<p>i saw in one of these threads that Pitt is better then Penn state when it comes to engineering, and that struck me as very odd. im one of the suckers who bought US News rankings and heres what they have for Penn state - Upark in terms of Engineering:</p>
<p>Upitt isn't ranked in any catagory. i know US news tends to be off and the rankings should be taken with a grain of salt, but this seems to call for the whole shaker. can someone explain this to me please? this is their methodology btw:</p>
<p>Methodology: Best Undergraduate Engineering Programs
Posted 8/17/2007</p>
<p>The U.S. News rankings of undergraduate programs accredited by the Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology are based solely on the judgments of deans and senior faculty who rated each program they are familiar with on a scale from 1 (marginal) to 5 (distinguished). Engineering school deans and faculty members were surveyed in spring 2007. We have separate rankings for undergraduate engineering programs at schools that offer doctoral degrees in engineering and at schools whose terminal degree in engineering is a bachelor's or master's. Research at the graduate level often influences the undergraduate curriculum, and schools with doctoral programs in engineering tend to have the widest possible range of offerings. Students who prefer a program focused on undergraduates can consult the list of top programs at schools whose terminal degree is the bachelor's or master's. Forty-five percent of those surveyed returned ratings of the group whose terminal degree in engineering is a bachelor's or master's; 59 percent did so for the doctoral group. We also asked for nominations of the best programs in specialty areas; those receiving the most mentions in each appear here. Schools offering any courses in that specialty are eligible to be ranked in that specialty.</p>
<p>Ranking is based on a survey by deans, only about half of which respond. Larger schools, those with a big name and regional schools known to the respondants will naturally do better. How can a person rate a school they know nothing about? Also, I think that certain departments are more "important" in rankings than others - a school with a well-known "specialty" department might fare better than a school with a good civil department. </p>
<p>Honestly, in my neck of the woods, Pitt and Penn State are considered pretty similar in quality. You should probably assess the particular department you are interested in, as well as the urban vs. rural environment. You probably can't go wrong either way.</p>
<p>
[quote]
We also asked for nominations of the best programs in specialty areas; those receiving the most mentions in each appear here.
[/quote]
</p>
<p>Doesn't seem exactly rigorous. That aside, the number of schools who get nominated under the specific programs ranges from about 8 to 25. Since Penn State ranks 17th overall for engineering, and Pitt ranks 52nd, I think it would be rather odd to see Pitt listed among any top ranked specialty.</p>
<p>We found that Pitt felt like there was much more emphasis on undergraduate engineering, which is probably not too surprising given the size of Penn State's graduate program.</p>
<p>I think an engineering student should settle in at whatever school they feel "fits" them, where they think they will get the academic support they might need, and (maybe) at a school that has regional recognition wherever it is they'd eventually like to get their first job.</p>
<p>Pitt seems like the right place for me atm, decent distance from my house (6 hours) great at Neuroscience (what i want to minor in), good with its undergrads, and not impossible to get into. Weenie do you work with USNews? you're "we" reference throws me off.</p>
<p>^ Oh no, I do not work for US News. (Might not be a bad gig though!) LOL. My "we" reference is the fact that my son #2 just got done picking an engineering college. He is a freshman at WPI. So that is referencing our numerous college tours.</p>