Could use some college advice

[Willy36]

CU Boulder's overall engineering program is rated pretty high, but when I try to rank by Mechanical Engineering, it never shows up on any lists. Neither does CSU, but I have heard good things about both programs. Anyone know which would be the better choice based only on the quality of the Mechanical Engineering programs? Maybe some employers who would look at one school over the other for recent grads to hire? TIA.

[jnschwie]

I'm not an engineer, I've never hired an engineer, and I realize there are a few of them on this board.

I cannot begin to comment on engineering.

However, have you visited both schools yet? Walked around? Met with students and professors? Is cost going to be a factor? Is size or location going to matter? You won't spend your entire time studying, is there anything that either school can offer you that the other cannot in terms of extra-curricular interests?

I guess I would encourage you to look beyond "the better choice based only on the quality of the Mechanical Engineering program."

$0.02. :)

[MinesJeep]

Not sure what your grades are, not sure that it matters Mine's is pretty easy to get into, but if your serious about doing a "good" Mechanical Engineeering program and your going to stay in state, you might as well goto Mines. As far as Nationally recognized in the Top 10 non of them would be close, but a degree from Mines has much better long run career path than either CU or CSU. If you wanna party and get a degree in the end goto CSU, I know a few Mechs from their that partied every night.

[Steve]

Maybe some employers who would look at one school over the other for recent grads to hire? TIA.

When I hire a new engineer I give no credence to which school the degree came from. I care that the person got the degree with decent grades, knows how to conduct themselves profesionally and wants to do a good job. Related experience, like in an internship, is a plus, but what school it was carries no weight with me.

...a degree from Mines has much better long run career path than either CU or CSU.

I wouldn't agree with that statement at all. The longer you're out of college and in the field the less it matters where you went to school.

[MinesJeep]

Your right Steve, where your degree comes from matters less in the end but in the immediately following graduation it gives you a better, foot in the door. I gurantee a Mech. from MIT will get a much better starting salary than a person with equal grades from say CU/CSU/Mines. Degree recognition helps get your foot in the door and from there its up to you to determine your career path. I think we both know enough economics to understand, even a small difference in starting salary will in the end compound to much higher NPV of salary.

[ni0h]

Purdue.
There ARE other schools, but...

[Funrover]

Hey UCCS has a great engineering program and is high on the rating for engineering. The bad side is UCCS is a college that doesn't feel like a college. It amazing how antisocial it is here!

[Starboard M]

If you wanna party and get a degree in the end goto CSU, I know a few Mechs from their that partied every night.

Really? Every single engineering student that I have talked to said it was super hard. Most of them are very smart as well, so who knows.

[CGuava]

CU Boulder engineer, I felt like it was a great school. A lot of what I learned in the later part of school and a ton of it applied to real world applications. Also, I got a job right out of school, which was pretty common among other CU engineering grads that I still talk to.

When I was deciding, I took tours of all 3 engineering possibilities in Colorado (CU, CSU, Mines). I decided that for me, Boulder would be the best place to go. It's all really up to personal preference, because I don't think any look better than the other on a resume. Just make sure to keep decent grades, because that's typically one of the first questions out of school; because employers really have nothing to base your work ethic on. Try to find an engineering firm to intern at through school, they typically pay well, and it always looks better than being a waiter on a resume....well, for an engineering job at least.

[Mr. Mojo]

I am also an engineer who hires engineers and I can tell you the school they graduated from has absolutely no bearing on my hiring decisions nor their starting salary. Being a Civil, experience is what matters the most to me. Interning in the summer is a big plus to me. Interning with companies in the field you are applying another plus. MS, PhD has no bearing on my decision. Usually they expect more salary with little to no real world experience. Just make sure whichever you choose is ABET accredited.

[denverd0n]

I guess I would encourage you to look beyond "the better choice based only on the quality of the Mechanical Engineering program."
I agree.

