I am having a hard time choosing between these as it is crunching down to decision day, I am looking for some insight. I will be majoring in Industrial Engineering with hopefully working up to managment positions by getting an engineering mangement masters or an mba down the road into my career(insight on which one would help). Cal Poly SLO has been by top choice since application season as it seemed realistic and the weather at atmosphere seems perfect for me. I would not have to go into debt for any of these schools except USC which would run me about 100k over all 4 years.
USC BENEFITS
Name Recognition/Prestige
Higher Advertised starting salary (apparently 110k for Viterbi Grads, insight on this would be helpful)
in LA
good networking/connections/social life opportunites (open up more doors?)
DRAWBACKS
Kinda rough neighborhood
Pretty damn expensive and would have student loans after graduating
CAL POLY BENEFITS
Hands on
Amazing Location
Would be able to graduate in 3 years/ get a masters in 4 with their 4+1 program ( dont know how helpful this would be for job hunt)
Well knwon for engineering in cali? ( insight would help on this as well)
CAL POLY DRAWBACKS
OOS Tuition (parents might move to cali for in state but dont know if it works like that and how soon that would happen)
CAL POLY POMONA BENEFTS
Same name as CAL POLY? decent recognition plus good location for internships around LA? ( speculation)
Price (Less then my in state options due to WUE).
CAL POLY POMONA DRAWBACKS
social life
Vistied campus and was decently surprised by how nice it was, however is a commuter campus and could defninity tell that
doesnt seem to have as good of a reputation as SLO out of state
seems like everytone goes to get their degree and leave would be hard to make geniune connections.
SMU Benefits
gave me decent scholarship + honors admitance + acceptance into Pre Law Scholars (was considering Law school maybe patent law in the future dont know how prestigous this is they say only 40 people get it a year)
Location
SMU DRAWBACKS
-Engineering Manamgent Science degree so dont know if that would get me hired it says its a blend of operations management and industrial engineering but insight if any current students see this would be appreciated.
Not as well known/ranked for engineering.
**LEHIGH BENEFITS **
Acceptance into 4+1 Program
Ranked top 20 for undergrad programs for Industrial Engineering
Really high ROI mid career ( insight would be helpful as to why)
Half tution scholarship
LEHIGH DRAWBACKS
So far away and so cold
Dont really know if I want to work on the east coast.
Is not well known for any other types of engineering except industrial
Not sure about the name reputation of the college as the whole
IF you read all of this and made it this far, thank you and please let me know, I am losing it.
This doesn’t apply to materials engineering, but my husband is in Construction Management at the Port of Long Beach and he has several interns from CPP. They make a very nice wage. From what I understand–CPP has great connections in So Cal industries throughout the academic year–not just during the summer. This is likely an advantage over SLO.
My son graduated in 2021 in IOE and loves it. But not from these schools. Don’t go into debt. If you can afford SLO then go there. Your parents attempting to move for instate not sure that will work so research and ask the school. SLO seems to have a solid program.
Go with SLO, while CPP is an excellent school it has a lot of commuters. For OOS, SLO is better. If you are not sure of the major, consider Lehigh as it might be easier to change majors there.They also have a IBE major which is very popular.
I doubt USC IEs are making that much and they don’t show by major. If they make that much they are in non engineering roles. Purdue is $80k.
Ga Tech is $85K median. Yes, companies pay by location…but the USC #s seem high and they’re not showing by major. We don’t know how many reported salaries, etc. No way I’m paying Viterbi.
If you like the school, Lehigh is the best value here.
They show $81,524. Now, do you want to spend $200K more at USC and take that chance of value? That’s up to you.
Good luck.
PS - it’s engineering - prestige means little. If you like LA and it’s awesome - but the income taxes are nuts!!
Cal Poly is well known everywhere - but it needn’t be. It needs to be ABET and it is.
Cal Poly Pomona is more a commuter school - can’t compare to SLO.
SMU - pre law is a gimmick. Anyone can go to law school - get a good LSAT.
