#nc state vs unc chapel hill

81 messages · Page 1 of 1 (latest)

trim plinth
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  • schools:

    • nc state vs unc chapel hill

  • intended major:

    • nc state for electrical engineering + computer engineering

    • unc for computer science (possibly combined with business / data science / applied math / entrepreneurship)

    • similarities

    • both are strong public schools in north carolina (in state for both)

    • both have solid cs outcomes and place into big tech (amazon, google, microsoft, etc.)

    • both have access to internships and job opportunities

    • both are college town environments

    • both allow skipping a similar number of intro classes

    • both have large student bodies/active campus life

    • costs (doesn't matter)

    • nc state: 30k a year

    • unc: 28k a year

    • ** tiebreaking considerations **

    • importance of engineering (hardware + depth) vs cs/business flexibility

    • preference for structured path vs open-ended exploration

    • importance of prestige / brand recognition

    • value of social life and overall college experience

    • comfort with risk vs preference for a safer outcome

    • interest in business / startups / product roles

    • preference for collaborative vs competitive environment

pros and cons will be in the next message (it won't fit)

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*** nc state ***

  • pros

  • can get two degrees (ee + cpe) in 4 years

  • finished almost all freshman year classes

  • direct placement into engineering (no need to apply to major)

  • decent rankings for engineering (cpe ~23, ee ~19)

  • largest career fair in the southeast

  • lots of opportunities in research triangle (cisco, ibm, red hat, lenovo)

  • will qualify for more jobs than just a cs degree

  • more hands-on → actually learning and building more

  • i like this campus more

  • attachment? (wanted to go since freshman year)

  • only need to take four engineering classes + exercise credit freshman year

  • can work / do internships nearby

  • more collaborative environment

  • clearer identity (helps with resume?)

  • unlikely to regret choice for job outlook

  • better roi

  • more “locked in” path to build future (less socially)

  • college city

  • more modern school

  • cons

  • lower overall prestige

  • harder to explore other interests like business (rigid curriculum)

  • engineering classes are harder than cs

  • weak for business if majoring/minoring in here

  • not flashy / less bragging rights out of state

  • forces depth and specialization

  • lower ceiling for jobs/future (more locked into one path)

  • harder for startups?? (less business exposure)

  • might feel boxed in (mostly engineering students) with less diversity in interests

  • might feel over optimized

#

unc chapel hill

  • pros

  • much higher prestige

  • easier to get jobs out of state

  • #4 public school name recognition

  • stronger alumni network (especially for business)

  • flexible majors (can combine cs with business, data science, applied math, entrepreneurship)

  • top ~25 for cs

  • top ~12 for undergrad business

  • strong business program (useful for product management/startups)

  • probably slightly easier academically

  • much better social life

  • cs grads still go to big tech from here (amazon, google, microsoft)

  • better overall college experience

  • can switch if not wanting to do cs or business

  • can skip ~6 classes (similar to nc state)

  • more competitive environment

  • instantly recognized outside of nc

  • more diverse friend network

  • more freedom for interests

  • higher ceiling for jobs/future

  • more fun choice while still having roi

  • college town

  • much better school spirit/traditions

  • older school

  • cons

  • no engineering program

  • can’t do hardware → fewer job options

  • weaker local recruiting (competing with nc state engineering/cs)

  • less hands-on, more theory/math

  • have to apply to major (not guaranteed)

  • less built-in pressure (have to find internships/projects independently)

  • cs is becoming crowded

  • higher risk option

  • less technical depth

  • harder to stand out

  • flexibility might not be fully used

  • location might not be ideal for in-state opportunities (would have to compete with people from other schools for cs)

manic monolith
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Could you do a double major in CPE and business from NCSU? Or a business minor on top of your double major? That might give you the best of both worlds

trim plinth
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i'm not really sure if business prestige would be valuable here

fluid shard
# trim plinth i'm not really sure if business prestige would be valuable here

Not really no. A lot of people who do start ups just have expertise in a specific area and then market it, a lot don't have and don't need business degrees to do that. Especially if you're interested in entrepreneurship or even engineering management they'll rely on your knowledge-base a lot more.

Most of the ivy leagues and such don't even offer undergrad business programs. Its typically something those students would pursue in the form of an MBA if they wanted access to that network and wanted a degree as leverage for a specific role in a company. And a lot of people don't get MBAs until after working for a few years if it all.

You could do some "market research" to see people in specific roles you're interested in and look at what degrees they have.

