Ping to some folks who may be interested, especially a homeschool ping. I’m interested in your views.
Do some research as to what engineering grads from the 3 colleges earn 10 or 20 years in to their career.
Franciscan University.
Steubenville, Ohio
What is his preference at this point in the process?
Maryland sounds like the no-brainer because of the money saved and the great engineering program.
But if he wants to go somewhere outside of his home state...
Congratulations to you!
I’d recommend Maryland, can’t beat a free ride plus
lots and lots of large programs to get involved in on campus plus lots of intern opportunities in govt and private contractors around the Beltway
FWIW, CIA and DIA would love to have kids like this and would pay for his Master’s+ and he would have a great time and really be serving our future
Otherwise save YOUR money and the Ivy Leagues for his master’s degree and PhD, which is where they really matter to employers
MIT or GA Tech.
Oops...skipped over the part that his fav is Johns Hopkins...which is also in your home state.
If he loves it, he probably should go there.
Getting U of M for free would be an amazing thing, though.
Check out Grove City College (PA) a small, very affordable, well thought of Christian college. (BTW, he should still be able to apply even now.)
While it only has mech and elec engineering, both are VERY well recognized.
As far as the classics go...
how about a college that actually still VALUES them.
“Maryland, with great engineering, decent classics and, did I mention, absolutely FREE?”
I would advocate this one based on the cost alone. What a student would get from their education depends on them, and in some of the other cases you are paying for the prestige of the name, and the connections made there, not necessarily the academic content. (Which might be something to consider, actually- if he were going into management or something where networking is a big part.) Anyway, my 2 cents worth.
I graduated from a no-name school and have worked next to Harvard grads making the same money.
If he wants to live in the NE then the name brand will count for more. Elsewhere most people only seem to care that you have a degree and can do the job.
Just my opinion (way too many factors to account for) but if that was in front of me, I would choose Maryland and take the $16K-$22K per year difference and invest it. He then would have a lot more freedom when he graduates and a nice bank account to start a business, pay for grad school, or whatever.
I have worked in the university “industry” for about 20 years and your son has some great options before you. Here are some additional thoughts that might be helpful or might add to your confusion (I hope not the latter). The poster who asked what a grad would make in 10 - 20 years after graduation is asking a great question.
However, all your options will produce good starting salaries and job choices. It is not easy to predict what engineering positions will be like with 10-20 years experience and most people make significant career changes in that period of time. Consider what your resume will look like in 10-20 years. The Harvard name will glow for the rest of professional career and can open job opportunities in most areas in and outside the engineering profession. If he chooses to become a physician, a diplomat, or a librarian at some future time, the Harvard name will be attractive. People the world over recognize the name. Every day I benefit from having a college name on my resume that is universally respected. It is hard to quantify but it is valuable.
Second, consider who you are in class with. At each school you will be studying with very very bright students. The atmosphere and performance level of your peers will drive much of the experience of getting at degree at any of these institutions. Of course, the students in engineering will have a different discipline and culture than those in other fields of study. You can’t meet them and know who will be your friends till you arrive for study—you can only know they will be very smart and hard working.
Congratulations!
Why do you prefer civil engineering over mechanical? As wife. daughter in law, and paernt of mechanical engineers, I think that it is a better program. Certainly it is more versatile. It’s probably just engineering prejudice, but my husband always said that the civil engineers made up the bottom of the class.
PS — none of the engineers in my famly know squat about the classics! LOL.
Congratulations to your son and to you for your achievements.
Despite their big names I wouldn’t send any of my kids to those uber liberal schools especially where their faith based upbringing would be scorned and ridiculed. There is a top notch, but lesser known engineering school in South Dakota...South Dakota School of Mines and Technology in Rapid City. The School of Mines has been the lead university for the Deep Underground Science and Engineering Laboratory (DUSEL),which has converted a former mile deep gold mine into a neutrino detector. The School of Mines is internationally known for its mining, electrical and physical engineering programs.
I am going to suggest Maryland, but not for the reasons the others do.
Since you are serious Catholics, your son would benefit from access to real Catholics that is attenuated at major secular and pseudo Catholic schools.
Although Christendom College is unsuitable for an engineering degree, Maryland is close enough to Front Royal, VA, and the various activities that Christendom engages in around D.C., that your son could visit and participate in a number of the events. A lot of Christendom grads would go on to UVa or Catholic U for advanced degrees but still visit the college for camaraderie. You don’t have to be a student or employee to attend a talk by a leading Catholic or conservative political figure or author.
(It isn’t the worst thing in the world that some of the young ladies there are open to an MRS degree.)
By the way, a good conservative friend of mine who attended U of Chicago went on to grad school at U of Maryland (late 80s) and ultimately landed a fine position at Intel. He found U of M no worse than U of Chicago for political climate, maybe even better. Due to those Nobel prize winning economists and lack of party reputation, U of Chicago has a reputation of being comparatively “conservative”. That is not the case.
JHU has a good Dominican-run student ministry based at SS Philip and James at the SE corner of the campus.
UVA has an AWESOME CSM program. But I’m prejudiced.
I’d pick Harvard, and do not borrow money even if somebody has to moonlight.
I graduated with an engineering degree in 1980 from a very good school. My son graduated from there also. Had I to do it over again, I’d have taken a few useful courses and gone into business - any business - for myself.
This country (our government) is against educated people. And, these educated (good educations) people are subject to the government whimsy of taxes and a W-2.
Had I to do it over again, I’d do like my brother-in-law. A good ole boy jackass millionaire plumbing company owner - now retired and huntin’ and fishin’.
CASH - at least until they don’t print it anymore- is KING. Government can’t take what they can’t prove you have.
I just finished reading your post. Maryland, no contest. A free ride scholarship will have a tremendous long-term effect on you and your son. The diploma will buy him a foot in the door, but his real selling point will be how he performs in his job for the first few years. If he keeps his grades high and works hard in internships and post-grad jobs, then he’ll be fine.