[archiver]

Posted by Andy Baker.

Engineer on team #45, TechnoKats, from Kokomo High School and Delphi Automotive Systems.

Posted on 10/13/2000 12:27 PM MST


In Reply to: The BEST School posted by Michael Martus on 10/11/2000 7:17 PM MST:



When I was choosing an engineering school, I went about it a different way. While I had to stay in Indiana for financial reasons, I was accepted at Purdue, Rose-Hulman, and the University of Evansville. I chose UE.. While Rose and Purdue are 'higher ranked' engineering schools, I still had a great education and a great experience at UE. Here's what I liked about it:

It is a small school (not like Purdue), and it has diverse programs (not like Rose). I never had a grad student teach a class. No class had over 80 students in it, and most were around 15-25 in class size. My professors were (and still are) very accessible, and they encouraged the right amount of teamwork and competition between the students.

UE also had two things going for it that I would suggest ALL engineering students participate in, no matter where they attend college:
....1. A good co-op program. I had a great co-op job with GE Plastics. That experience weighed JUST AS MUCH as which school I attended when I went interviewing my senior year.
....2. UE owns a college in Grantham, England (Harlaxton College). I went to school there for a semester my senior year. It was my best experience while in school.

No matter where you go to school, you should definitely get an internship or a co-op. Not only do you get marketable experience, but more importantly, you get to figure out what you like to do. Companies don't just look at where you went to college, but they also look at what experience you have. I contend that a UE grad with GE Plastics experience would get a job over a Purdue grad with little or no engineering experience.

Also, while you are young, single, and poor... you should study overseas for a semester. I grew up alot during that time and my 'world view' changed. There I was, a 21-year-old farmboy from Hickville, Indiana... galavanting around Europe (on a tiny budget), from Big Ben to the Kremlin. Heaven knows that I will not be able to do that again until my kids are out of college.

Andy B.