I have finally received all of my college decisions and now need to determine where I’m going to commit. I’ve toured all 7 of these schools and so I’ll include my opinion of each. This is the narrowed down list as my in-state safety and a couple other safeties were all eliminated, since I want to attend a top engineering school. I want an honest response on what y’all think is these best school for an engineering major(not sure which type probably either civil or mechanical). Also money is not a factor according to my parents, but I find it pointless to waste their money if I can get just as good of an education at a cheaper school.
Georgia Institute of Technology- One of the top engineering schools in the nation, but everyone I’ve talked to says the environment is super competitive and it seems way too cut-throat for my laid back personality. I also didn’t get into engineering honors or scholarship money, but this is my parents favorite. Total cost over 4 years: 180k
University of Illinois- I enjoyed the campus, but felt like there was nothing to do nearby. I got into the Campus Honors Program and a scholarship, but it’s still very pricey. Total cost over 4 years: 160k
University of Maryland- The campus was in kind of a scary area, but I got honors and a large scholarship. Total cost over 4 years: 125k
University of Minnesota- The campus was amazing and I love Minneapolis, but I’m not sure how the school is viewed in the engineering world. I got honors and a large scholarship. Total cost over 4 years: 110k
University of Michigan- This is the other school my parents are pushing, but I don’t like the proximity to Detroit or the campus. Also I didn’t get honors or scholarships, so it’s very expensive. Total cost over 4 years: 200k
University of Wisconsin- I loved the location and they’re a pretty decent school, but I didn’t get any scholarships. Total cost over 4 years: 180k
Purdue University- I loved the campus and got into honors and got a small scholarship. Total cost over 4 years: 140k
Where do y’all think is the best place for me to attend to get a great engineering education, but still on the cheap? The two schools my parents are pushing are the two I like the least, also. So how can I convince them to let me go elsewhere?
Thanks!
Dom
All of the engineering programs will be very challenging–do not expect to have time for enjoying the nearby cities. You will have long hours in the labs and difficult classes at any of the campuses.A laid-back personality will not support any academic success. As for competition–your main challenges will be passing the exams, not worrying about other students’ performances. So do not believe everything you heard about GTech.
What didn’t you like about UMichigan campus? They have a beautiful Arboretum for jogging, great cultural offerings of concerts and museums, and tons of student bars and restaurants.The metro airport is nearby, so there is no reason to go into Detroit. GTech has a lovely climate, but lacks the campus experience.
Think about where you want to live after graduating with an Engineering degree—that should influence your decision.
Just like fauve said, engineering programs are very time-consuming at all those schools. So if the cost is not a big factor in your decision, you should probably choose the college that has the best engineering programs. I believe that Georgia Tech and UMich are best out of those schools. I can’t really say anything about GTech but for UMich, I can tell you a little about the campus and whatnot (I live about 30 minutes away from the Ann Arbor campus). First of all, proximity of Detroit shouldn’t be a problem. It’s about 45 minute drive from Ann Arbor to Detroit and Ann Arbor is a very safe city. You might like it because Ann Arbor has the “college town” feeling and there almost isn’t a distinction between the campus and the city. If you like the distinction where a physical border or wall divides the campus and the city, UMich probably isn’t the best choice. But Ann Arbor has many opportunities for internships and stuff so UMich is a very good school to attend.
One other thing is that UMich is a VERY big school. It has relatively large student-faculty ratio of 15-1. I live very close to University of Michigan and my parents want me to go there but I don’t like the large school size and am considering a much small school (Northwestern).
I hope this helps your college selection and good luck!
Going off what you wrote, seems like MN and Purdue are both strong options, that wont break the bank.
Both very strong in engineering. Do you want a metro campus like MN, or do you like Purdue’s campus?
None of the options are going to constrain your employment or grad school options if you apply yourself and excel; likewise, if you slack, it won’t matter which school you attend, the name wont get you the job alone.
You have solid, good choices. At this point, money and “fit” come into play.
You’ve gotten great advice so far. Top engineering schools (in no particular order) from your list are GT, UMich, Purdue, UIUC. Like people have said, the entire field is challenging – one of my favorite student anecdotes (from Purdue) “you’ve not arrived until you’ve failed an exam” LOL.
Ann Arbor and Madison are consistently listed among best college towns (others have pointed out your false premise about AA). All the schools you’ve listed are well integrated with co-ops and internships and future employers.
My D is a ME at Georgia Tech and loves it. I visited her last month and met many of her friends. They all said it is not “cut-throat and super-competitive.” The students really collaborate with each other on homework and assignments. From what I saw they all help each to do well.
As others have said, engineering as a whole is a tough major and not for the laid-back personality. In order to have some balance in your life and a social life/fun, you have to have good time management skills. The students at Tech seem to let loose on Friday-Saturday and then hit the books the rest of the week. School spirit is incredible. Tech versus Georgia is a lot like Ohio State vs. Michigan. Tons of opportunities.
I will say that my D has friends at Purdue and although it is a great school, she seems to have more opportunity than they do. Lots more companies, events etc come to Tech and I think its location in Atlanta helps. Explore the companies that have innovative centers at Tech Square. Just this year Home Depot opened one and Boeing is looking for a location near Tech in order to attract the Tech students to their company.
One thing my D likes is all the opportunities Tech goes after for their students. They seem to have a lot of money and are spending on their students in creating more research etc. My D has also found her teachers very approachable. Atlanta is also great and there is always something to do.
The fortunate thing is that you have a lot of choices. Tech may not be the school but I just wanted to share my D’s experience. Basically think for a moment and try to picture where you think you would be the happiest for the next 4 years. That is where you should go. Good luck!!
Thanks for all of the wonderful advice! After having researched the schools a little more, I definitely think any of the schools that I wasn’t accepted into the honors college are out. While I want to attend a school with big athletics and big sports, I also want that small, close-knit environment that I think these honors colleges will provide.
So that leaves us to UIUC, the U, UMD, and Purdue. I’d say education-wise UIUC and Purdue impressed me the most with their opportunities and that trumps me liking the location of the U the best, since I’m going to college to get an education.
Thanks for the advice! I scheduled tours for UIUC and Purdue in the upcoming weeks so I can hopefully make my final decision!
UMN-TC engineering is extremely well-known, with ChemE one of the best in the nation. I’d say the competition would be UMN-TC if you want strong academics in a big city, UIUC or UMD if you want strong academics in a college town, with UMD having an edge on weather and connection to Washington DC (for breaks, for example, it’s easier to get to some place “interesting” from UMD than from UIUC, but for a break you can also go to Chicago; but also for internships and networking, since the area around DC is literally FILLED with contractors.)