<p>So lately I have been at an impasse about my school lists. I have schools like University of Maryland and University of Miami. University of Miami is ranked number 38 nationally but its engineering program is ranked at about a 100. Now University of Maryland is between 50-60 but its engineering program is ranked somewhere at 20. So my question is which would be a better outlet for an engineer? What takes precedent when I am looking for a graduate program/job, the national rank of my school or the engineering rank of my school?</p>
<p>*all statistics come from USnews rankings</p>
<p>Dear OP,</p>
<p>In my opinion you should go to the school with the highest ranking for the discipline that you’re interested in. The reason is because if the discipline is ranked higher, then it’s more likely ranked so because the dept. is good, has good resources, good faculty research, etc. </p>
<p>In my opinion, people in a particular field are more aware of good schools in their field and hence care more about them, than the overall rankings. Since I am an engineer, I know that UMD has a really good program; conversely I didn’t know anything about UMiami. </p>
<p>In the end, employers are more interested in what you have done and how you have performed. In my opinion, if you go to UMD you will have more resources to do undergrad research/work and find internships. Ultimately, that will help the most as far as jobs are concerned. </p>
<p>Best of luck,
-DV</p>