Lehigh - what makes you think you’d have to work ont he east coast? You can work anywhere today. It’s known for all engineering but it’s not relevant. Engineering isn’t about prestige.
If you want to be out west, SLO - but Lehigh is the right choice for value and outcome here.
Please do not base your decision on “what students earn when they graduate”. The data can have many flaws and should be a small consideration in the decision making process. an excellent discussion is found here:
This will be an issue for you. @Gumbymom can comment.
You won’t get instate status your first year for sure. And since you are will already be IN college in CA, I’m not sure how easy establishing instate residency for tuition purposes will be in CA.
@sshad133:
Cal states are not as strict about California residency for tuition purposes but I would clarify with SLO or CPP about intent since your goal is to come to California for educational purposes.
You also need to show you’re not here solely for education.
The term “California resident” for tuition purposes may differ from other definitions of California residency. A person who has a California driver’s license/vehicle registration or who is a California resident for tax, voting or welfare purposes may have established legal residence in the state but might not necessarily be considered a resident for in-state tuition purposes.
Initial Classification:
When a student first comes to the CSU as either a first-time freshman or as a transfer, the student must have legal capacity to establish residency. If a student is under the age of 19, he/she cannot establish residency on their own; their status derives from their parent or legal guardian’s residence.
The two requirements to be considered for initial classification are:
Physical Presence: A student must be physically present in California ONE YEAR PRIOR to the Residence Determination Date (in which enrollment is contemplated).
Intent: A student must intend to remain in California ONE YEAR PRIOR to the Residence Determination Date.
There’s your answer. Don’t go to USC. $100k in debt is financial suicide at your age. I would opt for SMU. Most employers recruit locally or regionally. Texas has a very strong economy and you can afford a nice house on your salary if you choose to live there. California, not so much. Plus, graduation from an honors program is a tangible accomplishment you can put on a resume.
Lehigh is well known for engineering everywhere and they’re very good at it with a wide variety of engineering majors, not . just industrial. Their integrated business and engineering program is excellent as is their 4+1 business engineering program.
If true that you can complete a degree at Cal Poly SLO in 3 years, that would make the cost competitive with Lehigh. Truly a great school. Either of these 2 options would be excellent choices.
Step 1: Eliminate USC. It isn’t affordable, and your affordable schools are competitive with USC in terms of engineering reputation, anyway.
Step 2: Decide which Cal Poly campus you would attend, if it were between those two. The cost differential is significant, but if you can afford SLO, there are certainly reasons why it could be worth spending more, in terms of both reputation and student experience. Also, if your parents do move to CA and do so relatively soon, the cost differential could drop.
Step 3: SMU vs. Lehigh. In my opinion, Lehigh wins here. The SMU engineering management science degree isn’t ABET accredited, and the pre-law thing is a red herring - you don’t need it and will more than likely end up choosing a different law school anyway if you go that route at all. Lehigh is better for what you want, even if it cost the same, and in fact it’s cheaper.
Step 4: update us here on what your final two front-runners are (I’m rooting for SLO vs. Lehigh as you can probably gather) and weigh that decision without the distraction of all the attributes of the other three schools in the mix.
And you may not need an advanced degree for. Management position. While only an n of 2, both my engineering undergrad s’s are senior technical program managers. No advanced degree.
One factor that was important to us was the commitment to gender diversity in engineering. We didn’t appreciate how much that varied across a lot of fantastic programs. USC Viterbi is committed to gender parity, and the impact of that ethos has been bigger than we ever imagined as we explore . Also, the students there seem genuinely happy when we talk to them. BUT! Agree on avoiding 100k of debt however, as much as it’s my favorite among the choices mentioned. But seriously: no debt! You have amazing options – I would probably personally choose Cal Poly SLO or Lehigh, depending on which culture you like better. Both seem to have strong culture and will get you where you want to go. Pushed, I would give slight edge to Cal Poly slo normally but given the price difference, I would only do that if the cost is OK.