Did I make a wise college choice?

[LS20]

Originally posted by: halik


actually there's been studies saying that your wage potential actually desclines with a Ph.D because that pretty much limits you to reasearch in academia. I'd recommend a profeffional degree over a Ph.D

truth. masters are the new hotness

 

[WildHorse]

 

[halik]

Originally posted by: Hector13

Originally posted by: halik

Well I'm actually in the finance sector more or less. I'm graduating in the spring with BS in CS and Economics (michigan ranks #6 and #10 respectively) and I'll be working for an i-bank.

In my sector a PH.D in econ is worth nowhere near an MBA. That being said though, I'm applying to NYU to get Econ MA before doing an MBA

that's not entirely true... there are plenty of PhDs in finance that are making a ton of money. I would say that where I am (also at an ibank), the PhDs run the show and an MBA doesn't help much (if at all).

What businesss division if you don't mind me asking? Most investment banking is run by MBAs, stuff like research and quant/finiancial engineering is more PH.D oriented, but ultimately their bosses will be MBA...

 

[PoPPeR]

nothing wrong with state schools. The community college I went to had guaranteed admission contracts with UC Berkeley, UC San Diego, UC Santa Barbara, and UC Davis (among others). I met the criteria for all of them. I chose to go to Arizona State instead to major in accounting. I'm not going to sit here and say that ASU is a better school than any of those (especially berkeley) in general, but for my field, I know i made a good choice. Sure I may make a couple thousand less than a UCB student, but I absolutely detest that geographic area and like you, I don't consider myself a "Berkeley" student. I have plenty of friends that go there and I know how hard you have to study.

Meanwhile, at ASU, I can keep a high GPA, meet a lot of people, get enough scholarships to make my education very inexpensive, while at the same time still attending a very respectable accounting/business school and not go insane trying to pass my classes.

The whole "state university" stereotype is incredibly stupid. Different universities are good in different areas. I dont care if you go to Berkeley if you're majoring in something that isn't competitive at the school. As long as you do your research and attend a university that excels in your field of study, then they can call themselves clown college for all anyone cares.

 

[kevinthenerd]

Originally posted by: ones3k

Originally posted by: imthebadguy
nah, potential for gettin a better job is much greater if u goto a better school, imo transfer if you still can an insignificant 50k is nothing compared to how much more you will make in the future by going to a good school

That depends on what you study. If you study engineering or computer science, you'll make at least 50k with a decent GPA. Most of the students that attend state schools arent cut out for majors such as engineering, and LOTS of freshman engineering majors get weeded out. So the few that actually end up graduating with good GPAs end up being the ones with the good jobs.

On the other hand, if you're going to major in something like business or liberal arts, it will help a lot coming from an elite school.

That's good to hear, except that my GPA of 3.0 is kinda sh¡tty.

 

[kevinthenerd]

Originally posted by: Fox5

Originally posted by: ones3k

Originally posted by: imthebadguy
nah, potential for gettin a better job is much greater if u goto a better school, imo transfer if you still can an insignificant 50k is nothing compared to how much more you will make in the future by going to a good school

That depends on what you study. If you study engineering or computer science, you'll make at least 50k with a decent GPA. Most of the students that attend state schools arent cut out for majors such as engineering, and LOTS of freshman engineering majors get weeded out. So the few that actually end up graduating with good GPAs end up being the ones with the good jobs.

On the other hand, if you're going to major in something like business or liberal arts, it will help a lot coming from an elite school.

I can vouch for lots of freshman not being cut out for it, I've already seen quite a few drop out of the program, and many more just don't seem like they'll make it.

QFT. You should see the EGN1006 and EGN1007 classes at UCF: "Introduction to the Engineering Profession." A whole bunch of students (I'll call them "kids") got bored when they started talking about technical stuff. You could tell the ones who'd make it... the ones who got EXCITED when the lecture shifted to the highly technical. I think you really have to love what you're doing in engineering. Otherwise, your adversion towards it will be too much of a barrier.

 

[kevinthenerd]

Originally posted by: halik

Originally posted by: Tiamat
As long as the program is nationally recognized, ABET accredited etc, going to any school would be fine for the B.S.

For Ph.D you want the MIT, Caltech, JHU, Georgia Tech etc.

actually there's been studies saying that your wage potential actually desclines with a Ph.D because that pretty much limits you to reasearch in academia. I'd recommend a profeffional degree over a Ph.D

My friend (a resarch Ph.D. student from India who works in my lab) and I were talking about this today. They usually end up doing the same job as a master's or bachelor's degree holder for more money. They get bored because they learned all kinds of stuff that they never end up using. If you like research in academia, then get the Ph.D. Personally, I think a Ph.D. might help my credibility to get funding for my car company.