Let's face it. It's not like you're talking about getting a degree from MIT or Stanford. Those are schools where the name really can make a difference. Here in Colorado, the most respected engineering school is probably Mines.

Between CU and CSU, I'd give other considerations AT LEAST as much weight as the prestige of the engineering program.

[Jake_Blues]

Postpone your visit till spring when skirt season starts, and go to the school with better talent! :D

-E

[Steve]

I gurantee a Mech. from MIT will get a much better starting salary than a person with equal grades from say CU/CSU/Mines.

Not in the nationwide engineering consulting company I work for. Your starting salary is determined by type of degree and experience - period. Where your degree came from has nothing to do with your starting salary.

[jredmond]

My little sister was in the Mechanical Engineering program at CU but has transfured to CSU to finish her degree. She said the CSU program is much better and that the CU program has gone down hill.

[denverd0n]

Not in the nationwide engineering consulting company I work for.
Maybe, but let's be honest, you see a resume that lists a degree from MIT and it doesn't give you even the slightest moment of raising your eyebrows and thinking "hmmm, MIT"?

Even if it doesn't for you, I guarantee you that it does for a lot of people. That "hmm" moment is what resumes are all about. Get yourself noticed. Make the person scanning the resumes stop for just a moment. That's what makes you stand out and gets you an interview. Besides that, a degree from a school like that is as much about the network of contacts that it opens up for you as it is for the salary at that first job out of school.

Again, though, for the OP, between CU and CSU I honestly think that the general campus ambiance should be as important a consideration as anything for you.

[OlBlueCJ7]

Postpone your visit till spring when skirt season starts, and go to the school with better talent! :D

-E

Finally someone with some real priorities! :D

[newracer]

Postpone your visit till spring when skirt season starts, and go to the school with better talent! :D

-EMines is definitely out then, CSU all the way!!!! :P

[Steve]

Maybe, but let's be honest, you see a resume that lists a degree from MIT and it doesn't give you even the slightest moment of raising your eyebrows and thinking "hmmm, MIT"?

Sure, if everything else is equal it may tip the scale, but I've never had that happen. And, even if that's the final deciding factor, it doesn't influence starting salary. We employ ~2500 engineers of various stripes right now in ~100 offices in the U.S. What college you got your degree from is not a factor in starting salary.

[Jake_Blues]

My little sister was in the Mechanical Engineering program at CU but has transfured to CSU to finish her degree. She said the CSU program is much better and that the CU program has gone down hill.

Yea, but how does she look in a skirt?

-E

[Oscar]

Air Force Academy has one of the best programs in the country. There just little part about getting in and that pesky service commitment the goes along with it.

[jredmond]

Yea, but how does she look in a skirt?

-E

Better then me

[Camp]

One other thing to look at is the career services office for the colleges. I graduated from the University of Tennessee as an ME. They have one of the best career services offices in the country. I did not have a high GPA due to working 40+ hours a week to pay my own way through school, as well as being an athlete for some of that time. Tennessee is one of the most visited campuses in the country, by companies looking to hire college grads, or at least it was when I was graduating. Getting companies to honestly look at your resume can be tough right out of college. I had first interviews with something like 25 companies and got second interviews with about 50% of them, all in the first semester of my senior year. I recieved seven job offers and accepted the one I wanted, which included a salary that was $6000/yr higher than the national average for ME's, before I started my last semester.

A good career services office can make all the difference because they recruit companies to come in and look at you, as well as help you line up interships and co-ops.

[SuicideTireZJ]

Postpone your visit till spring when skirt season starts, and go to the school with better talent! :D

-E

State for the win! It's almost time and I could NOT be happier!

Seriously though, both schools are rated within one or two of each other on most of the lists, if you care about that sort of thing (most employers don't). I agree to check out both campuses, and try to get a feel for the vibe there among the students. I got a full ride to both and couldn't bring myself to deal with all the snobby rich Californians at CU so I went upstate and have never once regretted it (except when Sonny made some dumb calls and we lost games).

