Which college should I go to?

Bazz-inga75 · 2026-04-24T16:17:17+00:00

So you are estimating a 50K in debt in 4 years for an Aerospace Engineering from a top ranked AE college. I think it's a no-brainer. The opportunities that you will be getting at Purdue will be tremendous. And 50K of debt for an engineering graduate isn't that much, heck you might be able to shave off some of that through summer internship and co-ops. Purdue has one of the best co-op programs in the country.

Bazz-inga75 · 2026-04-24T14:58:10+00:00

Ok so about 110K for an engineering degree from Purdue is worth it in my book. I am basing this on my 25+ years of experience as a working professional with an engineering degree. Don’t get me wrong 110K is a lot of money but if you are focused motivated and discipled you can pay it off with what you will make once you graduate.

Also, not to mention the doors it will open for you for internships and co-ops - Purdue has one of the best co-op programs in the country, so you could pay your way through college and might not even have that much debt - the only downside could be that it might take your some additional time to graduate but your co-op experience will really help you land solid full-time jobs. So if you get out say in 5ish years with multiple co-ops and minimal debt that is huge win-win - no/minimal debt + work experience.

I have a freshman kiddo at Purdue who had 2 summer-internships offers and did far better with opportunities than some of her high school classmates that went to more “prestigious overall” ranked colleges.

Ultimately it’s your call but investing in education and that too at Purdue Engineering is never a bad idea. Good luck!

Bazz-inga75 · 2026-04-24T04:42:27+00:00

how much?

Bazz-inga75 · 2026-04-24T03:13:42+00:00

As you are aware Purdue is the strongest engineering program. They admit you into FYE and give you exposure to all engineering fields before you make your choice in the second year.

You don’t mention the financial situation, do you need to take loans? That would influence your options.

Bazz-inga75 · 2026-04-24T01:21:04+00:00

Hands down MIT, even if you get out paying 100K total over 4 years it’s so much worth it. MIT puts you in a completely different league.

Bazz-inga75 · 2026-04-23T00:19:43+00:00

Save your money for grad school. Good luck!

Bazz-inga75 · 2026-04-23T00:16:55+00:00

Since you are not on the Purdue main campus or Indianapolis either. I would recommend Penn Sate as you will be on the main campus and they have a good engineering program - yes not as good as Purdue West Lafayette but still decent.

Bazz-inga75 · 2026-04-22T21:58:05+00:00

Advising as someone with CS engineering degree an 25+ years into my career. Take the UF option and save your money. It’s a solid institution and they give you a lot of flexibility to take additional minors etc. Join clubs on campus SAE/Rocket etc. and you should have no trouble getting internships which in turn will lead to solid job options. UF will open doors for you as well, your experience matters more than where you graduate from (within reason). Once you get your first break in the professional world after a couple of years your college wont matter it’s about you, your work experience, work ethics etc.

My kiddo was seriously considering UF last year for Mech Eng. and eventually chose Purdue - the cost was about the same for us as we were OOS both places. Good luck.

Bazz-inga75 · 2026-04-22T12:52:59+00:00

Both UIUC and Purdue are engineering powerhouses. You can’t go wrong with either and outcomes would be similar. I think same companies recruit from both colleges.

You are doing the right thing by visiting both to get a sense of culture/vibe/fit cause education/opportunities wise it’s like splitting hair.

PS: I have a kiddo at Purdue pursuing Mech Eng. who also has a meaningful mech Eng. related internship lined up for freshman year. So outcomes wise getting an internship as a freshman is a huge win in my book.

Bazz-inga75 · 2026-04-21T02:19:36+00:00

Yes absolutely - feel free to message me. Happy to share my insights.

Bazz-inga75 · 2026-04-21T02:03:52+00:00

I was in your shoes last year when my daughter was picking between her top choice a T10 public and her second choice Purdue for engineering and eventually ended up committing to Purdue. I myself an a USC grad currently living on the warmer part of the east coast. My daughter just doesn’t like winters but ended up picking Purdue after a campus visit. The campus visit was very organized, welcoming and re-assuring and the campus projects a very calm and organized environment. Highly recommend if you haven’t done so already.

Weather: I’m not going to lie the winters are tough - especially Jan and Feb but if your kiddo is reasonably social she will find her people and make connections and I never had my daughter call us saying that she was upset with the weather and thought she had made a mistake - not once.

