USC or TEXAS A&M?

[George2248]

I just finished sending my application to some top Engineering and Construction Management Programs.

Now I am looking for some "safety" schools in case I am not accepted in the top programs. I am deciding between TEXAS A&M (ranked 13th in Engineering) and USC (ranked 11th).

I like both schools but basically I want to apply to the one I have a better chance of getting in.

What do you think?

This are my gre and toefl scores:

GRE: quant 160 (84%, 760); verb 160 (86%, 600), aw 4.5 (75%)

TOEFL IBT: 116

I have a year of experience working in construction and graduated at the number 1 position of my classs of 32 students in a University in Caracas, Venezuela.

Any ideas or suggestions are welcome...

[orangeMan]

I don't mean to be rude, but neither is considered a safety or insurance school.

[CanuckBoy]

Like the previous post, they are not safety schools. If you are confident about them, here are some stats:

Acceptance rate of 78% for USC and no available stats for Texa A&M but you can check out stats for similar programs to get an idea. The other thing is, can you afford to go without scholarship? The impression for the schools I applied to is that there are two stages for admission, one is academic assessment and the other is availability of funds. You can be a stellar student but if there is no money to support you, admission is unlikely without external sources.

http://www.petersons.com/graduate-schools/university-of-southern-california-viterbi-school-of-engineering-program-in-construction-management-admissions-000_10043344_10088.aspx

http://www.petersons.com/graduate-schools/texas-a-and-m-university-college-of-engineering-program-in-construction-engineering-and-management-admissions-000_10036926_10088.aspx

[George2248]

Like the previous post, they are not safety schools. If you are confident about them, here are some stats:

Acceptance rate of 78% for USC and no available stats for Texa A&M but you can check out stats for similar programs to get an idea. The other thing is, can you afford to go without scholarship? The impression for the schools I applied to is that there are two stages for admission, one is academic assessment and the other is availability of funds. You can be a stellar student but if there is no money to support you, admission is unlikely without external sources.

http://www.petersons...3344_10088.aspx

http://www.petersons...6926_10088.aspx

I can support with my own funds.

I know there is no supposed to be safety schools, I just wanted to get an idea on which one of those 2 is considered more competitive or difficult to get in. Do you know where can I find those kind of statistics such as acceptance rate and class profile? I havent found them for most schools

[CanuckBoy]

Petersons posts acceptance rates........

There are stats on engineering school as a whole, such as

http://www.engineeringschoolsinusa.com/

If your school has subscription to US news rankings then you might see some useful data.

[George2248]

Petersons posts acceptance rates........

There are stats on engineering school as a whole, such as

http://www.engineeri...hoolsinusa.com/

If your school has subscription to US news rankings then you might see some useful data.

Yes I have been using US rankings for a while now

Thanks

[CanuckBoy]

Oh by the way, in case you haven't already done so, if the results section has large enough sample size you can take a look at that. At least for my programs, I found the acceptance rates similar to the reported in Peterson's and gives you some idea of where you stand for master and PhD programs.

Edited January 7, 2012 by CanuckBoy

[George2248]

Oh by the way, in case you haven't already done so, if the results section has large enough sample size you can take a look at that. At least for my programs, I found the acceptance rates similar to the reported in Peterson's and gives you some idea of where you stand for master and PhD programs.

Yes Ive been using the results survey too but in many cases there arent enough post for my programs

Thanks for the help!

[uclacolumbia]

A&M for sure.

USC = safety school.

[George2248]

A&M for sure.

USC = safety school.

Do you mean USC is easier to get into than TAMU?

I finally decided for TAMU, what do you think about my chances with my profile?

[gurumaster8899]

If you are choosing a safety school from the rankings, go for those between 30-40. I don't know about USC, but A&M is quite competitive, anyways both are very highly ranked.

[wangqi]

No doubts, USC is more like a safety school...

[MechGrad101]

I think both are equally safe in that if you're confident about getting in, you probably will. (and since you're ready to fund yourself)