<p>Part of the reason I chose Michigan is because its CoE is well respected and ranked highly in various polls. However, I heard that after you land your first or second job, the engineering program you completed (UM CoE) will not be regarded much differently from any other DECENT program in the country (villanova, Lehigh, etc.) Since they are accredited by the same thing.
Is this true? I'm on the east coast so why go all the way to Michigan if being #7 in USNews won't matter that much in the long run?</p>
<p>That’s true pretty much anywhere you go. The Michigan name will help you get your first job, though.</p>
<p>However, if your goal is to be an engineer and you have much cheaper options than UMich, I would seriously consider the cost/benefit trade-offs… You likely won’t see any return on your investment over a cheaper and lower ranked engineering program - unfortunately.</p>
<p>I can’t imagine Villanova or Lehigh, both being private, are that much cheaper to attend than Michigan. Of course that is unless you get substantial scholarships at either school.</p>
<p>“I’m on the east coast so why go all the way to Michigan if being #7 in USNews won’t matter that much in the long run?”</p>
<p>You have to get your first job. Much easier to find work graduating from a top school where they come to you for recruitment.</p>
<p>Every one’s reply is correct. After having job(s) for while, UM degree carries little weight afterward. But here is a counter-argument: UM and other top tier schools offer you some outstanding opportunities after graduation that lesser ranking school probably can’t. Thus, getting your first job with a respectful well known organization will help you greatly finding another job and another job (chain reaction) after graduating from top ranked schools. Yet I know engineers in fact many who graduated from much less schools and yet found their ways to respectful organization. Final thought, if you are going to pay substantial amount just to attend Michigan, then find less expensive schools. If tuition and cost of living are relatively conmparable with +/- $20,000 the most, then choice is yours and picking Michigan won’t hurt but in fact would be better. Go blue!</p>
<p>Yeah your right they are not cheaper lol, and I suppose that’s just the nature of engineering which is still a great field to study so nothing to complain about. And though job wise the engineering degree won’t hold much of a different value from one school to the next, in daily life there will still be more respect given to the UM student.</p>
<p>^TheLae, don’t forget that the quality of your first job is directly related to the future quality of your SECOND job. And 3rd job. It is much easier to advance your career if you have a solid first job with a top tier company – provided you do something with the opportunity. It is more difficult (though some do it) to advance to a good job from a mediocre job at a regional-only company. So while there might be diminishing apparent returns on the UMich degree after your first job, there are NOT diminishing returns on the nature of that first job, if you get what I mean.</p>
<p>yeah I’m a little reassured. I guess that’s why prestige of school and program matter and why tons of kids choose UM engineering over others- nature of first job that sets a chain reaction for future. I just felt cheated because here comes a long a good school with a highly ranked engineering program that accepts me just to be told that my state school (Rutgers) would land me not too far from where UM would…and that only business majors enjoy the benefits of the prestige of their school.</p>
<p>^I think you’re looking at it wrong. Why feel “cheated” if you’ve chosen the program for fit? If you’ve chosen the program for prestige alone without a strong sense of fit, then you’ve chosen for the wrong reasons and still have time to change your mind. In other words, if your sense of fit is that fragile, don’t spend the $; go to Rutgers! You kind of have to own your decision, not let external factors validate or invalidate it.</p>
<p>Your high school results got you admissions into a number of very good engineering programs. But they will be irrelevant when it comes time for your first job; at that point it will be your college results that matter. Your ability to advance from one job to the next will have less and less to do with where you went to school and hinge almost entirely on how well you performed in your most recent positions. Michigan may or may not get you more/better interview opportunities than your other schools (though you’ll do well from Lehigh) but ultimately your career will come down to how your apply your knowledge.</p>
<p>Or as dear old Dad used to say, “People pay for results and results don’t lie.”</p>
<p>…A few other ways the Michigan will help. If you plan to ever go to graduate school after you have worked, going to umich and being able get good letters from faculty here will help you get into a better grad school. Unlike undergrad, the University you get a PhD, Law degree, or MBA will matter for the rest of your career.</p>
<p>Internship opportunities you get will also be very helpful in your career. My experience was that a string of solid internship experiences were considered and helped me get that 2nd job. You sometimes learn stuff in your internship experiences, and gain a greater understanding of what companies and jobs you may or may not want to work for.</p>
<p>Isn’t the [work experience>prestige of undergrad school/program] true for many fields in regards to getting future jobs? Especially hands on jobs? Not just engineering? Although I know for business prestige of school/program does matter.</p>
<p>Business is no different. Undergrad degree prestige helps quality of recruiting opportunities - but once you are in that first job, it is what you know, what you have learned and how you perform in that job that brings you to the next level. When you apply for grad school, then yes, your undergrad matters again. It is not different for engineering vs business - really.</p>
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<p>No engineering school can land you anywhere. Ultimately you get hired for your skills, knowledge, problem-solving ability, and so on. That’s what matters. The stamp on the diploma is just a stamp; it does’t matter how prestigious a university you’re looking at.</p>
<p>The reason you’re going to an engineering program is so you can be educated, gain skills, and learn how to be an effective engineer. At the most “prestigious” programs, almost every student who completes the program is capable of succeeding in almost every entry position. That’s why these schools are considered “prestigious.” And that’s why you should consider Michigan.</p>
<p>Ultimately though, it’s all up to you. Michigan Engineering has the resources and talent to help make you into an awesome engineering candidate - but it’s entirely dependent on you working for it and succeeding. Just because you attend a school and finish with a degree doesn’t guarantee you anything, no matter how prestigious a program you’re looking at. And after you graduate, and begin work, the only thing that matters is the kind of results you deliver. So I think you should change your perspective on how to pick schools.</p>