college

[currupt4130]

so i got into VCU's engineering school today! woohoo (Virginia Commonwealth Univ) but im still running short on info on it. Ive also applied to Virginia Tech for eng but im iffy on wether or not ill get in there jsut cuz its so hard. Does anyone know anything about VCU's eng. dept? if i get into VT for general admission and not engineering should i go to tech anyway and try to work my way into the engineering dept? or should i just go to VCU if i dont get into techs engineering dept? just looking for opinions, thanks for any help

 

[SenorCole86]

Don't know anything about those schools, sorry, but I know Viginia Military Institute has an EXCELLENT engineering program if you're not scared of the military lifestyle. I applied there myself and have visited the campus and talked to the heads of both the electrical and mechanical engineering dep'ts and was very pleased. I was accepted there a few weeks ago but I doubt I'll end up attending this school. What exactly are you planning on going into?

 

[currupt4130]

RE: Re: RE: Re: RE: Large turkey sub

mechanical eng. although im not sure exactly what id like to do yet im pretty sure thats what i want, ever since i was 2 yrs old ive been fascinated with the way things work and are made etc

 

[MerkL]

I'm pretty sure you'll have to work your way into the VT engineering dept. Usually at schools that big they have prerequisits(sp?) that must be completed before entrance to their engineering school. If you have any questions about engineering I can give you my dad's e-mail address. He is an electrical engineer and his brother and dad are mechanical engineers. PM if you're interested...I was actually going to do mechanical, but my career aspirations changed.

 

[mingez]

First of all, Congrats on your acceptance!

You have a very "good" problem to have: Choices.

If it were me, without knowing how each program/school is ranked, I'd hold out to see what VT says. Now, I'm a laymen when it comes engineering and it's academia, but generally speaking a more recognizable name is more profitable in the long term.

What I would do is speak to an academic advisor and see what they say about the program and it's requirements. Make sure it's "Do-able". Many programs have limited enrollment and have waiting lists. The time involved in getting into a particular program may help you decide. Also, the time involved dealing with prerequisites as MerkL said, may make your end goal that much longer. Then once all of the info is obtained, you can make an informed decision.

With VCU, you have instant enrollement (it sounds like), but how good of a program is it?
How does it rank vs. VT and other programs?
Cost?
Length of program?

Good luck!

 

[mingez]

RE: Re: RE: Dana 60 REAR axle

Okay, I checked out both profiles of each of the schools. I couldn't find a ranking source, but I did find the profiles on USnews' engineering school profile database. USnews is one of the chief Ranking sources, but online they only show the top schools in specific categories.
Here's the 411:


VCU
General Information
Public institution
Year founded: 1838
Religious affiliation: None
Academic calendar: Semester
Undergraduate student body: 18,312
Setting: Urban

Fall 2005 Admissions
Application deadline: Rolling
Application fee: $30
Selectivity: Selective

U.S. News Ranking
U.S. News ranking: National Universities, third tier

2004-2005 Expenses
Tuition and fees: $5,138 in-state, $17,262 out-of-state
Room/board: $6,920



VT
General Information
Public institution
Year founded: 1872
Religious affiliation: None
Academic calendar: Semester
Undergraduate student body: 21,348
Setting: Rural

Fall 2005 Admissions
Application deadline: January 15
Application fee: $40
Selectivity: More selective

U.S. News Ranking
U.S. News ranking: National Universities, 74

2004-2005 Expenses
Tuition and fees: $5,838 in-state, $16,531 out-of-state
Room/board: $5,787

The one think I noticed is that VT is MORE selective. Usually this means it's ranked higher and harder to get into. They also referred to VCU as a tier 3 school. And VT is 74th overall. I don't know what that means exactly...I think that rating is for gen ed. Try for VT... I think it'll be worth it.

 

[jay79cj7]

Right or wrong, the name goes a long way, at least when you are right out of school. Having a "better" name on that piece of paper should give you a better chance at a good starting job, which should in turn give you a better chance at a good next step, etc. I'd advise to go for the best school for your field that you can get into, assuming the tuition is relatively the same.

I did chemical engineering, graduated 5 years ago now. I should have done mechanical! That's more in line with what I am interested in and what my jobs have been.