Really though, the job you get out of college will be based more on your interview than on your choice of school. And either way, there are more than plenty of cool jobs in M.E. if you don't want to sit in an office. I'm looking at Alaska or Antarctica when I get out.

[deadjeep]

I'm going to Metro for the mech engineering. I made my choice after talking to several different people doing the hiring that said the school made less difference than experience and grades. I decided on Metro as it made less impact on my life and I was able to line up internships out of the gate here in town. Several people told me they tended to avoid mines students as new hires straight out of school for mechanical engineering. Said they were too full of theirselves. For petroleum engineering it was a completely different story.

[EEJEEP]

To me CU = CSU = Mines. No clear winner. But specific school might be a better choice for specific field within a major. For example, I knew that I wanted to be an electrical engineer in power systems. CU/Mines has a stronger power system program than CSU.


Do you know specifically what type of ME you think you would like to be? For example: turbo machinery, HVAC, tanks and vessels, rotating machinery, machine design, or automotive? If you have an idea that you have an interest, make sure your school has a program. **Note ? I am not an ME, so I really don?t know how much schools cater to the above jobs. I am just trying to relate my experience as a EE with ME.

More importantly than school, do you want to be a registered Professor Engineer? If so (no matter which school), take your fundamentals of engineering exam while you are still in school or just after graduation. It cuts down the time frame it takes to get a PE by lets say 12 years in the state of CO. Also, Mines is multi-discipline so it does have an edge on passing the FE verse schools at aren?t.

Also agree with Steve. Once 1yr away from school, nobody cares. IMO it only helps you land that first job.

[jnschwie]

Maybe, but let's be honest, you see a resume that lists a degree from MIT and it doesn't give you even the slightest moment of raising your eyebrows and thinking "hmmm, MIT"?

Even if it doesn't for you, I guarantee you that it does for a lot of people. That "hmm" moment is what resumes are all about. Get yourself noticed. Make the person scanning the resumes stop for just a moment. That's what makes you stand out and gets you an interview. Besides that, a degree from a school like that is as much about the network of contacts that it opens up for you as it is for the salary at that first job out of school.

Again, though, for the OP, between CU and CSU I honestly think that the general campus ambiance should be as important a consideration as anything for you.


I don't hire, and I cannot disagree with Steve's real world experience in this aspect of HR. Truth be told, everywhere I've worked has given equal salary regardless of school.

That said, there is DEFINITELY a "hmm" factor to a place like MIT. This is a person who took a few extra steps the rest of us did not. Maybe they worked harder, maybe they are inherently brighter, maybe their family has more money. Now I want to find the source of the "hmm." :)


Another thing to consider (and I've said it on here many times) is that people will bias for their own school. I'm going to be far more interested in the candidate who went where I went, so a big state school is a definite plus.
The place where my wife and I went right out of college had never had people from my school. The question came up -do you know anyone from _____? -The next year, two MORE people wanted to work at our place from my school, and they cruised on in. :) (they were great candidates, but it was no longer a question). -at this institution, I did see people denied a rank (contingent offer) based on school, despite good grades, etc.

[Volcom]

To me CU = CSU = Mines. No clear winner. But specific school might be a better choice for specific field within a major. For example, I knew that I wanted to be an electrical engineer in power systems. CU/Mines has a stronger power system program than CSU.


Do you know specifically what type of ME you think you would like to be? For example: turbo machinery, HVAC, tanks and vessels, rotating machinery, machine design, or automotive? If you have an idea that you have an interest, make sure your school has a program. **Note ? I am not an ME, so I really don?t know how much schools cater to the above jobs. I am just trying to relate my experience as a EE with ME.

More importantly than school, do you want to be a registered Professor Engineer? If so (no matter which school), take your fundamentals of engineering exam while you are still in school or just after graduation. It cuts down the time frame it takes to get a PE by lets say 12 years in the state of CO. Also, Mines is multi-discipline so it does have an edge on passing the FE verse schools at aren?t.

