Engineering Advice

[dohdoh]

Hello there,

I needed some college advice..

I transferred this semester from a Northeastern in Boston to Michigan Ann Arbor this semester! While my original intentions to do so were because 1) Michigan's program was better 2) Consulting Firms recruit from Michigan 3) Michigan's social scene seemed inviting , I'm rethinking my decision now that I am here.. While I like it it here and have made a decent amount of friends for my first semester here, being an Industrial Engineering major, I feel that the atmosphere here very competitive and being an average engineering student, I find myself struggling to maintain the average for my classes in the exams. Considering that I'm starting my 300 level courses this fall, I'm not sure if it is wise to transfer back while I can without affecting my GPA... I had a high GPA in northeastern and am afraid with a low GPA at Michigan, the excellent career center here wouldn't really help since I wouldn't make the cutoffs!!

Anyone been in the same situation and any advice?? Is it better to head back to NU where I was doing well and top of the class or stick to Michigan, completely work my ass off and sacrifice my current social life to graduate from a big name school?

In other words, is it better to have a 3.0 from Michigan or a 3.7 from NU (keeping in mind that I'm an international student)? My goal is to work in the field for a few years ( in manufacturing/supply chain/quality) and then get my MBA at at a top 10 school.

Thanks much

 

[Matthiasa]

Study more!
Really though party less less study more, go to class more, don't procrastinate, do outside reading for the classes. Basically anything it takes to get an edge.

 

[dohdoh]

Thanks for the response.. My partying at this point only involves going out on Friday nights.. Rest of the nights, I'm usually doing homework and I dont usually skip classes..

 

[Matthiasa]

Well then just read the books the more thoroughly and do all hw, and maybe find more books on the subject.
Treat it like a regular job in terms of hours a day at minimum.

 

[KillerCharlie]

Yeah, IE is the easiest of all engineering majors.

When it comes to engineering, no one's heard of Northeastern. Michigan is one of the best engineering schools in the country.

 

[MoMeanMugs]

I would rather have a lower GPA from a well-regarded school than a higher GPA from a school with less standing. I graduated several years ago with an EE degree. The people who couldn't make it at the university I went to transferred to a university known to push EE majors out the door without making them try. I live in Houston, which has a ton of EE jobs. Most companies will flat out not higher from that particular school. One of the guys I graduated with told me that his company hired someone from that school, but they would only bring him on as a tech. He had to prove himself for five years before they would let him take on an engineering role. I don't know how competitive the IE field is, but that's something to keep in mind.

 

[mav451]

Just figure out a way to get it done. I think really this is just a transitional period, where you're adjusting to a "big" school, and before you know it you'll be back at the head of the pack.

 

[Leros]

Just work harder. It takes me about 3 times more work to make an A over a B. You're probably used to easier classes, but just push yourself harder.

 

[sindows]

As someone who was in a similar situation but choosing to go to the no-name school for the high GPA, I highly recommend staying at Michigan.

That name on the resume will do wonders and college is nothing more than a very expensive way to get past HR filters. The better the school, the less likely the chances you become a member of the "less qualified" applicant pool.

A bad GPA can be made up by an awesome internship or incredible networking/interviewing skills. The same cannot be said for an inferior school

 

[Babbles]

I don't want to be too much of an ass, but if you are struggling in your undergraduate courses - and it seems as if you are not yet doing your senior classes - what makes you think that doing graduate work at a "top ten" MBA program is going to be a reasonable route?

 

[MotF Bane]

3) Michigan's social scene seemed inviting

As opposed to Boston? lolwut?

 

[Matthiasa]

I don't want to be too much of an ass, but if you are struggling in your undergraduate courses - and it seems as if you are not yet doing your senior classes - what makes you think that doing graduate work at a "top ten" MBA program is going to be a reasonable route?

Because it's only an MBA?

 

[Bignate603]

Because it's only an MBA?

An MBA from a top ten school is quite a bit more work than one from most other places.

 

[Matthiasa]

An MBA from a top ten school is quite a bit more work than one from most other places.

In the end it is still an MBA though.

 

[dohdoh]

I would rather have a lower GPA from a well-regarded school than a higher GPA from a school with less standing. I graduated several years ago with an EE degree. The people who couldn't make it at the university I went to transferred to a university known to push EE majors out the door without making them try. I live in Houston, which has a ton of EE jobs. Most companies will flat out not higher from that particular school. One of the guys I graduated with told me that his company hired someone from that school, but they would only bring him on as a tech. He had to prove himself for five years before they would let him take on an engineering role. I don't know how competitive the IE field is, but that's something to keep in mind.

