<p>yeah, ***, i DID say that those were just cases that i knew and didn't necessarily represent vt's prog and uva's prog. like i said, i didn't know if me telling that would help much, but to find the truth u have to look at all perspectives. </p>
<p>btw vtengineer, where do u live? peddrew yates? new res? payne? prichard? etc</p>
<p>i can't tell you how anxious i am about it. i keep trying to contact lynda bailey to get an interview but no one contacts me back. bastards. i've emailed twice and called and left a message once.</p>
<p>I have heard that VT has a better engineering program than UVA. With regards to prestige and academics overall, Uva is far superior to the Hokies. Ha, Ha,except for their football team!</p>
<p>i forgot about this site for a while. i am a freshman at VT right now... doing engineering but not sure if i want to pursue it... if anyone h as questions , feel free to ask me.</p>
<p>how difficult is the general engineering program your freshman year-- particulary first semester. Also, all the classes you take are required, correct? If so, what are these freshman classes, thanks</p>
<p>UVa has the prestige, but Tech is rapidly gaining recognition as one of the nation's best public schools. I don't think you can go wrong with either school. I live about an hour and a half from both schools (if I speed), so I know a lot about both. I've always thought of UVa as the better school for thing such as history, political science, English, etc. I've always seen Tech as better at the physical sciences. I also see Tech as the "people's school" if you, the students just seem more laid back. Bottom line, both are great schools, and you can't go wrong with either. Best of luck!</p>
<p>i'm in 1024 enge right now actually about to take my first test in few minutes lol. yea its not going to be pleasant.. its a lot of bull*****, and yea it is hard to get an A. but dont let that class get to you and make u drop engineering. general engineering is a load of crap.</p>
<p>hahaha...I know how you feel...it sucks but youll make it. EngE1024 was a ***** to get an A in but just stick with it and dont let it discourage you.</p>
<p>I've been pondering this as well for a long time. I applied to both tech and uva and visited both twice and will be going back to both once again in the upcoming weeks. </p>
<p>So far, here's the main differences I've seen:
UVA --
1)smaller classes
2)less generalized (more freedom to expand your studies and easier to minor outside the school of engineering, or even double major in another interest)
3)best preparation for gradschool</p>
<p>VT
1) Better labs and access to experiments
2) Engineering reputation
3) A very specific engineering program (good preparation for work force)</p>
<p>Again, I am sorry if you disagree with any of these, this is just what I have noted while trying to make my decision.</p>
<p>Without any doubt Engineering/Tech related companies recruit Virginia Tech more than UVA. Simply, Virginia Tech has a better Engineering reputation than UVA.</p>
<p>Lots of emotion in this thread.
We have no emotional ties to either school, were accepted at both and are making the same decision.</p>
<p>The key here is that we are talking about ENGINEERING
USNWR Rank for ENGINEERING:
VT - 19
UVA - 31</p>
<p>USNWR Rank OVERALL University
UVA - 23
VT - 78</p>
<p>VT is recognized as a top Engineering school, not just because of its size, but because of the quality of the instruction. Emphasis is on hands-on, teamwork, project oriented -- the kinds of things employers of engineers want their engineers to be good at. There are some areas of specialization at VT that are considered truly outstanding, like Industrial and Systems (rank #6 nationally) and their Human Factors specialization within Industrial is considered #1.
I am a Director of Engineering at a company in Northern Virginia -- we recruit grads of both schools, but VT Engineers are considered much better prepared for the workforce. Yes, the general public will think UVA is a better school, but those who know engineering know VT is absolutely better.</p>
<p>UVA gets high marks in some regards because the university around them is so excellent -- in fact those were the first words out of the mouth of the Dean at a recent Engineering Open House. He did not talk about how great their engineering program was, but how great all the other colleges at the school were. To be sure, it is one of your better Engineering programs, but is definitely not considered a strength for UVA. They recognize this and are working toward emphasizing their Engineering program in the future.
They describe themselves not so much as preparing engineers to work in engineering jobs, but in "educating technology leaders". They pride themselves on how many grads of their Engineering school go on to other professions like law or medicine or business. In fact something like 30% of engineering students there are minoring in economics.</p>
<p>So, if your goal is definitely hard core engineering go with VT (hands on, teamwork).
Engineering as a platform for other areas of interest, go with UVA (theoretical, elitist).</p>
<p>I do not mean that in a derogatory way, UVA is an elitist school and they purposefully give that impression. That means, exclusive, selective, and yes, maybe a bit snobby. That comes across loud and clear in all the literature we get from them. I meant it in opposition to the attribute of being teamwork oriented.</p>
<p>I suppose that would make sense, as UVA is the best all-around school in the state. I still have trouble believing that a UVA engineer would be less capable than a VT engineer. Would you assume that a Harvard or Yale engineer was more capable than a VT engineer because VT is ranked higher in engineering? Probably not.</p>
<p>Quote:
Would you assume that a Harvard or Yale engineer was more capable than a VT engineer because VT is ranked higher in engineering? Probably not.</p>
<p>Exactly...? If VT had a higher rating than Harvard or Yale, then it would probably be a better school for that specific subject. My perception is that engineering students are inclined to make decisions differently from those majoring in something like History or English, in which case an "elite" school would be of more benefit to that student.
Go for the program, not the name. Evidently the name doesn't count for much in this case, anyway. As long as employers know it, who cares about the elitists?
Maybe UVA is best for many subjects, but engineering is a different game.</p>
<p>Well,
Since Harvard is tied with UVA at #31 and Yale is ranked #41 for undergraduate engineering, yes I would think VT or UVA would be better. Of course these rankings are not absolute and you have to look at each person as an individual.</p>
<p>I have been admitted to both VT and UVa and I have been considering both probably since last year when I was thinking where to apply.</p>
<p>I am almost 100% sure that I will be going to UVA. My planned major is either Biomedical Engineering or Chemical Engineering with a biochem focus/minor.</p>
<p>If I was to look just at the campus and the school in general I would have picked UVA right away. However, since VT has such a great engineering program I needed to look at both again in great depth.</p>
<p>I have visited VT 3 times and UVA twice, and I am going back to UVA one final time next week. I have talked to professors and students at both schools and, as I told in an earlier post, UVA students seem to have a better academical relationship with other engineering students and professors.</p>
<p>I asked professors from both schools what they thought about different programs and based on tones and information, the UVA professor kind of put off a "go somewhere else for aerospace, mechanical, or civil" vibe, but praised their biomed, chem, systems, and comp sci programs. On the other hand, at VT, the profs seemed to say this is the ONLY place to come for aerospace, mech, and civil, but other programs could be better. VT's only "biomed" option is integrated within the Engineering Science major as an undergrad, and may be possible as a focus for chem.</p>
<p>Nevertheless, I feel that both are outstanding engineering schools and each would prepare me properly for the engineering world. I have discussed my decision with teachers, councelors, and my father (a systems engineer). I hope my choice and reasoning will help any others that are trying to make the same decision.</p>
<p>Ok, I talked to my son who is Biomed at Vanderbilt. He is graduating this year and got into several great PHD programs. He has settled on Boston University. He says that while UVA is not the top ranked engineering program it is ranked very high for Biomedical engineering. If you would like I would be happy to send you his e-mail address and he would be happy to answer any questions you have.</p>