Also agree with Steve. Once 1yr away from school, nobody cares. IMO it only helps you land that first job.

EEJEEP had the best of both worlds, school at Mines and partying with his older brother (me :D ) in Boulder.

[Barf Bag]

I had a good childhood friend that went to CU, then my brother went there, both in the engineering school, civil. It was always a given with me that I would also go to CU. I started there and after 1 semester, I had to change, ended up at CSU (CE), couldnt have been happier. Is CU a bad school? Heck no, it just wasnt for me.

and for those excited for the spring skin showings - fall is way better, all the ladies with a fresh summer tan, in shape, young niave freshman ready to party, in the spring, you get the winter pastey and the freshman 15

[Barf Bag]

More importantly than school, do you want to be a registered Professor Engineer? If so (no matter which school), take your fundamentals of engineering exam while you are still in school or just after graduation. It cuts down the time frame it takes to get a PE by lets say 12 years in the state of CO.

Taking the FE while in school wont cut down the time to get the PE by 12 years, unless you wait that long to take the test. But it is a good idea to take the FE while in school because all that stuff is still fresh in your brain, after all you have spent the past 4 years studying that stuff, for the FE exam.

Another thing to consider - I worked for engineering firms in the field i wanted to go into (geotechnical engineering) every summer. I made much less money than my friends that worked construction, but I was able to put that time on my PE application, it was after all, progressive engineering experience. Those summers allowed me to take the PE exam just 3 years out of school, I was therefore registered a year before all the guys I graduated with, that more than made up for the few summers of decreased pay.

[Jefe]

It's outta state, but University of Nebraska has an excellent engineering program.

[EEJEEP]

Taking the FE while in school wont cut down the time to get the PE by 12 years, unless you wait that long to take the test. But it is a good idea to take the FE while in school because all that stuff is still fresh in your brain, after all you have spent the past 4 years studying that stuff, for the FE exam.

That is what I meant. We have people in our company now that are having a hard time passing their FE because they have been out of school for many years. For those of people who don't know, the FE is multi-displine. So even though you graduated with a BS in ME (or EE, or whatever), the test covers Thermodynamics, electrical, fuilds, strenghts, material properties, dynamics, engineering econ, chemistry, and math.

[Willy36]

I agree.

Let's face it. It's not like you're talking about getting a degree from MIT or Stanford. Those are schools where the name really can make a difference. Here in Colorado, the most respected engineering school is probably Mines.

Between CU and CSU, I'd give other considerations AT LEAST as much weight as the prestige of the engineering program.

Ok I should've worded that differently. I wasn't saying I was basing my decision entirely on that. I've already been accepted to Mines, so if that was the only criteria, my mind would already be made. I'm just asking which has a better Mech. program.

[Leon Phelps]

X2 on the Career services suggestion. My experiences as working as a junior engineer for a fairly large firm was that it was not my degree that got me in the door, but it was who I knew (in my case, related to).

But I digress, I only did it for about 19 months before I decided I HATED the industry.

[bluezjeep]

I am bias as a CE alum of CSU but their entire college of engineering is top notch. They perform a ton of research with state of the art technology at both the main campus and the foothills campus at the base of horsetooth. I am surprised no one has mentioned CSU's motor sport engineering degree. Regardless of where you end up, as Coloradoans we are fortunate to have have great universities like CSU, CU, and Mines.

http://www.engr.colostate.edu/me/motorsport/index.html

[jnschwie]

It's outta state, but University of Nebraska has an excellent engineering program.

How does this Western states pseudo-reciprocity program work?

I know (I think) Nebraska wasn't in it, but just curious...

