<p>gnusasaurus...
Every one of the schools on your list is solid and is on our preferred new-hire list. It would prudent to select the school your son is most comfortable with and is most likely to excel at. Once you are dealing with schools like this, it is more important to get a good match than to worry about specific rankings. </p>
<p>It should also be obvious that cost must be considered in any rational decision making process. The state schools on your list will be hard to beat from a cost-benefit perspective (assuming you're in-state) unless you get massive scholarship offers from the privates. Keep in mind that if your son enjoys "exploring" a variety of subjects (a <em>great</em> thing in the undergraduate years), it may make far more sense top go to a public where taking all these extra classes (and perhaps obtaining extra degrees) is financially practical. On the other hand, he may prefer the smaller classes that a private (may) offer. Or perhaps he wants the research opportunities available at a larger school, along with things like a competitive Formula SAE program. There are so many things to consider.....</p>
<p>That is why you need to match the student to the school. And "rankings" will never be able to do that. Good luck to you.</p>
<p>Well, to add to the mix - one doesn't know if it is the school that "produces" the outcome, or the students who self-select to go there. To find out, one would have to include an algorithm that took into account how difficult it was to get into the school to begin with, and the willingness of students to take on graduate school debt (I imagine most students pay for the masters level proficiency in engineering themselves; those then going on for Ph.Ds are supported by the institution.) In other words, the income levels of the students who choose to attend. </p>
<p>Taking account of both of these would produce some real standouts, like the University of Missouri-Rolla, I bet.</p>
<p>"Rather, we said it wasn't a common thing for engineering undergrads to aspire to. The vast majority will elect to NOT get a PhD."</p>
<p>"That is true of every field; it seems self-evident." (interesteddad)</p>
<p>Not true. If you are a chemist, you may need to go for the PhD to get the best jobs. Not so for engineering. It is neither required nor desirable to get a PhD for the majority of the best paying engineering jobs.</p>
<p>hoedown,
I couldn't help but smile when I saw your statement that "it was conventional wisdom that larger-than-average proportion of engineering PhDs are granted to foreign professionals." How true. When I was doing my master in ChE at Michigan, we used to joke about our token American PhD candidate at the department. We even suggested that the department should reserve a slot each year for bonafide US citizens.</p>
<p>Many thanks for your comments and suggestions! It is interesting that you mention the SAE programs. We didn't even know those programs were available until we toured the U of Maryland engineering department! My sons eyes lit up immedidately! </p>
<p>Sorry to others to have taken the post off topic, but I thought rogracer could give me more perspective into the college search, student matching and career prospects, which he has. </p>