Does size of college matter if in engineering?

[Anonymous]

My dc, who wants to go into engineering, would probably do better in a smaller college with smaller classes rather than a huge university. But I'm wondering if the size of the school matters as much if you're in a specialized major such as engineering. Even if you're at a big school like Michigan or Va Tech, does it feel small because you're sort of a part of a smaller tight knit group? Before dc decided he might want engineering, we were focused only on schools of < 10k but now, I'm wondering if size should be such a big factor. Any pros and cons you can share about engineering at big/small schools?

[Anonymous]

Most small schools are liberal arts colleges and those are not the best choice for engineering. Larger schools are also more likely to have many special projects going on for the engineering students which will definitely equate to experience upon graduation. The larger schools are also usually located in an area where there are many internship positions available to the students. This will make a huge difference in employability upon graduation.

[Anonymous]

It can be really helpful to go to an engineering school with a culture of group work and collaboration. This can be a big school or a small school, but having a good study group makes a huge difference. Engineering classes are hard and you want to be able to work collaboratively to learn the material. I taught at UCLA and the engineering students really struggled because they were so dispersed amongst liberal studies majors that they didn't find each other. It's also hard to be the one studying on a Thursday night when all of your English-major friends are going drinking. I'm so sure all schools are so disaggregated, but I really felt bad for those engineering students. Lots dropped out of the program.

You also want a school with professors who have office hours that are open to students and TAs who speak good English.

I'd look at Clarkson University, RPI and Case Western.

[Anonymous]

Depends on which kind of engineering. EE can be quite large. Fire protection is a small close-knit group

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:It can be really helpful to go to an engineering school with a culture of group work and collaboration. This can be a big school or a small school, but having a good study group makes a huge difference. Engineering classes are hard and you want to be able to work collaboratively to learn the material. I taught at UCLA and the engineering students really struggled because they were so dispersed amongst liberal studies majors that they didn't find each other. It's also hard to be the one studying on a Thursday night when all of your English-major friends are going drinking. I'm so sure all schools are so disaggregated, but I really felt bad for those engineering students. Lots dropped out of the program.

You also want a school with professors who have office hours that are open to students and TAs who speak good English.

I'd look at Clarkson University, RPI and Case Western.

I went to Va Tech, and I think bolded above was probably true there as well. And my niece at UMD said the same thing. But many of the engineering schools are part of a large univ so I'm not sure where else it would be much different except some place like MIT or Cal.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It can be really helpful to go to an engineering school with a culture of group work and collaboration. This can be a big school or a small school, but having a good study group makes a huge difference. Engineering classes are hard and you want to be able to work collaboratively to learn the material. I taught at UCLA and the engineering students really struggled because they were so dispersed amongst liberal studies majors that they didn't find each other. It's also hard to be the one studying on a Thursday night when all of your English-major friends are going drinking. I'm so sure all schools are so disaggregated, but I really felt bad for those engineering students. Lots dropped out of the program.

You also want a school with professors who have office hours that are open to students and TAs who speak good English.

I'd look at Clarkson University, RPI and Case Western.

I went to Va Tech, and I think bolded above was probably true there as well. And my niece at UMD said the same thing. But many of the engineering schools are part of a large univ so I'm not sure where else it would be much different except some place like MIT or Cal.

I've heard good things from an NC State grad and a Purdue grad, but they have been out of school long enough that you'd want to talk to someone with a more recent experience.

[Anonymous]

One problem with small colleges that offer engineering is that they are filled with engineers. While this might seem like a good thing there can be large gender imbalances and odd diversity. Engineers are known for, and often pride themselves on, their lack of interpersonal skills and poor hygiene.

[Anonymous]

Ga Tech seems like a good compromise on size.

[Anonymous]

What about a college like Olin? I had a friend that worked there for several years and it sounded like a really nice environment.

[Anonymous]

I went to Cal Poly SLO and that seemed a good size. There were a lot of engineering students and they definitely stuck together at study time (same with the architecture students)

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It can be really helpful to go to an engineering school with a culture of group work and collaboration. This can be a big school or a small school, but having a good study group makes a huge difference. Engineering classes are hard and you want to be able to work collaboratively to learn the material. I taught at UCLA and the engineering students really struggled because they were so dispersed amongst liberal studies majors that they didn't find each other. It's also hard to be the one studying on a Thursday night when all of your English-major friends are going drinking. I'm so sure all schools are so disaggregated, but I really felt bad for those engineering students. Lots dropped out of the program.

You also want a school with professors who have office hours that are open to students and TAs who speak good English.

I'd look at Clarkson University, RPI and Case Western.

I went to Va Tech, and I think bolded above was probably true there as well. And my niece at U MD said the same thing. But many of the engineering schools are part of a large univ so I'm not sure where else it would be much different except some place like MIT or Cal.

Cal would be the same.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:One problem with small colleges that offer engineering is that they are filled with engineers. While this might seem like a good thing there can be large gender imbalances and odd diversity. Engineers are known for, and often pride themselves on, their lack of interpersonal skills and poor hygiene.

I think Worcester poly has a smaller gender imbalance than most.

[Anonymous]

Harvey Mudd is one of the best small schools for engineering yet has the four other stellar claremont colleges for a bigger experience and social life

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:One problem with small colleges that offer engineering is that they are filled with engineers. While this might seem like a good thing there can be large gender imbalances and odd diversity. Engineers are known for, and often pride themselves on, their lack of interpersonal skills and poor hygiene.

If you can't handle being around engineers, then you shouldn't be an engineer. You will work with them your whole career if you work in the field.

[Anonymous]

I went to Caltech (<1000 undergrad students), so can't really answer your question about how the engineering community is at bigger schools. But my colleagues who went to VA Tech, GA Tech or similar seem happy and well-adjusted.

What I can say is, if community is a concern:

How big is the engineering department? What efforts does the school make to connect them?

What engineering-oriented extracurriculars ate available? Even if DC doesn't want to do them, their existence will speak to the strength of the engineering community.

Harvey Mudd is definitely worth looking into, if you want a tight engineering community with the benefits of a larger school. It was my other serious consideration, along with Caltech.