 

[kevinthenerd]

Originally posted by: vshah
does your school have a tech job fair? where companies come to recruit students for internships/jobs?

i think that is the biggest difference. i've had reps from nvidia, intel, ibm, amd all come to my ce classes to tell ask to apply for internships.

Here at UCF, we get all the NASA contractors and some surrounding sub-contractors, along with a mix of others...

(off the top of my head, CERTAINLY not an exhaustive list)
Lockheed Martin
Boeing
Siemens Westinghouse (power generation)
Wheeled Coach (ambulance design and manufacture)

 

[kevinthenerd]

Originally posted by: mercanucaribe

Originally posted by: erub
I'm going to Texas A&M University, while a state school, #14 in engineering. Recruiters are all over the place around here, and if I wanted to, I'm sure with my ~3.7 GPA in EE and extracurriculurs I could have received a very solid job offer..people I know are tossing around 55-60K with lesser GPAs, and most of these jobs are in TX. I'm trying to go to another STATE school for graduate school, being Georgia Tech. I don't think I should have any problem getting a job after graduating from there either.

Yes, I probably could have gone to at least some of the Ivys for undergrad, but I don't resent that decision at all. I have enough scholarships to cover my entire tuition bill..that 120-150K my parents saved on my education, they told me I can use for a business one day..

My sister, OTOH, went to Pomona College (very prestigious liberal arts college in CA) and my parents paid $$ for her education. She ended up at UT Medical Branch in Galveston for Medical School, sitting next to classmates who attended Texas A&M..my parents have since told me that they wished that they had saved the money on her undergrad

Expensive private liberal arts colleges like that are usually ranked very low. They are for dumb rich kids or people looking for more "status" than the state school. Definately not the same as a Ivy Leagues.

I couldn't believe that, for how expensive Saint Leo University was for my one year there (which I couldn't have been able to afford if I didn't have insane scholarships), it was full of the STUPIDEST WHITE PEOPLE I've met in my life. I think the students at UCF, as a whole, know more about both scholasticism and practical daily life.

 

[kevinthenerd]

Originally posted by: Strk
I know it has been said before, but the big name schools are for graduate/professional degrees.

One of my professors at a community college (one of the smartest men I've met in my life) couldn't have said it better:

In those kinds of schools, the undergraduate program is just a necessary evil to pay the bills.

 

[cressida]

Well whatever you do, try to get an internship every summer during your undergrad or co-op.

 

[SparkyJJO]

Wow you lucky guy you, $20000 a year in scholarships, all that cash left at the end of school....
state school *should* be fine depending on what school it is. I'm going to a state school and it has really good engineering from what I've heard.

 

[thereaderrabbit]

Fox, the right path for some may not be the right path for others and any degree is what you make of it. This is not a moral question so there is no right or wrong. The key to being happy is making the most of your decisions/circumstance, talents and friendships- no matter where you are.

 

[rgwalt]

It depends on the state school. Personally, I don't think paying $120K is worth it for an undergraduate education. I'm sure you will be happy with your decision later on in life.

Besides, you can always go to grad school at a top Uni (private or public).

R

 

[thereaderrabbit]

Originally posted by: LS20

Originally posted by: halik


actually there's been studies saying that your wage potential actually desclines with a Ph.D because that pretty much limits you to reasearch in academia. I'd recommend a profeffional degree over a Ph.D

truth. masters are the new hotness

Not true! I finished my Ph.D. this summer and now have a nice development job at a major chip maker. I'd say over 80% of the development team at my company holds doctorate degrees. FYI- My degrees are in Chemical Engineering and Materials Science & Engineering.

 

[qaa541]

I think you made the right choice. Blowing away money on the Ivy Leagues will give you the same or marginally better education as a state school but at a significant price hike. Personally, I rather graduate from a great state school with marginal debt, versus from a private school, with humongous debt.

Just remember not everyone thinks like me, hence why the private schools are still around and making money.

 

[halik]

Originally posted by: thereaderrabbit

Originally posted by: LS20

Originally posted by: halik


actually there's been studies saying that your wage potential actually desclines with a Ph.D because that pretty much limits you to reasearch in academia. I'd recommend a profeffional degree over a Ph.D

truth. masters are the new hotness

Not true! I finished my Ph.D. this summer and now have a nice development job at a major chip maker. I'd say over 80% of the development team at my company holds doctorate degrees. FYI- My degrees are in Chemical Engineering and Materials Science & Engineering.

