<p>I posted this in the other forms, but wanted to hear the opinions of parents..
Thanks for the help</p>
<p>I am currently in HS right now and am considering studying engineering in undergrad. I am interested in ME and EE, and want to know about good engineering programs that are somewhat less/less competitive, as I feel that I do not have the stats to realistically consider competitive schools(i.e Caltech,Berkeley,HYSPM.)</p>
<p>What are some strong mechanical/electrical engineering programs, with solid reputations, accomplished and dedicated professors, and good research opportunities that are somewhat less selective. I am only interested in west/east coast/Midwest colleges.</p>
<p>How are the mid to lower end UC's in engineering? How are the CSUs in engineering?</p>
<p>Thank you again for the advice. I greatly appreciate all info...</p>
<p>Pick an area to go to school where you might want to live. I believe a lot of engineering hiring is very regional in nature and Universities tend to built relationships and internships with local companies. These can be strong ties and a great aid in the career.</p>
<p>West coast for ME/EE</p>
<p>USC (getting to be a reach though)
Oregon State Univ (love this place)
Univ of Washington
Santa Clara
Cal Poly (best non UC public in Calif for engineering imho)
University of Portland (Solid LAC)
Seattle University (cool small school in Seattle)</p>
<p>US news does rank engineering schools and while we did not go by rankings there was some great info in there.</p>
<p>Are you a California resident? If not, the UCs and CSUs will be possible but not your best bets... although since you mentioned considering the "lesser" UCs, that is a bit of a help.</p>
<p>Not mentioned so far:</p>
<p>Lehigh, Lafayette, Villanova, Fairfield, Miami of Ohio, Trinity (CT), UNew Hampshire, Tufts, Bucknell, UMd CP, Johns Hopkins, UMiami, UMichigan, WPI, RPI, Clarkson, St. Louis U... all have good to great reputations in these fields and are all less selective than the uber-selectives you mentioned.</p>
<p>These still have quite a range in selectivity and reputation and are quite different in location and atmosphere, so it would help to know more about your wants and needs.</p>
<p>And there are still more we could suggest if we know a bit more about your stats and criteria.</p>
<p>Assuming you're a California resident and would like to take advantage of in-state tuition at some highly respected engineering programs - </p>
<p>UCB, UCLA, UCSD
then
UCSB, UCI, UCD, UCSC
then
UCR, UCM (possibly with a transfer to UCB/UCLA after the first 2 years)
also
CalPoly SLO
then
some other CalStates (SDSU, SJSU, etc.)</p>
<p>If you're not a resident you can still apply to the above but your tuition will be higher and you might possibly get a better deal at some privates depending on grants/scholarships you might receive. However, there are out of state attendees at all of the above.</p>
<p>UCD has the largest undergrad engineering program out of all the UC's, so you might have some more leeway there. Cal Poly SLO would also be an excellent choice.</p>
<p>Just make sure the colleges you are looking at are ABET certified in ME and EE. I keep hearing that undergraduate engineering programs are so restricted by ABET that there is not as much difference as you might think. Ignoring geography, some less-challenging-to-get-into schools we looked into for WashDadJr were Case Western, Colorado School of Mines, Univ of Portland (just got several million $ to rebuild their engineering building), WASU, UW, New Mexico Institute of Mining and Technology, Arizona, Arizona State, Rose Hulman, RPI, and WPI.</p>
<p>Smith College’s Picker Engineering Program is excellent. Every Smith engineering student with a 3.5 GPA is GUARANTEED admission to the graduate engineering schools at Princeton, Dartmouth, Johns Hopkins, Tufts, and University of Michigan!</p>
<p>Looking into CA/west coast...
i was wondering how good is UC Riverside/Merced for engineering? Is San Jose State better or Cal Poly Pomona? What about ASU or SDSU? Which engineering schools are mediocre or not recommended.</p>
<p>DH (an engineer in CT) says if you want to go for engineering in CT...Trinity would not be a top choice (his opinion). It is a terrific liberal arts school primarily, not as well known as a sciences school. He suggests U of Hartford, U of Connecticut as the top choices in this state.</p>
<p>I strongly second (or third) looking into Lehigh and Lafayette, both in PA....excellent engineering programs at both schools. </p>
<p>RPI and WPI are also good calls, as is Case Western.</p>
<p>If you're interested in undergrad research, stay away from the big State U's as most of the research is done by grad students. Some smaller, LAC-type schools that have engineering programs include Bucknell, Lafayette, Lehigh--all in PA, Union (NY), Trinity (CT). I believe Delaware is one exception to the first statement above as they really encourage undergrad research and don't have a huge grad program that would 'steal' research away from the undergrads. Another outstanding, yet smaller, engineering program is Rowan University in Glassboro, NJ.</p>
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If you're interested in undergrad research, stay away from the big State U's as most of the research is done by grad students.
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<p>I don't think this is true, as all of my friends that went to Penn State, ASU, Berkeley, and UIUC that wanted to do research as an undergrad were able to.</p>