always picks up the phone when we call, the daily evening tutoring/ supplemental instruction offered- these all made a huge impression on us.
VT came in second in that category. But VT definitely wins for weather, and is driving distance (vs a flight and a shuttle to Purdue). That said, VT did offer a lot of communication opportunities (just not as many as Purdue).
Making the decision on the non-academic factors is only something she feels comfortable doing if we are convinced the two are roughly comparable when it comes to strength of job opportunities, internship/co-ops, prof accessibility, likelihood of getting into major, etc. They seem comparable but it’s not easy to tell. It seems Purdue might have a somewhat stronger reputation but we aren’t sure if that is the case (or if it is stronger, if it is enough to make it a better choice).
Coming from a lesser rated school dad (who declined Purdue) - no doubt both are wonderful. Maybe one has an edge.
But if the economy stays hot outcome wise, it may not be noticeable. My kid was wall to wall interviews in the fall and many offers. He turned down those who reached out in spring to interview him and there’s been several.
If Purdue offers things more appealing to you day to day then, it’s great. I’m jealous every time I hear @momofboiler1 describe her daughter’s experience. It wasn’t my son’s but I’m sure that’s in part on the student’s desire to take advantage.
While I don’t know if Purdue and VT are comparable, I know the offers my son got were comparable to a higher level school such as Purdue. And while his job class is large, he has at least an Auburn, NC State abd just learned Ohio State as part of it.
What I’m saying is I think the school she’s most comfortable with, regardless of location, is the right one.
If the student is a hustler and is driven, and if the economy remains solid, finding a well paying job in any geography where they are offered, likely won’t be an issue.
Probably not. Both schools are very strong with engineering. H has his engineering degree from VT and we are both alumni. The alumni network is strong and his degree has never been dissed.
I have no personal experience with Purdue (different regions of the country - we’ve always lived east coast from RI to FL, currently in PA for the past couple decades), but I expect it would be the same - probably stronger in the middle of the country where they are located and vice versa for VT, but pretty much the same everywhere else.
Both Virginia Tech and Purdue have strong engineering programs and are well-regarded institutions for this field. Choosing between the two will depend on a variety of factors, including your personal interests, academic strengths, and career goals.