But engineering is a pretty uniquely specialized program where you should be able to get a job with just the bachelor's. I would go to NC State as the path to doing anything with business (again most people do this without a businesss degree) would still be open while the door to hardware stuff would be pretty much closed if you went to UNC... you could learn hardware stuff in a masters degree but that'd be like required if you wanted to do that where I feel like the business program is way more optional and/or flexible

glossy patio
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Imo (coming from a UNC grad/current state student) NCSU is the pick here since UNC has zero hardware/engineering

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+1 to everything muu and Talya have already stated, definitely look at roles you're interested in & the degrees they're looking for

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But really if you want a background in hardware, you're not getting any of that at UNC

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Also don't underestimate NCSU's network - even though UNC KF's network is good for finance, NCSU, especially for engineering, has its fingers EVERYWHERE

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The CoE is also incredibly diverse - industrial, chemical, and computer engineers are all pretty different, and there are dozens of clubs for all sorts of engineering related interests :)

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I'd definitely look at NCSU's first destinations survey results and see if any grads in CPE/EE are working anywhere you're interested in

manic monolith
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Startup accelerators can teach and mentor the business side, but not the technical side

glossy patio
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It's also not like NCSU doesn't have startup culture/support within CoE either, given how many people desire an entrepreneurship backgorund nowadays

trim plinth
# fluid shard Not really no. A lot of people who do start ups just have expertise in a specif...

yeah that makes sense, i also definitely agree that the actual business degree probably isn’t necessary but it might be something nice to have. i will just probably minor in business if i end up going to state.

i think what i’m more trying to figure out is whether i’d be missing out on the environment side of things at nc state like being around more people interested in startups,, business, etc vs mostly engineering

do you think that difference actually matters long term, or is it more about what you do individually regardless of school?

trim plinth
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i guess my only hesitation at this point is more on the business/product/startup side

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like whether being at unc would make a noticeable difference there because of the environment/network

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do you feel like that gap is actually significant, or is it pretty easy to find those opportunities at state too if you’re intentional about it?

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and also what about the social life at both colleges. not even academically but just socially where do you think you had the better fit?

trim plinth
fluid shard
# trim plinth yeah that makes sense, i also definitely agree that the actual business degree p...

I mean. You're talking about entrprenurial spirit vs becoming an engineer. You can't really be an engineer if you go to unc and/or you'll be behind a while compared to people who did bachelors degrees.

So I don't think that's comparable.

But even if it were, it definitely more down to what you do as a student. And the rdu is pretty well known to be a start-up hub.

But also there are a lot of masters programs specialized in engineering start-ups, networking, and stuff like that which you could do in a year or 2 if needed and you wouldn't be as metrically behind as like, someone who doesn't have an engineering degree

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https://entrepreneurship.ncsu.edu/engineering-entrepreneurs-program/

https://entrepreneurship.ncsu.edu/

https://entrepreneurshipclinic.ncsu.edu/clinic-classes/

https://entrepreneurship.ncsu.edu/entrepreneurship-mentorship-program/

https://entrepreneurship.ncsu.edu/programs/

https://entrepreneurship.ncsu.edu/students/

https://ssie.entrepreneurship.ncsu.edu/social-innovation-fellows/

and it looks likw they have a lot of entrepreneurship clubs too

Innovation and Entrepreneurship
admin
Engineering Entrepreneurs Program

NC State Innovation and Entrepreneurship

Innovation and Entrepreneurship
admin
Innovation and Entrepreneurship

NC State Innovation and Entrepreneurship

Innovation and Entrepreneurship
kpproseu
Mentorship Program

NC State Innovation and Entrepreneurship

Innovation and Entrepreneurship
Jaclyn McVey
Programs

NC State Innovation and Entrepreneurship

trim plinth
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and also it's not just fully about the path that i take but also the general social life at both colleges. i've heard that nc state's social life isn't the greatest how much would you value social life when making a choice?

fluid shard
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It's really dependent on how much you value becoming an engineer

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Over something else. I would say the choice pretty binary between no engineering vs. maybe engineering but further down the line and potentially more expensive

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If you don't care about being an engineer too much then the other factors if you like them more could hold more weight.

But also if you're not sure, you could tour both schools.

It also might be that people at nc state are going to be more innovative/creative and into the start-up scene vs unc being more into business/finance/management

And socially that can create different vibes too

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I am an engineer by training and NC States campus personally resonated with me for that reason, their engineering resources are more tricked out than Duke's.

I also got to meet some
of the people who work on student projects teams there and they were equally ambitious as they were friendly

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I'd try to visit in person to meet current students to see like whether the vibe difference makes u realize that engineering isn't maybe something you want to do right now or at all

glossy patio
# trim plinth do you feel like that gap is actually significant, or is it pretty easy to find ...

