#Berkeley vs Vanderbilt vs Duke vs Carnegie Mellon vs Johns Hopkins

90 messages · Page 1 of 1 (latest)

tawdry dragon
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Schools: UC Berkeley (in state), Vanderbilt, Duke, Carnegie Mellon, Johns Hopkins (sorry there's so many).
Intended major: Electrical Engineering
Major for berkeley: Bioengineering
Major for Vanderbilt: Electrical Engineering
Major for Duke: Electrical Engineering
Major for CMU: Chemical Engineering
Major for Johns Hopkins: Electrical Engineering
Similarities: They're all pretty decent in engineering
Costs:
Berkeley: 10k
Vandy and Duke: 85k
CMU and JHU: 60k

Berkeley
Pros:

  • Really cheap, weather is good, program is amazing and proximity to Silicon Valley (main target industry)
    Cons:
  • Too large, competitive for opportunities even research could be hard to find
  • Clubs with valuable connections are harder to get into
  • A bit too close to home
    -** Switching to EECS isn't guaranteed**

Duke
Pros:

  • Super accessible double majors programs that are useful
    Cons:
  • Expensive AF (cant afford), and also a bit cutthroat?
    Vanderbilt
    Pros:
  • best campus life
  • great BME program, which i might stick with if i go here
    Cons:
  • Cost

CMU
Pros:

  • Amazing engineering school, more accessible opportunities than Berkeley with less competition.
  • TONS OF INDUSTRY OPPORTUNITIES! (or so i've heard) more than Berkeley ????
  • Additional major in BME possible
  • Smaller school size, more collaborative
    Cons:
  • A bit expensive but i canpay
    -** Switching to ECE is quite difficult, but still possible**
  • Kinda depressing

JHU
Pros:

  • Smallest EE program out of all, extremely accessible research and clubs
  • Could also go into biomed with EE degree
    Cons:
  • Biomed / premed focused
  • Research is accessible, but industry is less opportunities than CMU and Berkeley
  • Still competitive and a bit depressing

Tiebreaking considerations

  • City life preferred, also nicer dorms
  • My priorities focus on industry opportunities (in tech / engineering), and the feasibility to do electrical engineering
  • Mainly considering CMU, Hopkins and Berkeley due to cost.
turbid reef
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Berkeley is the clear choice here for financial reasons. The return on investment is not going to be $70k better at any of those other schools. Especially since Berkeley as a public school is actually going to be more well-funded and hyperspecialized in getting students into industry. The other schools are more research based but recruit talented students who just happen to be proactive enough to do internships independently during the summers to be able to go into industry.

gleaming blade
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im in the exact same situation (no duke and vandy) but berkeley is more expensive

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i might still go with berkeley though

gleaming blade
turbid reef
gleaming blade
turbid reef
gleaming blade
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switching to eecs @ berkeley might be a pain though

turbid reef
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Like most people show up to career fairs and use handshake and what have you but that's about the extent of the role that the school typically plays in helping with finding jobs at least from what I've seen

gleaming blade
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i think if u think u can manage to switch to eecs and get into the competitive clubs at berk then cal's the play

austere grail
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Go to cal

turbid reef
gleaming blade
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med device design for silicon valley tech still ok?

austere grail
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EECS might be fully capped off but I’m pretty sure u can switch to ECE. My friend who was DS was able to add ECE. Pretty sure it isn’t capped rn

austere grail
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Meaning they won’t be restricted to doing just bioeng

turbid reef
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But in any ways. like you need to shop smart as well with degrees. like it's really difficult to rationalize not going to one of the top 3 engineering programs in the country for $10k. worst case scenario if they decide they hate bme and don't have the skillset to swap, they can easily get a master's in ECE for the price of a year or 2 at any of the other schools.

and yeah like fish said, ECE, meche, whatever will give you the job security and skillset that you would like from eecs as well

gleaming blade
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oh also i heard that switching to eecs isnt too impossible

austere grail
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We have bioengineering go to Nvidia for EE interns

gleaming blade
austere grail
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As long as u stay on the EE concentration within bioengineering I don’t see this being a problem

tawdry dragon
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Oh wait I forgot to mention one thing, JHU and CMU I might be able to do a BS and Masters in 4 yrs

tawdry dragon
tawdry dragon
austere grail
tawdry dragon
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Doesn't Master's in EE generally increase opportunities for jobs, even base salary? Or am I wrong

gleaming blade
austere grail
tawdry dragon
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Fish are you an EE major?

austere grail
tawdry dragon
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Do you think having a research experience is still important to break into indsutry?

