Re: Career Question- State School vs. Big Private
 

Yeah, who knows maybe ill get smarter somehow and it wont even be an issue

Re: Career Question- State School vs. Big Private
 

imo nobody really will care about the difference between a 2.8 and a 3.8 or whatever. GPA doesn't mean much to most employers, imo. Unless you are like cream-of-the-crop, then it helps, surely.

Cornell would look awesome on a resume. But do you want to "struggle" for the next several years or take it slightly easier and have a bit lower stress?

Is Cornell worth the extra tens of thousands of dollars in the long-run? Maybe not. In the business world you have collegiate superstars who are mediocre, and you have community college guys that sparkle. THere is not a direct relationship between college and "the pros". Much like in sports.

Troy Smith just won Heismann at Ohio State and he BARELY caught on as a 3rd-stringer behind 2 terrible QB's in Baltimore, while Kevin Kolb went to the University of Houston, merely won Conference USA championship (not even a BCS conference), yet was the third drafted QB last year, and is poised to take over for Donovan freaking McNabb.

Sports and education aren't exactly the same, but my opinion still stands.

Myself? I got a 5-year accredited architecture degree from the University of Houston for $17,000. I know people who spent a lot more to go to "better" schools like Texas A&M or Washington University in St. Louis, and their degree is not accredited. (Meaning it is tougher and takes longer for them to get licensed.)

Sorry for the long post, I cannot speak on what a "great" college is like, because I went to a cheap state school, but I certainly feel I got more "bang for the buck" at the school I attended. So in my limited opinion, I'd say drop down to the state school if it is much cheaper, and slightly less stressful. Try to flourish there, meet more people, and enjoy being out of student loan debt 10 years sooner! [img]/images/graemlins/grin.gif[/img]

Re: Career Question- State School vs. Big Private
 

I will tell you that a 2.4 GPA is not going to cut it. If you want a good job you have to at least be over a 3.0. If you can't get above a 3.0 then you are not cut out for engineering or probably spending too much time on here and not enough studying.

Re: Career Question- State School vs. Big Private
 

i would also think about how much you like cornell. the difference is probably going to be neglible in the long haul, engineers with great GPAs from Clemson and engineers with mediocre GPAs from Cornell both figure to be fairly successful in the grand scheme of things.

if you were able to get into engineering at cornell i feel that you can probably earn close to a 3.0 at the worst if you apply yourself. are you sure you are really that into it? assuming you are, do you think you'd enjoy yourself more at a state school? that's something only you can answer, but i don't think you should really worry about money 20 years down the road at this point.

i know for me, i wouldn't have been very happy at many of the best private schools. i really enjoyed the lifestyle at the state school i attended.

tc

Re: Career Question- State School vs. Big Private
 

thanks taylor

I guess I really need to finish most of the year before i can think more seriously about it.

Re: Career Question- State School vs. Big Private
 

I am an engineer and I graduated from Penn State.

From my experience, it appears that most companies (hiring for engineering jobs) don't care too much about where you went to school. Many companies will not even look at you if you don't have at least a 3.0 GPA. The company I work for makes it tougher to get an interview if you don't have a 3.0. They don't pay differently based on the school.

If you want to go to grad school, having a better GPA is better than the school you chose. If you think you can get better grades at a state school, then I would switch. You'll save money too. Also I am pretty sure more companies recruit engineers from Penn State than Cornell. Chances of getting a job could be higher by going to a state school.

I don't think switching will have as much an impact on your GPA as you might think though. For the early engineering classes, I imagine they ask pretty much the same questions on math and physics tests. Its not like Calculus changes from school to school. I suppose if the tests are really hard, the curving could be different if you are smarter compared to your peers.

Whatever you do, concentrate on getting better grades. If you have to take some extra easy credits to bring up the grades.

Re: Career Question- State School vs. Big Private
 

[ QUOTE ]
I don't think switching will have as much an impact on your GPA as you might think though. For the early engineering classes, I imagine they ask pretty much the same questions on math and physics tests. Its not like Calculus changes from school to school. I suppose if the tests are really hard, the curving could be different if you are smarter compared to your peers.

[/ QUOTE ]

Very much agree with this. Even if your GPA did matter to your employer, it's probably not going to matter on your second job. Just look for a new job after 3 years.

The easiest way to get an MBA is on an "exceutive" program, aka night school. Most schools won't care what your undergrad GPA was, just that you graduated. They just want your money. Also, many employers will reimburse your tuition, although some will insist you take an engineering discipline.

Re: Career Question- State School vs. Big Private
 

[ QUOTE ]
5 years down the road nobody will care what my GPA is or what school I graduated from.

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FYP ...

I was one of four people from my high school class to get a degree in chemical engineering.

I attended a large (albeit somewhat selective) state university. The other three got their degrees from, respectively, Penn, MIT, and (coincidentally) Cornell.

We caught up at our 5-year HS reunion and I discovered that not only did I attend the least prestigious school, I finished with the lowest GPA of the four of us.

Our 15-year reunion was a few weeks ago, and I discovered that of the three ChE grads in attendance, I make the highest salary, and it's not close.

I agree with whomever mentioned that most recruiters for first jobs won't give you much of a look unless you can manage a 3.0 GPA (in fact, of those in my graduating class below that number, a distressingly large percentage wound up latching on to government jobs). But ... assuming you've put in 3-4 good years at that first job and have some sort of aptitude for the field, neither any future employer nor anyone else will give a second's thought either to where you went to school or whether you earned a 3.0 or a 4.0. Trust me on this one.

Mook

Re: Career Question- State School vs. Big Private
 

Mook, I assume you went into manufactoring and the "smarter" ones went into research?

If thats true then its kinda hard to compare. Granted if all of you went into research or all of you went into manufactoring then i think your observations are more important.

(I plan to go into manufactoring)

Re: Career Question- State School vs. Big Private
 

Why do you think transfering schools will increase your GPA substantially?

Gut reaction is to stick with it and work your tail off. Intelligence is certainly important, but I'd argue that results often go to those who are willing to put in the time and effort.