NU has a well known co-op program regionaly and a decent career placement center so I dont think it has that problem since it feeds into big companies like Raytheon, GE, etc but I see your point..

An MBA from a top ten school is quite a bit more work than one from most other places.

I actually picked IE partly due to family pressure and it was something I didn't mind studying ( and was manageable at NU ). I don't want to switch at this point.. My inclination was to first do business since I do like finance related coursework and since its something I like, I'm sure I'll be fine with the MBA.....

Another point that weights down on me is that at NU, i'd graduate in Dec 2011 ( with no summer courses ) but at Michigan, I'd graduate in May 2012 and I'd have to take summer courses and quite a few courses in engg fields other than IE like ME,EE, etc for the tech electives which are definitely not my strong point! Hard work is def the answer but wondering if I'll realistically be able to put that work in considering that I'm not a 100% passionate about it..

Thanks for the posts guys.. I need to think about it before I make a final decision.

 

[Hacp]

If you're aiming that high(investment bank) then study harder. I attend a tier3 school a bit above northeastern in the rankings. When I get out, I plan to look for a job, and if that fails, I'll work as a janitor for around 35k a year(I know sum1). Obviously, if you're looking to be an Ibanker, then you need to spend 15/24 hours of your day studying. Otherwise, I can help you land a janitor spot

As for the MBA, perhaps you want to look into MS financial engineering if you like finance. I don't really think you can be an Ibanker with an MBA, only a manager.

 

[magomago]

(a) Don't be a pussy
(b) I wouldn't care where a person went. If you are competent, you are competent. Experience will ultimately speak for itself, not the name of the school.

(c) That said, even though I know too many people who aren't too bright that went to top tier schools, it is annoying how your resume can get overlooked when you still are entry level because many people just look at the name and assume that the person has to have be smart if they went there.

So you are already in UMich, which is supposed to be good (I heard several grad eng programs are top notch...no idea on ugrad), so suck it up and get a 4.0

 

[duragezic]

Most companies I seen preferred a 3.0 when hiring out of college, but often 2.8 or better was listed.

UofM is a great school especially for engineering. As long as you can maintain a 3.0, you are doing absolutely fine. Of course any higher is nice but I think a good overall GPA to aim for even if you're not a great academic student is a 3.0 which it sounds like you have so just work hard at it.

 

[pray4mojo]

No one cares about GPA or school. Cheat your way through school and then it's all about who you (or your parents) know that will determine whether or not you land a job after college.

/thread

 

[Mani]

Hello there,

I needed some college advice..

I transferred this semester from a Northeastern in Boston to Michigan Ann Arbor this semester! While my original intentions to do so were because 1) Michigan's program was better 2) Consulting Firms recruit from Michigan 3) Michigan's social scene seemed inviting , I'm rethinking my decision now that I am here.. While I like it it here and have made a decent amount of friends for my first semester here, being an Industrial Engineering major, I feel that the atmosphere here very competitive and being an average engineering student, I find myself struggling to maintain the average for my classes in the exams. Considering that I'm starting my 300 level courses this fall, I'm not sure if it is wise to transfer back while I can without affecting my GPA... I had a high GPA in northeastern and am afraid with a low GPA at Michigan, the excellent career center here wouldn't really help since I wouldn't make the cutoffs!!

Anyone been in the same situation and any advice?? Is it better to head back to NU where I was doing well and top of the class or stick to Michigan, completely work my ass off and sacrifice my current social life to graduate from a big name school?

In other words, is it better to have a 3.0 from Michigan or a 3.7 from NU (keeping in mind that I'm an international student)? My goal is to work in the field for a few years ( in manufacturing/supply chain/quality) and then get my MBA at at a top 10 school.

Thanks much

At Michigan we used to call IOE "In and Out Easy". Be glad you're not in EECS in that case. My advice is to stick it out, study hard, and use the resources at your disposal. Spending a lot of time is not necessarily the answer - be smart about it and leverage office hours, teaching assistants, etc. It's not that conceptually hard and you're probably not stupid, so put in the effort and be smart about studying and you should be fine.