<p>I was recently admitted to Berkeley and Hopkins for Engineering. As of now, I have decided on mechanical engineering, but I know I will end up exploring other types of engineering. The most important thing to me is which school has a better education and where I will be more successful. I understand that Berkeley is ranked #3 for engineering, but Hopkins has a much better overall ranking (#12). I know I shouldn’t care too much about ranking, but it seems as if that will be an important factor when I graduate and am applying to grad schools or looking for internships/jobs.</p>
<p>Educations will be similar. Environments and costs could be very different.<br>
What are your out-of-pocket cost differences? If one is significantly cheaper than the other, choose that school. If costs are similar, choose for the environment you’d prefer.</p>
<p>Cost is not an issue for me. I have not visited either school yet, so I can not tell which environment I would prefer. I think I would love either environment, although they are quite different… but as for the education, I think there are a lot of differences between the two and I don’t want to make the wrong decision!</p>
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You may think you “know” this, but it simply is not true. If you have a decent GPA and an internship, you are going to be a strong candidate for future employers. If you have also taken the time to get to know some profs, you will be a strong candidate for grad schools. HS kids obsess about rankings, but employers and grad schools don’t. Neither would you if you bothered to look at the criteria used for the rankings: here is is <a href=“http://www.usnews.com/education/best-graduate-schools/articles/2013/03/11/methodology-best-engineering-schools-rankings[/url]”>http://www.usnews.com/education/best-graduate-schools/articles/2013/03/11/methodology-best-engineering-schools-rankings</a> There are some premier schools where everyone wants to talk to their grads (MIT, Caltech, Stanford), but after that within a pretty broad tier anyone with a strong background is competitive.
Then you better think carefully about the wisdom of enrolling at Cal. It is difficult to switch majors within engineering at UC schools. For that matter, though, I wonder just what you think “exploring” other types might mean. Lower division you’re going to take pretty much the same classes no matter which branch of engineering with the exception of 1 or 2 classes focused on your intended major. You’re not going to have the time or energy to take these classes in more than 1 branch of engineering.</p>
<p>Mikemac: I am a little confused- are you saying that it does not matter where I go for undergrad as long as I maintain a good gpa and involve myself within the school (internships, etc.)? I definitely do think that the “name” of the school holds some value. I mean saying that you graduated from Berkeley engineering vs. ucla engineering would make a difference, for example. And yes, I will admit I obsess over rankings a little too much, but many of the rankings consider the value of the education the most. That is the single most important thing to me. </p>
<p>As for exploring other types of engineering, I am not saying I will take a bunch of different classes in all fields to see which one I like the best. I just know that often times people think they know their major going into college, but they end up changing their mind. Even talking to other students and partaking in different engineering-related activities might sway my interest, I am not entirely sure.</p>
<p>tell me this- what do you think the best decision for me and why?</p>
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No, actually, it doesn’t to engineering employers. If your parents have any friends that work at a company that has an engineering dept, just ask them. </p>
<p>As for changing majors in engineering, it is true that students change their minds a lot. Problem is, at a UC school it is easy to change out of engineering but hard to change into it or even within it. Had a friend that more or less at random put down ChemE when entering a UC because he figured out he could always change it later when he really knew. Turned out he liked EE a lot, but his GPA was in the B range and the dept wouldn’t let him change majors. True story. Point being, the chances of you changing majors at a UC school within engineering are not high. Even if you really, really, want to.
