Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:So here’s my question …
Is it harder to get into Wisconsin for engineering than to get into Harvard engineering?
Harder to get into Purdue engineering than Columbia gnegineering?
I just find it really challenging to built a “target” or “reach” list for engineering schools. I don’t really have a sense of how hard it is to get into those top 30 engineering schools.
It's significantly harder to get into Harvard or Columbia for engineering than Purdue or Wisconsin, simply because the Ivy League schools are more selective overall. However, most of the top 30 public engineering schools, like Purdue and Wisconsin are accessible to strong students. My current freshman was accepted at several of the Big 10 engineering schools but wouldn't have had a shot at an Ivy.
+1
Fact is you don’t go to T10 schools to do engineering… you can dabble a bit in it. In the hierarchy of things , engineering is not up there. It makes for a very good life - if u are a good engineer - but that’s it. I speak as an engineer (immigrated in the early 90s)
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:I just want to point out that unlike the overall college and university rankings, U.S. News uses no formula for the undergraduate discipline rankings. Instead, they send out surveys to deans and senior faculty at the engineering schools and ask them to rate other programs on a scale of 1 to 5. Then they average the score and list them in order. Response rate to these surveys was 34% for non-doctorate-granting programs and 49% for doctorate-granting programs.
https://www.usnews.com/education/best-colleges/articles/undergraduate-ranking-methodologies" target="_new" rel="nofollow"> https://www.usnews.com/education/best-colleges/articles/undergraduate-ranking-methodologies
I wouldn’t put too much emphasis on these rankings. They aren’t even trying to provide an objective assessment of these programs in any way.
Your school got ranked low, huh? Sorry
Anonymous wrote:Top 30 Feeders to Engineering
https://www.collegetransitions.com/dataverse/top-feeders-engineering/
Anonymous wrote:Yea, ok, so how many kids do you know who turn down Harvard for Penn State for engineering?
I'll answer: zero.
Because of all the rankings that don't matter, it's the engineering undergrad rankings. You go to any one of these schools -- or the next 30 for that matter -- and get through the program, and you'll get a great job.
Anonymous wrote:Yea, ok, so how many kids do you know who turn down Harvard for Penn State for engineering?
I'll answer: zero.
Because of all the rankings that don't matter, it's the engineering undergrad rankings. You go to any one of these schools -- or the next 30 for that matter -- and get through the program, and you'll get a great job.
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:So here’s my question …
Is it harder to get into Wisconsin for engineering than to get into Harvard engineering?
Harder to get into Purdue engineering than Columbia gnegineering?
I just find it really challenging to built a “target” or “reach” list for engineering schools. I don’t really have a sense of how hard it is to get into those top 30 engineering schools.
It's significantly harder to get into Harvard or Columbia for engineering than Purdue or Wisconsin, simply because the Ivy League schools are more selective overall. However, most of the top 30 public engineering schools, like Purdue and Wisconsin are accessible to strong students. My current freshman was accepted at several of the Big 10 engineering schools but wouldn't have had a shot at an Ivy.
+1
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Yea, ok, so how many kids do you know who turn down Harvard for Penn State for engineering?
I'll answer: zero.
Because of all the rankings that don't matter, it's the engineering undergrad rankings. You go to any one of these schools -- or the next 30 for that matter -- and get through the program, and you'll get a great job.
Based on these rankings, Harvard and Penn State are tied so if you got into both the Harvard name cache would probably put it over the edge.
But here's a real world example that's recent: my neighbor's DS got into Purdue and Dartmouth last Spring for engineering and chose Purdue. Purdue is ranked higher for engineering but some think because Dartmouth is an ivy that it's better period. Our neighbors went for engineering excellence over general pedigree.
Dartmouth does not have a real 4 year BSE program though! Not a valid comparison! The ivies with real engineering are better than purdue(Princeton, Penn, Harvard Columbia for sure, and possibly even Yale, newer but moving up fast in the engineering realm)
Anonymous wrote:I just want to point out that unlike the overall college and university rankings, U.S. News uses no formula for the undergraduate discipline rankings. Instead, they send out surveys to deans and senior faculty at the engineering schools and ask them to rate other programs on a scale of 1 to 5. Then they average the score and list them in order. Response rate to these surveys was 34% for non-doctorate-granting programs and 49% for doctorate-granting programs.
https://www.usnews.com/education/best-colleges/articles/undergraduate-ranking-methodologies" target="_new" rel="nofollow"> https://www.usnews.com/education/best-colleges/articles/undergraduate-ranking-methodologies
I wouldn’t put too much emphasis on these rankings. They aren’t even trying to provide an objective assessment of these programs in any way.

Anonymous wrote:wait wait hold tf up:
UNC Chapel Hill is ranked 50th for engineering?? Tied with Rutgers, Tufts, UDel, Arizona, Iowa State, and Clemson?
They don't have an engineering program. the only ABET program is a joint program with NC State -- where all of the engineering coursework happens in Raleigh lol
I feel that this tells us something about how seriously we should take these rankings (but damn I'd hate to be Rutgers or Clemson here! ouch)
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Yea, ok, so how many kids do you know who turn down Harvard for Penn State for engineering?
I'll answer: zero.
Because of all the rankings that don't matter, it's the engineering undergrad rankings. You go to any one of these schools -- or the next 30 for that matter -- and get through the program, and you'll get a great job.
Based on these rankings, Harvard and Penn State are tied so if you got into both the Harvard name cache would probably put it over the edge.
But here's a real world example that's recent: my neighbor's DS got into Purdue and Dartmouth last Spring for engineering and chose Purdue. Purdue is ranked higher for engineering but some think because Dartmouth is an ivy that it's better period. Our neighbors went for engineering excellence over general pedigree.
Dartmouth does not have a real 4 year BSE program though! Not a valid comparison! The ivies with real engineering are better than purdue(Princeton, Penn, Harvard Columbia for sure, and possibly even Yale, newer but moving up fast in the engineering realm)