Oh yeah,
it's very dependant on the field you're in. Silicon design would be very Ph.D oriented just because of the nature of the work.

 

[halik]

Originally posted by: qaa541
I think you made the right choice. Blowing away money on the Ivy Leagues will give you the same or marginally better education as a state school but at a significant price hike. Personally, I rather graduate from a great state school with marginal debt, versus from a private school, with humongous debt.

Just remember not everyone thinks like me, hence why the private schools are still around and making money.

How is quality of education at all relevant to your opportunities? The cost of going to IVY school is is insignificant compared the benefits of having Harvard or Standford on your resume.

 

[Accipiter22]

Originally posted by: Fox5
I could have gone to basically any school I wanted, including Ivy Leagues. In addition, I could have had $20,000/year in scholarships to virtually any school I wanted. I chose to go to a state school, and I actually get around $500 back a semester do to having more scholarship money than the cost of the school.
An alternative would have been to go to a roughly $40,000/year school. I had around $50,000 in savings for college, so I would have had to come up with another $30,000 in the end to pay for college.

My major in electrical and computer engineering, though my personal interests and aptitudes are more towards computer science (which I'm attempting to minor in). Well, I'm apparently also good at creative writing, but it's not a big interest of mine.

It was both an economic and a personal decision for me to go to a state school. I'll come out of college with >$50,000 in cash, while I would have owed $30,000 at other schools. That, and I wasn't the hardest worker in high school, and didn't view myself as a typical MIT "I've successfully designed and built a helicopter" type student, and I didn't know if I'd be able to hack it, or if my education / experience would be $80,000 better. I didn't want to waste money on a chance.

So as it is, I'm going to a state school, majoring in Electrical and Computer Engineering, tentatively minoring in Computer Science (though, physics seems to be a more natual fit for the field from what I've seen, much less classes too), and with an Honors concentration. It seems I will also have a 4.0 GPA as of the end of the first semester, and I'll graduate with >$50,000 in cash.

So, did I make the right choice or no? Any comments?

I went to a VERY good school and I'll just say this much. All you're doing is paying for the name on your degree. Ivy league schools are a joke to be honest. I did more work when I was going to college in highschool (a program they had) versus what had to be done at an Ivy league. I compared similar classes between my mother, who was going for a teaching certificate, and what I had to take for various requirements and her classes invariably were more in depth. And she was at a state school. You're paying for a name on a degree, not the education, and too many institutions are relying solely on reputation at this point. Fortunately people are starting to catch on to this.

 

[oddyager]

Originally posted by: Accipiter22

Originally posted by: Fox5
I could have gone to basically any school I wanted, including Ivy Leagues. In addition, I could have had $20,000/year in scholarships to virtually any school I wanted. I chose to go to a state school, and I actually get around $500 back a semester do to having more scholarship money than the cost of the school.
An alternative would have been to go to a roughly $40,000/year school. I had around $50,000 in savings for college, so I would have had to come up with another $30,000 in the end to pay for college.

My major in electrical and computer engineering, though my personal interests and aptitudes are more towards computer science (which I'm attempting to minor in). Well, I'm apparently also good at creative writing, but it's not a big interest of mine.

It was both an economic and a personal decision for me to go to a state school. I'll come out of college with >$50,000 in cash, while I would have owed $30,000 at other schools. That, and I wasn't the hardest worker in high school, and didn't view myself as a typical MIT "I've successfully designed and built a helicopter" type student, and I didn't know if I'd be able to hack it, or if my education / experience would be $80,000 better. I didn't want to waste money on a chance.

So as it is, I'm going to a state school, majoring in Electrical and Computer Engineering, tentatively minoring in Computer Science (though, physics seems to be a more natual fit for the field from what I've seen, much less classes too), and with an Honors concentration. It seems I will also have a 4.0 GPA as of the end of the first semester, and I'll graduate with >$50,000 in cash.

So, did I make the right choice or no? Any comments?

I went to a VERY good school and I'll just say this much. All you're doing is paying for the name on your degree. Ivy league schools are a joke to be honest. I did more work when I was going to college in highschool (a program they had) versus what had to be done at an Ivy league. I compared similar classes between my mother, who was going for a teaching certificate, and what I had to take for various requirements and her classes invariably were more in depth. And she was at a state school. You're paying for a name on a degree, not the education, and too many institutions are relying solely on reputation at this point. Fortunately people are starting to catch on to this.

