What are the differences of getting engineering diploma at well-known expensive schools and average low cost?

Question

What are the differences of getting a mechanical or aerospace/aeronautics diploma at a well known expensive school like Purdue, georgia tech, stanford or at a lower cost decent/average school such as SUNY stonybrook, polytechnic of brooklyn, WPI, and school like that? For engineering, does the college you go to make a big difference for your chances for finding a job, how good your salary is and such? What other differences are there? All of this considering I get a good gpa at both colleges. Thanks a lot ahead of time!!!

Answer 1

May be this site can help you

http://www.sgpak.com

Answer 2

Some employers really do only hire out of the top engineering schools, but others don't. Some will only hire out of the top 50 or so engineering schools, and for yet others, any engineering school is good, so long as it's regionally accredited.

But what's a top engineering school? It has *nothing* to do with cost. Some of the most elite engineering schools in the US are very cheap to in-state students, because they are public universities. UC Berkeley, for example, is one of the best engineering schools in the world, but if you're from California, it's relatively inexpensive. Rutgers is top 50 for engineering, but if you're from NJ, it's cheap. If you're from NY, Stony Brook would be worth considering, as it's often worth considering the top public unis in your home state for engineering, and Stony Brook ranks top 100. Not bad.

If you can get into one of the better engineering schools, it can help open doors for you. That doesn't mean that you won't get a fabulous job out of a lower ranking program. It also doesn't guarantee that you'll do better coming out of a top ranked program. But it can open doors for you.

My old companies used to hire out of what I'd term the "just below the top tier programs". So we chose not to hire out of schools like MIT, because we felt its grads were too theoretical for our purposes. But we hired out of BU, RPI, WPI - the better engineering schools in the NY/New England region. We didn't hire out of Polytechnic U.

Of the schools you list, I think all but one are worth considering re: an engineering career: if you think you can get into a school like WPI, use Polytechnic of Brooklyn only as a back up. If you get into another on your list, go there instead.

If you're looking at WPI, also consider RPI. And if you think you can get into an elite like Stanford or Georgia Tech, also look at the Cooper Union, and at Olin College of Engineering. Both are quite hard to get into, but if you get in, they pay your tuition.

Answer 3

Almost nothing.

The almost part is you could build relationships with people who are already connected to the profession (son, daughter of someone in the Field with insight).  Other than that nothing - you take the same exam as everyone in the state.

If you are looking for income after school  - which school you attended has very little significance.  Specialization in a growing/highly technical field - determines your pay the more specialized the higher you get paid.

Honestly employers do not look at GPA unless you are just out of school.  This is the only way they have to measure if you are a workaholic, or mediocre.   If you want to put your foot forward wok while you are in school - does not have to be that strenuous - just get some time in the field you want to pursue - that time puts you ahead of your peers