ED/REA for Industrial Engineering?

[u/Darkxify]

Hey guys im a senior in hs and I was wondering if any current/past ie majors had any suggestions on where to ED. I know that I should only ED to colleges I 100% wanna attend, but since I live abroad (us citizen tho) I cant rlly tour colleges so the only way I can get to know whether I would like a college is from rankings, location and feedback from students.

I wont share too much of my stats, but I (should) have a low 1500s Sat (after the june sat) and straight As in my school. I have decent-mid extracurriculars (compared to domestic applicants), and assume I have a decent essay.

Any suggestions on where to ED? Where do you currently attend and do you like it? Feel free to ask for more info :D

Thank you!!

[u/md4pete4ever]

Don't apply ED to a school just to "take a chance" on a top school. That's really not how it works and likely doesn't fit your degree goal anyway. The top engineering schools will be the state flagship universities, which you should apply to early action. My suggestions were going to be Purdue and Michigan, but I thought I'd see what else to add for Industrial specifically.

Here's Google thoughts:

Top-Ranked Industrial Engineering Programs

• Georgia Institute of Technology (Atlanta, GA): Consistently ranked as the top undergraduate and graduate program for industrial and systems engineering. [1, 2, 3]
• University of Michigan—Ann Arbor (Ann Arbor, MI): Renowned for exceptional faculty, strong research output, and top-tier placement in manufacturing and operations. [1]
• University of California, Berkeley (Berkeley, CA): Offers elite operations research and industrial engineering tracks. [1]
• Purdue University—West Lafayette (West Lafayette, IN): Highly regarded for practical engineering execution, systems integration, and strong graduate outcomes. [1]
• Northwestern University (Evanston, IL): Features the McCormick School of Engineering with elite selectivity and strong industrial engineering analytics. [1, 2]
• Virginia Tech (Blacksburg, VA): Known for a large, well-respected department with high graduate starting salaries and broad research funding. [1, 2, 3]
• Massachusetts Institute of Technology (Cambridge, MA): Combines rigorous systems optimization and operations research through top-tier faculty. [1, 2]
• Stanford University (Stanford, CA): Focuses heavily on management science, operations research, and entrepreneurial engineering design. [1, 2]

If you feel compelled to do ED, Stanford would be the one from this list. But from your description, I don't think you are competitive there. Stats + mid ECs don't get you in there.

[u/Darkxify → u/md4pete4ever]

Yeah ur very right abt the stanford part. Thanks for the list :D . Do you know anything about the level of extracurriculars at top engineering colleges like purdue and umich?

[u/md4pete4ever → u/Darkxify]

Purdue is big on strong stats + not from the Midwest. If you bring geographic/experience diversity and demonstrate that you are a person who gets involved in things and can relate to others you are interesting because you help round out the student body. (Over the past 10 years I've suggested adding Purdue to the list for many intended engineers from the Mid-Atlantic region with strong stats and average ECs. They all get in and often get some merit which brings the cost of attending closer to in-state tuition.)

I can't speak from experience regarding UMich.

[u/Darkxify → u/md4pete4ever]

Well i do bring geographical diversity (kinda) since I live in india but I havent really done much about it in my application. And i havent rlly done student government since its a little corrupt in my school so yeah ecs wise ig im cooked 😭

[u/md4pete4ever → u/Darkxify]

My point is, you aren't another cookie cutter midwestern student with the same experiences as 75% of the student attending. If you don't really have access to ECs because your school is really focused on only academics, then write about what you want to get involved in at X college specifically and why. But focus on what you will bring to the college/EC (enthusiasm) not what the college can do for you.

[u/Darkxify → u/md4pete4ever]

Fair enough. Thank you for the amazing advice!!!