[CannonBall]

My choice was a toss up, University of Washington, Virginia Tech, Michigan, and CU, it quickly came down to Tech and CU, and I went with CU. I'm happy with my choice. I've been given opportunities I would have never had if I went elsewhere. Now I'm 3 years out of school and where I got my degree doesn't matter. Boulder is a really fun town, tons of stuff to do, and great people. There are a bunch of hippies and the A&S side has a bad reputation, but as an engineer I think it's a great school. Honestly, the course work is a bit lean in some areas. I was a mechanical and we had no requirements for machining, welding, reading blueprints... nothing with your hands. You can take that stuff for no credit, and just to learn though, but many ME departments require students to know how to build things they engineer. That was my only complaint coming out of CU. I just wasn't ready for some of the non-cad, non sitting doing equations type engineering work, but it's easy to pick that stuff up and I'd have learned it if I did an internship instead of driving a bus for 3 years.
-Nate

Edit: the "great people" I refer to are most of my friends from the engineering school. I met a lot of good friends at CU and honestly was rarely confronted by hippies or any of the stereotypical BOULDER type people.

[CGuava]

Edit: the "great people" I refer to are most of my friends from the engineering school. I met a lot of good friends at CU and honestly was rarely confronted by hippies or any of the stereotypical BOULDER type people.

x2, I don't think I had any experiences with the hippies outside of thrurs-fri night on Pearl.

Do you count woob as being a friend from engineering school? I don't know how to count him.:flipoff2:

[Jeepster-Matt]

Ratings dont mean crap. I go to UCCS, we have made the top 10 engineering schools for the past few years and honestly I do not know how, we have really small class sizes and really personal professors, besides that I really dont know.
I have found that any program is what you make it, I know students who work very hard and will be great engineers while others in the same program will make horrible engineers.
I was turned off by CU-boulder for its atmosphere, not my kind of place.
I didnt like CSU cause of its location.
Mines just wasnt for me at the time, I know people who love it, and people who hate it.
I chose UCCS cause of its location, and cause I needed to go somewhere, it ended up being a great fit.
Also look for engineering clubs, we have an SAE baja club here at UCCS, it is most definatly my most memorable part of the program, I have learned 90% of my engineering skills through that, not the classroom.

[Bitch'nBronco]

Theres only one college worth goin to.... consult the avatar

[CannonBall]

UCASU, good one. Default "I didn't get into a the CA school I wanted." It's basically like high school plus for people who didn't pay attention during high school in California. How is USCs whipping boy even worthy of anything except aimless drunken pride?
-Nate

[bsaunder]

Honestly - its what you make of your education and your work ethic that matters in the long run.

That aside - I can say that my mechanical degree from Mines opened the door for me on my first three jobs; at least one of which I know for a fact I wouldn't have gotten the interview had my degree been from CU or CSU. That door opening did help some - but without the knowledge and drive behind it, it wouldn't have mattered anyway.
Once you've been out for a while - its mostly about your references (and not necessarily just the ones you want to use) which all come back to your ability to do the job.

The one thing that I will give for a student from Mines is this - if there are two recent grad resumes and transcripts in front of a company recruiter in CO for an engineering job and they look almost identical as far as experience, credit hours per semester, and gpa - the student from Mines will generally get the higher marking. 10+ years ago I know it was deserved; these days with much lower entrance standards, maybe not so much.

Personally, I'd interview both, follow up on all references and call professors and then make my decision from that as I've met and worked with many good engineers and will agree with others that location of degree doesn't matter -and no; I would not give someone from MIT, Purdue, Standford, etc higher chance than others. One of the best engineers I have ever worked with didn't even have a degree, just a couple associates. One of the dumbest was an 3.5+gpa MIT grad.

The one thing that will guarantee a higher spot with me is an internship with a good reference vs no internship.

[Budman]

Higher learning is a waste of time. Just get a job and learn at the school af hard knocks.

[CGuava]

Higher learning is a waste of time. Just get a job and learn at the school af hard knocks.

Sarcasm noted. ;)