So, I am still in High School and I have been taking a few engineering courses and so far I REALLY like it. Soon enough I should be heading to college, yet I’m not quite sure what kind of Engineer I want to be, but I was wondering if any of you had suggestions of great engineering schools in the U.S. and all over the world and what you studied there, and maybe even what kind of experience you had there.

:P Go Engineering!

ime333 - 12 September 2008 11:50 AM

So, I am still in High School and I have been taking a few engineering courses and so far I REALLY like it. Soon enough I should be heading to college, yet I’m not quite sure what kind of Engineer I want to be, but I was wondering if any of you had suggestions of great engineering schools in the U.S. and all over the world and what you studied there, and maybe even what kind of experience you had there.

:P Go Engineering!

There are great engineering schools in nearly every state in the US.  Some have very big names but also come with big tuition and fees.  Look at the state schools where you live—they are usually the StateName Tech or A&M;.  They are the land grant colleges.  Of course, this naming rule is not always true—in Indiana for example the big engineering school is Purdue (and a very good school if I do say so myself!).

I am at Purdue and I am studying Computer Forensics as a PhD student.  I am working with one of the foremost experts in this field.  I know that one of the foremost experts in Biometrics is also at Purdue.

Something that Purdue emphasizes is undergraduate research.  If you are interested, you will have the opportunity to do real research and publish with your professors.  This is a great opportunity.

Another option is to come to Canada.  Even as an international student, your tuition fees may be much less than in the States for great schools.  For example, Waterloo is a really well known school but doesn’t cost more than other universities in Ontario.  I go to Carleton, and we have a great rep for engineering, as well as an engineering society that is admired nationally.  (I’m in computer science, though, so I can’t tell you much more than that!)

I’m at the University of Minnesota-Twin Cities, and we’re the second largest public school in the country, which sounds scary, but it gives us a lot of opportunities other schools don’t necessarily have. We’re a public research university, which means we focus a lot on research, as an undergrad especially in engineering/the sciences. All of our engineering programs are high in the ratings, and tuition is pretty average for a state school. Coming from out of state is a little expensive, but we have a lot of scholarship options, and being a female going into engineering qualifies you for more than the average student. I’m studying biomedical engineering, and I love it. I love the program and the school, hence the sales pitch above.

My advice is to look at a lot of schools however, and visit campuses! Campus visits mean so much more than just reading brochures. (Maybe I’m biased, I’m a tour guide here...)

Good luck in your search!

Most schools have a qualifying year for specific fields. If your grades are high enough you can choose whatever field you want. Lower GPAs will be limited. If you can, talk to engineers in the various fields you are interested in. Then you’ll get a feel for what you could do.

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Do you have a specific field of engineering in mind? I went to Carnegie Mellon University and adored it, and would be happy to share my experiences (though I was in Comp Sci and not engineering necessarily.)

Cal Tech, Stanford, MIT, CMU, Rochester Polytechnic, etc.: these folks are the big names lots of people know, though none is right for everyone. The suggestion of Waterloo is a good one too—I know many people from there and they are all very smart and liked their experiences there. Some schools have specific strengths, and there are a number of great state schools to choose from (I think Unhiversity of Washington has some good programs out here, but I’m sure they’re not the only ones.)

Think about what else is important to you at college. Do you want to double major in something completely unrelated, or do you want to participate in research early on? Extracurriculars? Heavy class load? These can help you sort through the dizzying choices. Have fun and good luck!

Tufts University has a stellar undergraduate engineering program.  It was also where NerdGirls was founded!

I will have to throw my support behind Penn State. I earned a degree in Civil Engineering, and their program is one of the tops in the country. Best of luck in your selection!

Thank you all for letting me know your experiences at certain universities, it is helping a lot in my college research!

i’m at ohio state (in their computer science and engineering program) and i love it.

also, i have friends at rose-hulman in indiana, which is a great engineering school.

good luck in choosing a university! :)