ExplorerCY

^^^my point is that it is as good as those engineering schools that will "shock and awe" everyone...

--yes, i use font styles to prove my point

ken285

You make assertions, yet you say nothing to back it up.

Purdue is a great school, but i'll stop short of saying it will shock and awe everyone.

xjis

if 'shock and awe' were what you were after ('wow! you goto Purdue?!' stuff), you wouldn't be going to Purdue in the first place.

why do you think so many kids apply to brown or harvard engineering who have poor eng rankings in the first place? no matter what the eng rankings say, those are the schools that will bring shock-and-awe from general audiences.

ExplorerCY

again. i said though Purdue and UIUC are not "shock and awe" (am suddenly disgusted by overuse of the phrase) schools, they are just as good as those that are.

Blah2009

And you know this how?

ExplorerCY

i have talked to high-up people of a major aero company (not just some small firm) who told me that the graduates from those schools are as good if not better than the ones from the high prestige schools
Blah-- Your question pegs you as just another example of people being blinded by admissions stats and superficial prestige.

ken285

Education-wise, there is probably very little difference between top schools. That doesn't have anything to do with the original question though, which asks why Purdue and UIUC aren't mentioned in the same breath as MIT and Cornell as often. I think that has more to do with the fact that they're in the midwest. Mass media tends to focus on northeast schools and California schools, and the media probably has as much of an effect on perceived prestige as anything else. The movies usually portray the rocket scientist nerd as a MIT alum rather than a Purdue alum and the reverse for a star football player. I'm not saying these are correct stereotypes, but merely what the media represents.

And I don't think it's fair of you to assume Blah is "blinded by admission stats and superficial prestige." He merely questioned your information sources, which should be expected on an internet forum.

xjis

well, i kind of agree that there is almost no difference education-wise among top schools...

see, the thing with awe-inspiring schools is that, ppl don't go awe particularly because of the caliber of those schools, but because the fact that you have been admitted there proves that you were among the top of your peers.

for instance, i have no idea who the faculties are at Olin or anything about caliber of its engineering programs, but i have utmost respect for its students just because i know that school is extremely competitive to get in.

keefer

but if you look back, at least i did, don't you think the SAT, the easy high school classes were ridiculous basis on which to judge a person's intelligence? I spent a total of 5 hours prepping for the SAT, and maybe 5 hours a week studying in high school. Which is nothing compared to the rigor of an engineering curriculum in college.

ExplorerCY

east coast schools like Cornell and CM may be more discriminatory in admissions, but the quality of education and job offers is equal or better in midwest schools.

aibarr

But you really have nothing aside from a few guys' opinions to back that up, and everyone's got some bias.

Why not go to Purdue and gather some evidence, rather than slingin' fightin' words?

btw... font styles don't prove points, they just highlight them.

ExplorerCY

a few guys and USNWR...

anyway... the point of this thread was that midwest engineering schools are underrated in CC. and i don't think anyone has disagreed with that.

aibarr

You're not going to get far with me saying that USNews said it's so. I speak from personal experience when I say that I don't think an undergrad engineering degree from UIUC (which I TA'd classes for) holds a candle to what Rice undergrad engineering produces, so I'm going to take everything they say with a grain of salt and recommend that everyone else do the same.

Purdue is a good, solid program. You will walk away from there with a degree that, given hard work, a good GPA, and good recommendations, may take you anywhere within your given field... But even USNews doesn't think that it's ranked up there with CalTech and MIT.

ExplorerCY

really... its #6 for aero (tied with UIUC) which is only 1 spot lower than CalTech. I have already said nobody touches MIT, but CM and Cornell don't have much ground to stand on in this. those 2 schools are not *better*.

actually, 11 of the top 20 aero programs are public schools... also the least talked about...

mydegisunacred

I think you're worrying too much about ratings. Between that and this site, your mind is going to be warped when you get to college