For a majority of the professional fields out there, large companies are going to look at the name of your school first before they even consider your resume and I doubt it will change anytime soon. Whether or not the quality of education is the same is debatable but one can expect more avenues of opportunity (whether it be connections through your professors, network from the schools themsevles, etc) available for an Ivy league grad than a regualr state school grad.

 

[J0hnny]

Originally posted by: PaulNEPats
At most Ivy League schools, all you're doing is buying the name. It's like comparing Levi's to A&F Jeans.. no real difference, except brand distinction.

Incorrect, you're paying for the network of people you will meet who will be able to get you jobs anywhere in the world. That's the real difference with an IVY vs State college.

 

[J0hnny]

Originally posted by: PaulNEPats

Originally posted by: Kauru
job interviewer:
to you: okay, let's see, you majored in EE from (your state school here)? I'll call you back
to MIT grad: you majored in EE from MIT? very impressive, you're hired.
(you never hear back)

College DOES make a difference. People do care where you go to college. Sure you're saving money now, but will you be earning money later? Perhaps not as much had you gone to a better school. Just consider it. A Brown education will get you a lot farther than a state college education. A friend of mine who went to Brown: making $75,000/yr out of college in San Francisco, another friend of mine (just as smart) went to the University of Maine and is not even making half as much.

In the end, it's your decision, but IMO, a better education will do you a lot of good in the long run.

Who would want to work with an employer which is that shallow in their thinking?

Welcome to the real world.

 

[J0hnny]

Originally posted by: Soccerman06

Originally posted by: Fox5

Originally posted by: Kauru
job interviewer:
to you: okay, let's see, you majored in EE from (your state school here)? I'll call you back
to MIT grad: you majored in EE from MIT? very impressive, you're hired.
(you never hear back)

College DOES make a difference. People do care where you go to college. Sure you're saving money now, but will you be earning money later? Perhaps not as much had you gone to a better school. Just consider it. A Brown education will get you a lot farther than a state college education. A friend of mine who went to Brown: making $75,000/yr out of college in San Francisco, another friend of mine (just as smart) went to the University of Maine and is not even making half as much.

In the end, it's your decision, but IMO, a better education will do you a lot of good in the long run.

Wow, that sure makes me feel less sure about my decision.

Dude, for one, if you want to be an EE, apply at IBM, they pay great out of college wages, something like $50k, no matter where you graduated. Obviously they pay more for the better qualified, but honestly, do you really want to waste 4 years of your life at a college full of prepy snooty rich kids who think theyre better than everyne else, or do you want to have fun with the great friends at a state school?

Also, if you go get a masters or phd, you can go to whatever college you want that offers your subject and graduate there. Employers wont care where you got your BS if you have a Masters or PhD from an Ivy league school.

I would chose fun or the name.

You go to school for 4 years. You work for 30+ years. I'd deal with snooty kids for 4 years than work at a lower wage job for 30+ years. Having fun is good, but you'll meet good people at Ivy leagues too.

 

[Gibson486]

Originally posted by: ManSnake

Originally posted by: Fox5

Originally posted by: MSCoder610
How does $500 a semester => graduating with $50k?

I think his scholarship is $500 greater then what he has to pay and he has $50K in the bank for college.

Yep, that's it.

And I'm going to Rowan University. I actually don't have much idea on the quality of their engineering program, they were ranked #3 for chem eng in some report, but I have no idea how those reports are done. Their engineering department is about a decade old. Anyhow, I was under the idea that it's not really so much about the school you go to, as it is about what you do with/towards it. If I'm lazy and fail (in life) at the state school, I likely would have done the same at a private / out-of-state school. If I succeed, maybe I would have done a bit better at a different school, but most of the importance is going to be on how much effort I put towards my education and towards things like internships and what not.

How do you figure to get an internship if none of the big name companies recruit at your no name state school?

To a majority of companies, name recognition of a university is extremely important when hiring fresh grads. It makes a HUGE difference in your job choices if you attended UMass instead of MIT.

That sad thing about that is for a brief time...Umass Lowell had the same exact cirriculum as MIT....

Not knocking on UMass Lowell though, b/c that a really good school for engineering.I kind of regret going to Northeastern.

 

[Gibson486]

Originally posted by: kevinthenerd

Originally posted by: Strk
I know it has been said before, but the big name schools are for graduate/professional degrees.

One of my professors at a community college (one of the smartest men I've met in my life) couldn't have said it better:

In those kinds of schools, the undergraduate program is just a necessary evil to pay the bills.

that's exactly how it is......