<p>What advantages would the engineering program at a school like Wash U offer over a state school like Purdue and Georgia Tech? I'm interviewing with Wash U next week and I'm not clear on how to answer the question "why Wash U?" The Wash U website actually says something along the lines of "yeah, our engineering facilities are inadequate to be competitive...so we're going to rebuild everything and hire the best people and have it all finished by 2020." I appreciate any feedback.</p>
<p>I'm not sure about their traditional engineering degrees but I know they have a top-notch BME program.</p>
<p>lol. that's a funny quote.</p>
<p>I actually never applied to WashU even though I applied to most every other major college in Missouri. I was under the impression that their engineering program was not very well developed. In light of that, I don't see why a person would want to attend there if they planned to major in engineering. It's a very expensive college, and i've gotten the impression that the prestige of a name brand college does not generally do much for an engineering major compared to other majors.</p>
<p>I assume you're a Missouri resident since you're considering WashU next to Purdue and Georgia Tech. Have you considered UMR, which is now Missouri S&T, in that case?</p>
<p>I just graduated from WashU engineering and I really enjoyed the experience. Of course every school has it problems, but I am hoping that Sansalone's departure is a step in the right direction. Obviously, compared to Purdue and Georgia Tech, WashU engineering has less students, which most likely translates into smaller classes. There are some amazing student lead projects at WashU like the Nanosat competition (asl.wustl.edu) and the Formula SAE race car. Our engineering student council is also great...they put on tons of events and very frequently win best student council in the country.</p>
<p>I think it all boils down to affordability and personal preference. If you love the WashU atmosphere (and can afford to go there), the rest will work itself out. I saw my friends and I get into top notch grad programs (Stanford, Berkeley, CMU, etc.) and find great jobs. If you succeed at WashU you won't have trouble finding a job.</p>
<p>Feel free to PM me if you have more questions.</p>