I am an International student applying for the Undergraduate Program in Mechanical Engineering .
My major requirements are -
- The college shouldn’t be very large , like shouldn’t make you feel congested.
- I am a robotics enthusiast and have worked on various arduino bots now for almost 3 years and would like to continue my Graduation (MSc in Robotics) and then Phd(Robotics) in long run.(That is why i considered WPI (Robotics))
3)As i am an international student , so i would be paying a hefty fees so i would consider a school with a high starting salary and assured placement after my Undergraduation , so that i can pay off any of my loan or debt and also gather money for my graduation and so on further studies. (That is why i considered WPI , Stevens and NYU Poly)
4)And since i am applying for mechanical i couldn’t leave Purdue and Penn State from the list eventhough they are large school
According to my scores and my requirements i applied to 7 schools -
1)Purdue , 2)WPI , 3)Stevens , 4)NYU Poly , 5)Penn state university , 6) Michigan state uni , 7)IIT Chicago
I also had a doubt that is it true that Undergraduate students from schools like Stevens , NYU Poly and WPI have Very High starting salaries and do they assure your placements as soon as you graduate , Because the salary does matter to me because i would have to pay ff my debt and gather money for my higher studies.
For that reason should i go with WPI over Purdue (Salary over Reputation) also because WPI One of the leading university very much active in robotics (which is my niche)…
Did you think about Case Western? It’s small and has good science/tech departments. It’s small but not too small. Just in the middle. Penn State and NYU might be too big for you. Stevens is nice and small, but even though I’m a NJ resident, I don’t know much about it. No one around me really talks much about it.
I personally know a guy who LOVES WPI. I don’t know much about Purdue either so I can’t comment. It’s not really that the university would guarantee you a job but it’s more like how their career services can help you make the right contacts.
You probably haven’t toured the places since you’re an international, but it’s just down to what you think will fit you best. Purdue and WPI are both leading schools in the science area but they’re also completely different. Purdue is an Indiana flagship and WPI is a small private school in a Massachusetts city. I would personally go with WPI but that’s just me. If you want to go for that reputation, that’s entirely up to you.
:)>- Thank You for your response … Yeah i know that WPI is a really great school , i have been following DRC competition from the day i began my robotics journey and they are a top notch team in that event , so i know the students and the faculty there are good…But can you tell me that why do people do not know much about “WPI” ?
And also does students there get placements soon after their graduation …also tell me that are the salaries same as they state like it is stated that like undergrads from mechanical engg. get an average salary of around 60,000$
Since you are an international student, you will have a few more obstacles in obtaining a permanent position just out of college. It is more likely that you will have a 1.5-2.5 year Optional Practical Training position. There are no guarantees in getting a job from any of the universities that you mention. They all have quite good engineering programs and their graduates are highly sought after but there are never any guarantees of employment. It depends on what you do to make yourself an attractive candidate. In any case, my suggestion is to see where you are admitted that gives you the best financial package so that you don’t have such a high financial burden. It is likely that you will get more financial aid from a private university than a public one.
@TheDidactic Case Western Reserve came to my mind too.
@TheDidactic: NYU-Poly is on a different campus.
@xraymancs 
THANK YOU for your response : I get it that they would not gurantee me a job , but can you tell me that do these univerisities like WPI , Steevens ,NYU Poly and IIT Chicago offer job placements in there campus like just 1 year before graduation , when alot of companies come to your university for recruitment or it is on us to look out for jobs once we graduate.
- Also tell me that most of the people do not know about universities like WPI , Stevens, IIT Chicago ,NYU Poly even in the US , so would it make even make more difficult for me to get a job .
- Also people even in US do not know much about these universities so how do the graduates of these universities have a top notch starting salary like the top 10% of schools in US , so is it even true ?
- I have seen very bad reviews about IIT Chicago ,and NYU “POLY” what is your opinion about the college ?
- I do not know much about Stevens Institute , can you tell me , if you know the college is good or not ?
You will be subject to CPT/OPT work restrictions, then possibilities of a job come from employers and ability to sponsor you for the very very limited and restricted H1B visas available (about 85,000 with some reserved for MS level education), otherwise you will return to your home country. I think it is extra hard to get the Visa without the Master’s but not impossible. Salary doesn’t not necessarily depend on the college you went to. Sometimes same job is filled at same salary and no matter the college Purdue grad would work alongside WPI grad they don’t care. It may help in what kind of company recruits. Colleges help with recruiting but they never guarantee it or get you a job. A lot of job search will be up to you.
If you are a strong student and you get involved in research at your college, it is possible to go directly into a PhD program and those should come with costs covered for tuition, health insurance and a stipend to live on. However that is really for pretty dedicated students working for that goal.
When a college is smaller and graduates less students is is less known outside its region to average people with don’t work in that area. That doesn’t mean it isn’t an excellent college and still well known to graduate schools and employers in the field.
@BrownParent : thank you for your response , I would like to do my master and then my PHD in robotics, that is pretty much sure , but wouldn’t want to cary on debt of my undergraduation to my Postgraduation .
Also what are your thoughts and if you would like to rank by order , please order the universities WPI , Stevens , NYU Poly , IIT Chicago …please tell me graduates of which of these universities have a better reputation among the recruiting companies …keep in mind i am keen in robotics and WPI would be my first choice is it good enough?
8-| ~X( anyone online who can reply on my thread…
Look at Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology in Terre Haute, Indiana.
@gandalf78 i have some fixed expense\s and have already applied to the above uiversities so not going to spend more on application
anyways @gandalf78 tell me how the above said institute RHIT match my requirement :-?
:-S :-w ~X( anyone online…
@gandalf78 RHIT costs upto 60,000$ and offer only a maximum of 5,000$ of financial aid to international students , that would kind of pose a problem for me
OP: Not many people know about WPI because it’s a small school. Has nothing to do with the quality of academics, but WPI doesn’t come to people’s minds because it’s small and private. It’s not a giant sprawling place. Sure, Worcester is a big city but the school itself isn’t big.
@cle4life Oh okay I didn’t know that, thanks. But it’s still in Brooklyn and OP said they wanted small.
@TheDidactic so what are your views on WPI graduates…and overall about WPI