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how serious is engineering in the US im in dilemma!-international student!

hey guys, ive made this thread on CF aswell, i just want to see more answers, any answer would be appreciated

hey,
there are many threads about this, however i could not find the exact answers i wanted and some of them made me feel worried about studing in the states. First of all, i have an acceptance from purdue and psu. Being an international student, i have also applied for engineering courses in the UK, and got conditional offers(whereas psu and purdues are full acceptances)

I would like to know how serious engineering studies in these universities are, i somehow feel more confortable about attending psu. Are students serious about there studies or are they slack(overall, all students), will i get distracted easily? What makes me think about this is the culture shock i will getting(being an international student).

Plus, im studing GCE`s(british cirruculum) and our studies arehard but im only studing 3 main and 1 minor subject being maths(stats, mechanics, core maths-integrals-calculus-algebraetc), physics-mechanics,particle physics,motion etc, chemistry-organic,enthalpy etcetc. My grades for these are overall maths being A, physics being high B and chemistry B. and with these grades i could attend one of the top 15 engineering unis in the UK(my winter examinations were under my predictons im repeating those to get better results) i need to achieve ABB OR ABC to get into the unis i wanted(i need to get the final grades, which i dont really need if i`d choose to attend a uni in america)

Many of my friends are trying to convince to to study in the UK, undergraduate studies are 3 years and you can do and extra year to get your masters degree.

The difference between the UK and the US would be the education system, US universities are more theory based (loads of studies exams)and UK unis give more importance on projects and experiments for undergraduate studies.

I have a sister, studing in a good uni in Turkey, she is the one putting pressure on me to study in the states, i would have more advantages studing there no matter which uni im attending(according to her). But the thing is, im afraid i may not be able to spare 5/6 hours every single day for my studues with less social life(stabling high gpa). If i study in the Uk, i might have a better social life(some high school mates) and be closer to my parents.

I just need good reasons to be happy with my offer from psu, im planning to accept my offer soon, but, if i`ll study really hard this summer and get better final exam grades(which are required by UK unis), i think i would change my plans and study there

Im very very confused and have 5 weeks to make a decision.
Reply 1
psu-pennstate univeristy park, just to let you guys know, its a british forum :smile:
Reply 2
I think it is fair to say that engineering programs at the large state schools are quite demanding and no student graduates with a degree from one who has not learned self-discipline with respect to studies. Certainly these programs are generally regarded by non-engineering students as more difficult than other curricula, a fact in which most U. S. engineering students take pride while they commiserate about the fun they are missing out on that they see (or at least imagine) non-engineering students are having.

In all likelihood there will be some fellow engineering students in your first year that do not appear to be serious about their studies, but either they will learn to be more serious, switch to other majors, or leave school entirely. Introductory engineering courses are often known on U.S. campuses to be "weeder" courses deliberately intended to eliminate poorer students.

I am not familiar with UK engineering programs, but I would anticipate that their biggest academic difference from U.S. programs is the fact that the U.S. programs will require you to take additional courses outside of the science, math, and engineering disciplines. For example, here is Purdue's Chem E program:

https://engineering.purdue.edu/ChE/ChE/Academics/Undergrad/Plans%20of%20Study/Fall%2008%20General.pdf

Note the requirements for Gen-Ed electives. These typically will be social science, humanities, or other courses you are expected to take to improve the breadth of your education. If you do not like this notion, I suggest you avoid a U.S. engineering programs. This is one reason why the degree takes 4 rather than 3 years to attain. (I will add that U.S. engineering students often allow themselves an additional semester or two beyond 4 years to attain their degrees. You might, however, be able to accelerate this if you come in with some of the advanced preparation, such as calculus, you might be receiving in your current coursework.)

I can't advise you on the social consequences of your decision. I'll only say that it is my observaton that U.S. engineering students tend also to be a little less refined, a little more politically conservative, and a little more collegial than their non-engineering counterparts and often take pride in the amount of fun they can extract from any situation.
Reply 3
Engineering at the best US universities is very good.
MIT, Caltech and Stanford are among the best in the world for engineering.
However, it is true that as you drop further down the league tables, things become very patchy
and you end up with dud fellow students, inadequate facilities and tedious lecturers.

PSU is ok, but it is very definitely not up to the standard or reputation of the University of Pennsylvania, Cornell, Columbia or even Duke.
And it certainly cannot compare to MIT, Caltech and Stanford.
Perhaps you should redo your SATs and apply to a better program.
Reply 4
Generally speaking PSU's reputation isn't usually considered on par with the selective private schools you mention, but the engineering program is in the same range as those of the Ivies and above Duke's. See, for example: http://grad-schools.usnews.rankingsandreviews.com/best-graduate-schools/top-engineering-schools/rankings/
You would find similar story in other rankings. Note, too that, Purdue's program is usually considered superior to those in your "2nd tier". Engineering programs are one place where the big state publics often have better reputations than those of the Ivy League.

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