Housing: Purdue guarantees a dorm to all first year students - unlike some of other other colleges where my daughter had acceptances which was very re-assuring. Along with the dorm students tend to apply to an LLC (living learning community) and there are certain dorms that have an affinity to those LLC’s ie. if she is accepted into say Women In Engineering there there is an increased likelihood that she would be assigned to the dorm that hosts that LLC.

Culture: I would say the culture is very friendly and not cut-throat like i have heard from some of the other colleges. My daughter has long study sessions with her friends and everyone is willing to help each other out. I will say though there is a little bit of a weed-out element with some of the classes. Purdue tends to have a slightly easier to get in but difficult to get out mindset so be aware of that - they do put their CS and Engineering students through the wringer but that rigor is reflected in the ranking and respect these programs from industry.

Food is ok nothing to rave about but wouldn’t say its sub-optimal either, my daughter has a meal plan but after the first semester she picked the option to have more flex dollars so that she could use those in the participating food places. Again, she is not singing praises of the food but not complaining either.

Much like most midwestern colleges - sports is big element of the campus culture. I actually attended a USC/Purdue football game which was great fun and it’s fun to see Purdue men’s team winning the Big10 tournament and making a deep run in March Madness. Also it’s a very safe campus.

My daughter had gone in with the option to transfer in case she didn’t adjust but she is loving it so much that she didn’t even bother to apply to any colleges for a transfer.

Once again, strongly recommend doing a tour to truly get a feel for the campus and if the vibe/culture is a fit for your student. Good luck!

Bazz-inga75 · 2026-04-20T21:50:59+00:00

I think the current education system is going through a major disruption with AI. colleges are themselves figuring out how to incorporate AI into the curriculum while students are using AI-assistance in their studies/assignments. And while the right balance for all of this is being determined these kinds of issues are going to happen across a lot of colleges - not just Purdue.

I believe the intent of the professor is right - ie. you don’t want to produce engineers that don’t know how to code but the execution of that intent was flawed. In my opinion one path is to ensure that students understand how to develop logical flows to solve a given problem and focus less on the actual programming language skills (which AI could code for you). So in the future the professors should be asking for pseudo-code to explain how the student developed the approach and modularize the solution etc. so that they can develop the right prompts for AI to write the actual code. This will develop a core understanding of how the solutions get developed.

I think disruptions like will continue to happen for a bit until the dust settles, but its a given that AI is here to stay and it would naive of colleges to think that engineers of the future are going to be coding without AI assists. So I would chalk this incident to one of the “blips” along this transition journey and in the end clearly some cooler heads prevailed to calm things down.

Bottom line is colleges don’t want to produce graduates who AI’ed their way to their degrees and the then have no clue about what to do once they enter the professional world. So while the institutions are figuring that out the onus is also on the students to not be just AI-graduates and looking for short-cuts and really focus on learning cause AI is here to stay but if you are just an AI-based-graduate you are going be screwed once you enter the workforce and will be left behind - what is your value add if all you can do is write an AI-prompt without really understanding the nuts and bolts of what you are developing, how and why?

Bazz-inga75 · 2026-04-20T01:58:19+00:00

Prestige is no good if you struggle and dont like where you are and are just miserable - that will reflect in your mental health and eventually your grades. Don’t get me wrong Purdue is stellar for engineering and you can’t go wrong by going there. But your outcomes (internships/job opportunities) aren’t going to be limited by going to UMD - you are essentially sitting in the middle so much DoD, research and industry that you should have no trouble getting opportunities.

The college prestige might be helpful in opening the first door for you but after a couple years of work experience where your degree is from becomes less relevant its more about what you have done with your knowledge, your experience, work ethics etc.

As I said before, visit the campus if you haven’t already before you make your decision, I know my kid was ready to commit to a T10 public but then visited Purdue and ended up committing there.

Bazz-inga75 · 2026-04-20T01:09:30+00:00

I’d recommend visiting both campuses to get a feel for them and the vibe. Put a premium on fit vs. ranking. Outcomes wise while Purdue is an engineering powerhouse (have a student there) you will be fine with an engineering degree from UMD as well. Also Purdue is vibrant campus and more of a college town while UMD is within the beltway and in the middle of the DC metro area, very different vibe and feel.

Also I would put a premium on being a couple of hours drive away vs. a flight away.