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I think that usually most ppl have at least one, but I'm thinking if I go to Berkeley it'll be harder to find

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Especially as a BioE first year

austere grail
austere grail
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That’s how I landed my research position

gleaming blade
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i think berkeley its a bit harder to talk to professors and stuff due to high concentration but i heard its not that bad to find research

austere grail
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I’m at usc so I personally don’t know, but I would see if Berkeley offers any paid or unpaid undergrad research programs

gleaming blade
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i asked some EE friends in college CMU vs berkeley and they said unless ur doing pure CS, its berkeley

turbid reef
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at least I can make the choice easier for you that Duke ece students don't get anywhere near as much access to opportunities as the BME ones do. mechE even less. duke is pretty hyperspecialized at research prep and bme stuff specifically.

gleaming blade
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i think duke and johns hopkins arent worth unless bme

turbid reef
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and even then if u really want to do industry it's not worth

gleaming blade
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too researchy

turbid reef
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but like i know people who pay to get opportunities in SF from all of these schools. if you're right there for way less cost, that makes os much sense

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there are like the other factors to consider in terms of location or campus spirit or environment but I can't imagine those being the most cost effective tiebreakers

tawdry dragon
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I can still afford CMU without debt, it'll just do alot more damage

turbid reef
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If cmu's location and campus environment is worth $200k more to you then that's fine, but in terms of employment/academic outcomes they're not going to be that different if at all

oak moss
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Why did you apply to bioe at Berkeley instead of eecs

tacit rune
tacit rune
tawdry dragon
tacit rune
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you do realize

tawdry dragon
tacit rune
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that you dont need

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to have the ecs

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for a major

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to apply to that major

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or even reference the major

tawdry dragon
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Yeah I know and realize that now after getting into EE to a bunch of schools

tacit rune
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in your main essays

tawdry dragon
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But I was scared at the time and unaware

tacit rune
tawdry dragon
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Also Berkeley EECS is alot harder than BioE to get into if I remember correctly

tacit rune
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i see

tacit rune
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the field will have research

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but most workers dont do it

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unless youre an R&D person

tawdry dragon
# tacit rune dependent on you

But for most college students in engineering, they usually have at least one research experience right? Esp because its easier to find as an underclassman compared to industry stuff?

tacit rune
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no

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most engineering students dont do research

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cause they dont need to

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doing resrarch is for folks who are interested in R&D

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and or interested in grad school

turbid reef
tawdry dragon
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Makes sense

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Are career fairs gonna be the same more or less regardless of where I go

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Or will it be an advantage to go to a private school

turbid reef
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but yeah no there isn't a difference between private/public school career fairs that I know of.

if it's a very low ranked public school then the recruiters at the career fairs might be more local. but also a lot of people get their internships through applying directly on the company's website or through handshake and bypass the career fair part entirely.

oak moss
turbid reef
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oh yeah that's apparently how a lot of career fairs work but making the introduction alongside applying online is supposed to maybe help

tacit rune
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you gotta apply before going

tawdry dragon
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I see - the one worry I have is about clubs at Berkeley, as getting into specialized / competitive clubs that have industry connections would be really difficult, especially as someone with more BME experience who switched to EECS... do any of you guys have insights on this?

golden wharf
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I'd say go Berkeley. If you can figure out some kind of last-minute scholarship opportunity, go Duke

gleaming blade
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CMU clubs lowkey isn’t worth that much

pliant wigeon
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Berkeley seems like the good option here just because of cost. But something I haven’t seen a lot of people say: don’t get trapped in BE if that’s something you’re no longer interested in!! You don’t want to get to Berkeley and scramble because you can’t get into EECS.

Pittsburgh has been my second home for some years so I might be bias but love love CMU + it doesn’t hurt that they also align with your academic and social interests. But again, don’t get trapped in a major you’re not interested in.