Doubledian

So the title says it all; I'm down to three schools and I have approximately 8 days to decide. I am an OOS student from Massachusetts hoping to major in chemical engineering and minor in a business concentration, which will most likely be finance. Since I am OOS I will be racking up some student debt so I do not plan on attending grad school after. I also didn't qualify for financial aid but my parents can't really pay for the whole thing. I will have to pay approximately half of the total bill.

How many people get job offers in engineering out of UVA and how many offers do they typically get? I looked at statistics on the UVA page and it seemed like only 1/3 of people in ChemE actually got job offers, which is a big problem for me. Being a pessimist, I could see myself being in the other 2/3.

How many engineers take advantage of the business minor from the McIntyre School and do they like doing it? Also do some engineers switch from engineering to business and how hard is that to do? With my student loans being so high after UVA, it might be advantageous for me to major in a business field to earn a higher salary.

After which year do most engineering students get internships? Also being from Massachusetts, would UVA be able to get me an internship in my area so that I can live at home during the summer?

Are there on campus interviews for internships?

Finally how does UVA compare to UMich? I mean UMich's college of engineering has much more of a cache than UVA's but UVA's engineering department is also smaller which I liked. I guess what it comes down to is, would I be better off majoring in chemical engineering at UVA with a minor from McIntyre or at UMich's college of Engineering and Ross Business School? I suppose this is a 1 and 1A sort of question but any feedback would be great!!

Globalist

Where did you get the hiring stats for Chemical Engineering grads? I checked the UVa site, and couldn't find it.

Doubledian

http://www.seas.virginia.edu/careerd...nualreport.pdf

Anyone else?

uvajack

Where is that 1/3 statistic? I would think it would be way higher than that. You must also account for the fact that many will pursue graduate work instead of applying for jobs directly out of the eng-school

Globalist

Yeah, I don't see any hiring percentages mentioned in that PDF, Doubledian. What it does say is that over 180 companies recruit at the Engineering School, so I wouldn't worry too much about getting a job. If you do academically well and are pro-active about job-hunting, I'm sure you'll get a good position.

tb2588

What many HS seniors don't realize is that when you're graduating with an engineering degree from a school like UVA or UMich, the name of the school you come from isn't going to affect your job offers very much.

I'm not where you see that only 1/3rd of grads get job offers... that is just absurd.

With the exception of a person graduating with a D-average, there will always be engineering jobs available for good students.

cavalier302

doubledian, all three of your choices are excellent. What is the money situation like at each one? I absolutely would not pay more to attend Case Western. It's a good school, but the job recruiting there is not as strong as at UMich/UVa, and it lacks a strong social life and sports scene. I turned down a full tuition offer @ Case and don't regret it at all.

Choosing between Michigan and UVa is more difficult. Both have a ton to do outside of the classroom, great academics, great surrounding areas and great job recruiting. They're really very similar in a lot of ways. UVa does have better weather, if that's a particular concern to you. Michigan has a larger and more established engineering program that also happens to be ranked higher. That's not significant at the undergraduate level, though, as the engineering job market isn't terribly competitive and undegraduate prestige matters more than departmental prestige. That means that an engineer from Yale will likely get an interview with a high-end silicon valley firm before a Purdue or Virginia Tech firm, even though Purdue and VT have more highly ranked engineering departments. Firms are more interested in smart, versatile applicants, and as I said, the engineering job market isn't terribly competitive. As a chemE, EE, mechE, etc grad, you will have no trouble finding a job paying $60+k with firms like Northrop Grumman, Lockheed, ExxonMobil and others. Additionally, at UVa and UMich, you'll have the option of interviewing with consulting firms, investment banks and other financial firms. Hopefully you'll discover that most career engineers toil away in cubicles making 5-figure salaries while their (former english major) managers with MBAs make all the money. Engineering is alright for a few years out of college, but from what I've been exposed to, it's pretty lame (especially for someone smart enough to get into UMich and UVa OOS) career-wise (unless you get further education and get into R&D or something).

So I'd narrow the choice down to UVa vs UMich and choose based on cost and personal preference. Have you visited either? Do you have any preferences w.r.t. weather? Did you get aid from either one? I've lived in Ann Arbor and have family at UMich, but for me, choosing UVa was obvious.

Doubledian

I calculated the 1/3 statistic based on the number of graduates having jobs and the total number of graduates. Of course the statistic may be a bit misleading because not all graduates reported to career services. Also for Case Western I received half tuition. Thanks cavalier302 for the helpful reply.

MechWahoo

The majority of ChemE majors I know plan to go to grad school, so I'm sure 1/3 is inaccurate.