 

[MerkL]

Teir 3 is more of a locally known school. It's like law schools. Teir 3 is a good school, but not really nationall recognized. Teir 2 is nationally rcognized by some people, but not by others. Teir 1, which a 74 ranking would fall under is pretty much known by everyone. Sorry if this doesn't make sense, I tried to simplify it, and may have done to much simplifying.

 

[judge09]

RE: Oh, happy day!!!

Go for Environmental Engineering its da bomb!

 

[Special_K]

Whooaaa! Look at Mingez dropping the 4-1-1.

Contrats. I almost went to UVA.

 

[currupt4130]

RE: EBAY: Cherokee Rock Crawler

thanks for the info guys. what i might do is go to VCU for the first two years (if i dont get into techs eng dept to start with) as most of the courses would be the same at either school, and then try to transfer to tech once ive gotten all of my basic classes taken care of. this was suggested to me in my home club and sounded like a good idea.

what does enviromental engineering encompass?

 

[mingez]

Sounds like a good idea. Check to see if there are any less expensive alternatives. If you're gonna do the transfer thing, you may as well go cheap for the first 2 years.

Also, make sure you double check, and try to get it in writing that all of the credits WILL xfer. That was a very expensive mistake that I made.

Good luck Currupt,

Mingez

 

[judge09]

RE: Going to CO

thanks for the info guys. what i might do is go to VCU for the first two years (if i dont get into techs eng dept to start with) as most of the courses would be the same at either school, and then try to transfer to tech once ive gotten all of my basic classes taken care of. this was suggested to me in my home club and sounded like a good idea.

what does enviromental engineering encompass?

There are many areas to environmental engineering. You could take the govt route and work for the EPA or DEC, but you make no money and you dont get to do any "real" work. I went the private route and work for a consulting company. We work for Fortune 100 companies. We more or less clean up their messes. Back in the day there were no environmental regulations so manufacturing facilities just buried their waste somewhere in the back 40 or tried to burn it in burning pits. Well all that waste got into the soil and groundwater. Since 1976 the govt has been passing environmental regulations making companies take responsibility for their pollution. Those companies call me to design and build them a treatment system to clean the pollution. I work on projects all over the country and on sites of all sizes. Last week I was in Jacksonville FL checking out a gas station. I will be designing a treatment system to clean up the gas that had been leaking out of their gas holding tanks. This past Monday I was in Buffalo, NY making some edits to drawings and questioning operators of an existing groundwater treatment system that we are troubleshooting and upgrading. My work week is a mix of calculations, design drawings, reports, site visits, and general project management. If you have any other questions fire away.

 

[currupt4130]

hmmm thanks for the over view but i think that just pushed me further into ME

 

[judge09]

RE: Factory wheel backspacing

What ever floats your boat. Once you graduate you will spend most of your day at work, make sure its something you will enjoy.

 

[mingez]

I'm gonna go ahead and hijack this a bit. Judge...if you don't mind my asking...what do they pay people in your industry, and what's the outlook of the industry. Is it going, or saturated. Just curious.

 

[judge09]

There is a huge need for environmental engineers. Esspecially on the west coast. I know we cant hire people fast enough. The pay in the private sector is very good. Right out of college with no practical experience you can expect to make around $40k base + paid OT and really good benefits. In cali or NYC you might have a base of around $50-55k. In 10 years you will probably be up to $75-80k and associate - VP people with 10+ experience are $100k+.

The industry outlook is fantastic. More and stricter regulations are coming out every year, which means more work for us. Plus Europe is starting to catch on to environmental regulations similar to the US and alot of people are predicting europe as an untouched market. State side we got more than enough work to go around. The company I work for started 20 years ago with 10 people and now is 800 strong with 20 something offices and continuously growing. If you have any other questions just ask away.

 

[mingez]

RE: Just got a jet ski!

Schooling? Type of degree? Time?

 

[judge09]

Re: RE: Re: RE: Re: RE: Skiing

4 year undergrad in civil, environmental, or chemical engineering, bachelors of science. Is usually what they look for. My company has a lot of scientists along with engineers so someone with a biology or chemistry undergrad could get a scientist job. People going that route end up going back for their masters or phd and my company has a 100% reimbursment program.