<p>How is the Engineering department - anyone here know about Comp Eng?</p>
<p>Second rate</p>
<p>The BME and ChemE departments are by far the strongest, and get the most attention/funding from the school.
The rest of the departments may not be the best, but I wouldn’t use the term “second rate.”</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>Does that mean they are easier to get into than other programs such as the business or CAS schools?</p>
<p>^From what I recall from applying, you get into the engineering school as a whole. I don’t think I even mentioned I was BME when applying (filled out a 1 page sheet the summer before freshmen year so they could give me an advisor).</p>
<p>So no, no it does not. Either way, it’s hard to claim that one school is ‘easier’ than another. For example, I probably wouldn’t have gotten into WashU had I applied to the b-school, since nothing on my app implied I wanted anything to do with business.</p>
<p>And again, I definitely wouldn’t call the engineering school “second rate” at all. It may not be MIT, but using the term second rate implies you can’t get all that good an education from there. There are certainly tons of weak spots, but as I’m BME and not MechE/Systems/Comp/etc. I really can’t speak for those departments.</p>
<p>As far as getting into WashU, the Engineering school is definitely still selective enough that you won’t help your odds by applying there. Or, despite the admission rate being <em>slightly</em> higher in engineering, you’d be doing MUCH more for your chances of getting in by applying where you want to be and communicating your interest in that subject through your application - a student who wants to be an IPH major is going to have a very tough time communicating a passion for civil engineering, in other words, so don’t warp your application.</p>
<p>The BME and Chem E departments are top notch, and I would venture to say that the Comp Sci / Comp Eng departments are pretty strong as well (albeit a bit short-staffed at the moment). </p>
<p>Not sure what statistics visitor1 is referring too, although some aspects of the engineering school are definitely not as strong/prominent as others. cheers.</p>
<p>WUSTL engineering school = #46</p>
<p>[Rankings</a> - Best Engineering Schools - Graduate Schools - Education - US News and World Report](<a href=“http://grad-schools.usnews.rankingsandreviews.com/best-graduate-schools/top-engineering-schools/rankings/page+2]Rankings”>http://grad-schools.usnews.rankingsandreviews.com/best-graduate-schools/top-engineering-schools/rankings/page+2)</p>
<p>(These are the graduate rankings, which are more readily available, but they correlate with undergraduate rankings because you are dealing with the same professors and graduate students.)</p>
<p>Well if you are looking for BME specifically. I think WashU is ranked somewhere in the top 10 for best BME program. thats still pretty impressive</p>
<p>Neither Chem E nor BME are top 10. Chem E is not even top 20.
Civil is closing.</p>
<p>imagine, a department that isn’t even top 20 ??? what is higher education coming to… lol.</p>
<p>visitor- BME is # 10 in the grad. school rankings.</p>
<p>Undergrad is not top 10, however, both the grad. school and undergrad. are run by the same man, and he definitely emphasizes the undergrad side.</p>
<p>Either way, the undergrad rankings are based nearly solely off of peer assessment.</p>
<p>I really don’t get visitor’s and interestingguy’s vendetta against WashU. It’s rather sad.</p>
<p>I’m a current BME student, so I figure I can give a decent overview. Top engineering school is BME. WUSTL is both stereotypically and in actuality dominated by premeds (example: there are 700 total students taking Gen Chem. this semester). This is actually rather short lived however, because many of these students will be weeded out. Chem E is the clear 2nd place of the engineering school (BME just got a brand new facility, and another one is in the works that will be shared with Chem E). If you are interested in Civil or Aerospace, turn away. They are either being shut down, or deemphasized. For Mech E, you can’t do wrong with us. We have a great physics department (at least if you take 197 over 117; helpful for Mech E’s), and a respectable Mech E department (remember, BME is a broad field including biomechanics aka. Mech E work in “biological disguise”). Comp sci/eng, I’ve heard conflicting things. Some people say its pretty good, others say otherwise. The consensus is that it’s at least decent.</p>
<p>I don’t know if anyone will still be looking at this thread, but I’m applying to WashU as a prospective ChemE major. I really loved WashU but am slightly nervous about the ChemE dept. I also applied to big state schools like Michigan, Purdue, and Illinois. I don’t know(assuming i actually get accepted) if WashU’s ChemE program is even close to comparable to Illinois’s. Illinois’s is ranked higher, but I just loved WashU so much. I was wondering if anyone had any more info (other than what’s already been said) or any advice for me. Thanks.</p>
<p>^^
my biggest piece of advice for you is to look at undergraduate quality. U of I’s GRADUATE program is ranked higher. As far as I know, there is no ranking guide that measures undergrad quality.</p>
<p>WHY? because there are only so many ways you can teach Physics, Thermodynamics, Chemistry, etc, at the undergrad level, and Chemical Engineering isn’t the only thing you’re studying in college. What the deciding factors should be, are things like:</p>
<p>-undergrad research positions for undergraduates (of which Wash U has TONS of… over half of kids do research here, especially in engineering)
-the quality of the facilities (Wash U is finishing construction on the new Chemical Engineering building, which you’ll take full advantage of next year… it’s huge [Washington</a> University Engineering ? New Engineering Complex](<a href=“http://engineering.wustl.edu/NewEngineeringComplex.aspx]Washington”>http://engineering.wustl.edu/NewEngineeringComplex.aspx))
-class sizes (I’d assure you that Wash U has smaller classes than the big schools you’re looking at)
-ability to do more than one thing… if you want a double major or a minor in something else, Wash U is really good about this
-Last year, I know that a bunch of Chemical Engineering majors went to China during summer olympics to do air quality research on site. i’d imagine that there are other chances to do research and take classes in other countries in the engineering school
-Campus size/location/feel… Does Wash U have a good size? Is being nearby a large/medium sized city like St Louis good for you? or do you want a much smaller city, or really big one? Does Wash U have the “feel” that you’re looking for? Do you want an involved campus, or one that studies all the time in the library? Do dorm/food quality matter to you? </p>
<p>As I’m sure most other current college students would agree with me, the things that differentiate college to college now are the qualitative things that you can’t really measure. For Grad school, it’s a lot different, because that program is ALL you’ll be studying. In undergrad, you’re on a college campus, studying more than one thing, are primarily taking pretty basic standard classes that every college offers, you’re living in the dorms, involved in extracurriculars, and meeting new people. Certainly, Wash U’s Engineering program is nothing to scoff at (even at the graduate level), and I’m pretty sure that the academic facilities and research positions for undergrad are unparalleled here, but what makes Wash U really stand out are the qualitative things. </p>
<p>Also, Wash U’s chemical engineering program is also joined with the Environmental Engineering program. I’ve heard that that this is really unique and something Wash U is proud of… environmental sustainability is a big push on campus it seems (as it is in the professional engineering world, in general), and the Chemical Engineering students would have a really solid foundation in environmental engineering to add to their expertise in Chemical Engineering. I’d assume this would really make you in really high demand when applying for graduate programs and jobs, because I don’t imagine kids from other colleges would have this combination.</p>
<p>Oh my gosh, thanks for all your advice!!! I really loved WashU and it’ll definitely be a top choice. (I just need to figure out how to pay for it) You’ve really been helpful and I really appreciate it.</p>
<p>Any take on the Computer Science classes?</p>