Think long and hard about whether Cal is right. It doesn’t sound like you know enough about what you want to be to make the committment to MechE; you should have spent time junior year talking to engineers, reading about it, finding out whether it was really a good fit. Because if you go to Cal and don’t like it then the chances of changing, at least to another branch of engineering, are not great. As Cal says on its engineering page, “Many of our majors are highly impacted and are thus very limited in the number of requests for change of major they can accommodate”</p>
<p>That said, I know nothing about Hopkins. Maybe its more flexible, maybe not. I don’t know about the campus environment there, type of students it attracts, advising system, class size, how hard it is to get the classes you need, who recruits on campus, how accessible profs are to undergrads, whether the environment is cutthroat or friendly, where students live, I could go on but you get the picture. But as someone just about to make your final choice you know about all these things in addition to their ranking, right?</p>
<p>As to what you should do, my answer is stop obsessing over rankings. Focus on YOU and what you need to do in college. That means putting in the work to get good grades and really learn the material, taking part in student projects so that you build some real-world aptitude for engineering, leveraging that into internships so you are more attractive to future employers, and getting to know some profs in case you need good recs for grad school. Taking part in research, should an opportunity occur, is also a good idea.</p>
<p>I agree with Mikemac, ddjm05. Ranking might be important to some, but what seems to work well for many is to visit the school, talk to the department staff and faculty (when possible), and see how it feels. Will the environment and curriculum feel right?</p>
<p>Full disclosure: I’m the Academic Program Administrator for the Johns Hopkins University’s Mechanical Engineering department.</p>
<p>I’ve told many prospective students and their families to make sure that Hopkins feels like the right fit. Does the curriculum, the classes being offered, opportunities for research, and student life excite you? Can you see yourself embedded in and operating in the environment and culture of the university? I have told prospective students that if it does not feel right, or if our courses aren’t what you’re seeking to learn, then Hopkins might not be their school.</p>
<p>That being said, I’d be happy to answer your questions about Johns Hopkins University and our department. If you’re visiting the campus soon, let’s meet. We can spend time discussing the university and our programs.</p>
<p>@MikeB1Bear, do you find that undergraduate ranking does not impact graduate school placements? I know BME, not mechanical, is Hopkin’s specialty, but does that mean fewer kids get into say, MIT, than from Berkeley?</p>
<p>I’m not sure that I can answer that question effectively, Vikingprime. I would like to believe that graduate schools admit students based on their merit. For example, in our MechE graduate program, while GPA and exam scores are important, what we find more valuable are the recommendation letters and the statement of purpose. </p>
<p>There is probably some scrutiny on the applicant’s undergrad school, especially with little known universities, but our collective faculty has enough experience and knowledge that they would be able to discern the quality of a school from just about anywhere. </p>
<p>We’ve admitted students from all over the world - from prestigious “big name” schools like MIT and Stanford to smaller, less famous schools. Admission also depends on “best fit.” A PhD applicant might have the best GPA, scores, and letters but if his or her interests are not similar enough to the research going on or coming up with our professors, they aren’t going to be admitted. But an applicant who’s thrilled to work with our projects going on or coming up would likely be admitted.</p>
<p>I hope that helps.</p>
<p>Mikemac: Thank you for taking the time to write all of that. I really appreciate your response. You have presented such valuable information that I definitely will take into consideration. I know I am only a high school student and I have a lot to learn, so I do trust your judgement and I understand what you are saying. </p>
<p>I actually do have experience with Mechanical Engineering- I did a mechanical engineering internship at the Haptics Lab at the University of Pennsylvania and I absolutely loved it. However, I don’t know if my interests will change or if I might like another field better. I just want to end up pursuing a major that I genuinely like. And I think that will ultimately make me successful. This entire process is just so nerve-wrecking and I am hoping the decision will be easier to make once I visit the schools.</p>
<p>MikeB1Bear: I would love to meet with you. I have many questions that I would like to ask. I only live an hour away from campus, so I can visit the school whenever. Please let me know when is most convenient for you.</p>
<p>Thanks for the answer! Do you know whether BME also accepts people from lesser known schools or is that just the MechE program? I’m asking because I would assume more people from schools like MIT and Stanford apply to JHU BME (because it’s more well known) than to MechE, so you would probably have more MIT and Stanford undergrads to choose from for BME.</p>
<p>The reason I am asking is because i have the choice between UC Berkeley and Vanderbilt university at the moment and I would like to go to a grad school that has the best faculty + research opportunities for my major (which will be either comp sci or double e). I’m afraid grad schools would look at a Vanderbilt engineering degree with less enthusiasm than a Berkeley engineering or comp sci degree.</p>
<p>ddmj05: Yes, certainly, you’re welcome to visit. If you have been admitted as a member of the Johns Hopkins Class of 2017, join us at our “SOHOP” events if you can (SOHOP = Spring Open House and Overnight Program). They’re on Thursdays, April 11 and April 18. I understand admitted students must decide by May 1. </p>
<p>If those days don’t work, please tell me days and times that would. We ought to do this soon, as I’m going to be out for a couple weeks sometime soon for a surgical procedure. The date is not yet set but I suspect it’ll be around the end of April. E-mail me at <a href=“mailto:mike.bernard@jhu.edu”>mike.bernard@jhu.edu</a> and we can continue the discussion there.</p>
<p>Vikingprime: I don’t know what BME’s admission criteria is, but I would suspect they accept applicants more on merit vs. the school one attends or “who you know.” Check out the JHU website at bme dot jhu dot edu. On their people page, you might want to look up Sam Bourne or Cathy Jancuk and ask them your questions about JHU BME.</p>
<p>Oh, and about Vanderbilt, one of our MechE PhD graduates, Bob Webster is a MechE professor there. If you’re considering MechE at Vanderbilt, look him up.</p>