I dont think the gap is significant. Youll abaolutely be able to find the opportunities at state. Its not even like "hidden gem" stuff either
Like Talya said RTP is a startup hub so it doesnt make a huge difference between schools. Just because UNC has "biz prestige" doesnt make it have stronger entrepreneurs (as demonstrated by the massive amount of entrepreneurship clubs and opps here)

glossy patio
severe herald
trim plinth
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do you mean like personal preference or just engineering in general

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i feel like between engineering and cs i have the same personal opinion and i like both equally

trim plinth
trim plinth
trim plinth
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i'm honestly just trying to figure out how rankings matter at all

glossy patio
trim plinth
fluid shard
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like its almost as substantial a choice between like do you want to be a doctor or a lawyer.

even though they cs and engineering are a bit more similar. the access to opportunities are very different.

trim plinth
fluid shard
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no it's like computer scientists scope of hiring is way smaller than a computer engineers

trim plinth
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okay that makes sense

glossy patio
# trim plinth actually also since you've been to both, and just from a social aspect, which on...

its really hard to say
i appreciated unc's major flexibility and being able to do a lot of coursework outside of my major
but in the end, the college of natural resources (where my phd is located and where the envsci major is at state) honestly would've provided me with the kind of envsci education i was looking for

i cant say i regret going to unc because i have fond memories and i had great experiences, but there is part of me that wishes i had chosen state. i thought that the prestige and flexibility of the double major at unc would be perfect for me but realistically i didnt enjoy envsci as much (bc all the upper divs were policy) and i wish i had more science-y/hands-on electives

this is very specific to my major so its not going to be the same for everyone, hindsight 20/20, that kind of stuff

trim plinth
fluid shard
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like you're going to have great and success outcomes at either but one is designed to train you and actually provide you with a degree that you want to do

glossy patio
# trim plinth also if the hiring market is similar how do rankings make sense at all. i though...

rankings are based on whatever ranking system they use, so if they rank based on like, affordability, its not going to reflect job placement. so what kind of metrics the rankers evaluate will change how schools are ranked
also once you get to a certain point, the difference in rank is arbitrary. like a 10 place difference when you're comparing 1000 schools means nothing. it might as well be a tie, splitting hairs at that level

trim plinth
fluid shard
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engineering is legally a professional degree and contains a specialized set of coursework that non-engineers legally cannot technically do.

trim plinth
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do you know exactly how hard it is to get into keenan flagler too without the assured enrollment?

trim plinth
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how did you personally figure out what direction you wanted to commit to?

fluid shard
trim plinth
trim plinth
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i just don't want to make the wrong choice and then regret it later on without any other option

glossy patio
fluid shard
# trim plinth how did you personally figure out what direction you wanted to commit to?

this is a productive question, kind of. but if you notice in my name, I personally chose engineering for a more research/theoretical/mathematical background of concepts as opposed to a professional background in industry since I plan on going to medical school.

But I loved like the circuitry classes and the connections between hardware and software, learning how to create both physical and difital things, intimately understanding the physics and math about how the world around us works and how to use that to create new things that the world needs. As an engineer you will typically learn how to code, lead, network, make ethical decisions, build devices, conduct groundbreaking research, do robotics, etc. Like engineers do get to specialize in a topic area but they're also required to learn how everything works to optimize systems.

fluid shard
# glossy patio yes

yes like squirmy says. And you would likely graduate 1-2 years late if you did that because engineering is a 4 yr sequential path.

So missing a semester could delay things by a year because you can't take class B if you didn't take class A, and class B might only be taught in the fall or something

fluid shard
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  • for context I did biomedical engineering
trim plinth
fluid shard
# trim plinth this actually helps to hear. i think that i don't like physics and math as much ...

yeah you get exposed to everything which is why engineers have a much more expansive job market.

but also if you don't like physics and math, that's like the most technical that a CS degree ever gets. and so you wouldn't really be able to know anything about the circuitry or electronics or physical components of devices and how to build them (unless u go to a CS degree inside of an engineering program but that's like not the case with unc)

trim plinth
trim plinth
fluid shard
trim plinth
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i could also apply to transfer after first year instead of two years if that helps

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this was my original plan if i didn't get keenan flagler and didn't like unc, but i think that nc state might be the better choice for me academically

fluid shard
# trim plinth i could honestly just double major in ece and minor/major in cs instead of busin...

yeah but usually there's already plenty of CS classes in an ece degree.

and I forgot to mention a big like aspect of engineering education IS innovation and business.

at least at duke, day 1 of school for us was, we were split into like 30 groups and each got a client from industry that needed a new device. and then we learned the business/network/pitch and design skills for how to create that product.

and we also got to come up with the product ideas ourselves

fluid shard
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because you won't be allowed to enroll in any other engineering course until you've taken that one

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is typically how it works