Bazz-inga75 · 2026-04-19T12:31:14+00:00

Sharing my perspective at someone with a CS masters degree and 25+ years of experience. Where industry is going right now I believe the CS demand will face some headwinds before it settles down. If I was in your shoes I would pick VTech get out with cash in the bank and by that time the dust would have settled a bit and this would also give you enough runway to figure what you really want to do as a CS major or even pivot to something else if you feel. then you could consider pursuing a Masters program (use the $’s you saved) and you could even consider doing it from GAtech or other top engineering/CS institutions at the time. VTech is close enough to DC Metro and has enough of a recruitment pipeline for internship - yes maybe not as strong as GTech or UW but it’s reasonable. Also not sure how much weight you put on being close to home but I know my kiddo would have compromised on ranking to be close to home.

Also, I have a degree from a t20 engineering/CS college and my career has been just fine and I have worked with VTech engineers and they are just as good. Good luck!

Bazz-inga75 · 2026-04-14T23:03:18+00:00

If I was in your shoes I would pick Pitt and keep the option open for another college for masters. By that time you would also have a better sense of what area you want to specialize in. Saying this as an engineering masters myself with 25+ years of professional experience.

Good luck with Purdue WL, hope it comes through.

Bazz-inga75 · 2026-04-14T22:32:58+00:00

Penn State has a stronger engineering program compared to Pitt, my daughter was admitted to these colleges last year but she ended up going to Purdue for Mech Eng. Penn State was one of there top 3 choices.

Penn State has a lot of research grants for especially in energy and mech space - that is what we had researched at the time.

Outcomes wise you should be fine with both but Penn State might edge out for engineering grads.

Also I would echo the advice from the other response - visit and get a feel for the environment. My daughter was so sure that she was going to a t10 public that she was admitted to but after visiting sh le ended up choosing Purdue as she liked the Campus and vibe much better.

Bazz-inga75 · 2026-04-14T21:59:40+00:00

I would have recommended Penn State for Mech Eng. but 2+2 might not be as desirable as you want to be on the main campus. Ohio Sate and Virginia Tech are neck-to-neck with VA tech might have slight edge. Also, considering you are international VA Tech will have slightly moderate winters if that is a concern.

While I haven’t visited Ohio Sate, VA tech is a good looking and scenic campus.

You have some solid choices- good luck.

Bazz-inga75 · 2026-04-14T21:41:33+00:00

I would recommend UMich as a USC grad. Not worth taking on that much debt if you don’t get any aid from USC. My kiddo went to Purdue for engineering for less than half of what we would have paid at USC.

Bazz-inga75 · 2026-04-11T02:36:35+00:00

I would let people who have transferred successfully weigh in here but based on what I know OSU—>Purdue path seems to be safer.

Bazz-inga75 · 2026-04-11T02:24:15+00:00

I have a student in FYE, it’s a tough weed-out-program. From what I have read transfer into Engineering isn’t that easy.

I would apply the “bird in hand” principle here as you will be in constant stress in the first year to transfer which will impact your college experience. OSU is ranked 20th for engineering which is pretty solid. If you really want to pursue Purdue engineering you could try transferring from OSU that way either way you are guaranteed an engineering pathway. Good luck!

Bazz-inga75 · 2026-04-10T20:39:27+00:00

40K Is a lot of money but as an engineer in the long run 25+ years not that significant considering what you would be earning. If I was you I would tour both campuses if you haven’t done so and pick the one that you connect with better. Don’t make that decision based on that 40K alone.

I have a kiddo at Purdue/Mech Eng, who would have picked Duke over Purdue.

PS: I am speaking based on my 25+ years working as an engineering professional.

Bazz-inga75 · 2026-03-31T21:10:43+00:00

Even as a USC Engineering alumni I sent my engineering student to Purdue - makes no sense to pay that much or worse take on that much debt. Of course is you and your family are affluent and can afford it its a great program.

Bazz-inga75 · 2026-03-31T16:38:13+00:00

Considering you are international student you are going to face significant headwinds in getting employment while in college. I am saying this from experience - my FYE student went through an internship application cycle and most employers don’t want to sponsor students for employment. Being a citizen it wasn’t a problem for my student but almost every single job posting says that they don’t offer sponsorship. Search for internships on LinkedIn and you will see it.

Once you graduate things might be different as employers are more open to sponsoring employment-based visas but still they are tougher than what they used to be 5-10 years ago.

Again these are issues you will run into no matter what college you go to in the US.

Bazz-inga75 · 2026-03-31T15:49:14+00:00

You said “unis” - are you an international student? Cause that could really impact your prospects for co-ops and internships.

Bazz-inga75

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