<p>I'll be a top student applying to schools top in undergraduate engineering.
Here's the top 20 schools according to US news and my personal assessment of them
1. MIT 4.9 Considering Applying
2. Stanford 4.8 Considering Applying
3. UC Berkeley 4.7 Not applying for non-academic reasons
4. Caltech 4.6 Not applying for non-academic reasons
5. Georgia Tech 4.5 Not applying for non-academic reasons
6. Illinois 4.4 Considering Applying
6. Michigan 4.4 Considering Applying
8. Carnegie Mellon 4.3 Considering Applying
9. Cornell 4.2 Considering Applying
9. Purdue 4.2 Considering Applying
11. Princeton 4.1 Considering Applying
11. Texas 4.1 Considering Applying
13. Northwestern 4.0 Considering Applying
13. Wisconsin 4.0 Considering Applying
15. Johns Hopkins 3.9 Considering Applying
15. Virginia Tech 3.9 Considering Applying
17. Penn State 3.8 Considering Applying
17. Rice 3.8 - Considering Applying
17. Texas A&M 3.8 - Not applying for non-academic reasons
20. Columbia - To hard of an admission rate to apply for a school this low in rank ( Id be better applying to MIT, Princeton, Stanford )
20. UCLA 3.7 - Considering applying
20. UC San Diego 3.7 - Not applying for non-academic reasons
20. Univ. of Washington - Not applying for non-academic reasons
Also considering Harvey Mudd and Cal Poly-SLO, they should be in there
Is the US News a good gage of what engineering schools are good?
Are there any schools that you think rank up there with those schools?
Do you think any of those schools arnt that good?</p>
<p>US News is an okay gauge about roughly where a school falls. You shouldn’t look at, forexample, Princeton and Penn State and say “Wow, Princeton is 6 spots ahead of Penn State and so is much better.” You can, however, say “Wow, I didn’t know that Princeton/Penn State were both well-respected engineering schools.” Still, these rankings are subjective and should be treated as such. Don’t mistake them for being law.</p>
<p>keep in mind that these colleges are those that offer doctorates. you should consider looking at colleges that offer only master’s, since they have a different approach of educating engineers and go by the motto of “learn by doing”. Cal Poly SLO and Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology are the top 2 colleges, IMO.</p>
<p>Assessing undergraduate engineering programs is VERY tough. It isn’t for lack of good programs. There are in fact lots of them. What muddies the water is the very data you’re considering, USNWR. Like it or not, it’s become the defacto source for legitimizing our college choices. For engineering it’s particularly poor, since 100% of the rank is based on institutional reputation.</p>
<p>What you have to ascertain is what you want to learn, how you want to learn and taught by whom. Do you want to be a working engineer? A manager? A researcher? They are all options within engineering and the route to each end is different.</p>
<p>I can tell you this, I have several family members and friends who’ve done graduate work at or been employed by the three biggest names in engineering, MIT, Stanford and Cal Tech. All of them have said that their particular institution was great for graduate work, but not particular strong for undergrad.</p>
<p>These rankings are really hard. A more realistic ranking system is the NRC rankings which give ranges and margins of error both for a subjective ranking scale (asking people which schools are the best) and an objective ranking scale (asking people what makes a school good and ranking schools on that criteria).</p>
<p>I wouldn’t pay <em>too</em> much attention to them unless you have post-undergraduate plans where a higher-ranked school can help (grad school, big law, big finance, etc.). Better to choose based on the school’s actual program, whether it’s a good fit for you and not just academically.</p>
<p>Keep in mind rankings tend to lag actual quality by years, sometimes decades. A school high in the rankings may have actually slid in quality, or a middle or lower-ranked school may actually be better than the ranking implies because it takes time for “results” to turn into “reputation.”</p>
<p>tl;dr version:</p>
<p>Go where the undergraduate education is good, where the students are happy, and where the school is good at placing students into internships.</p>
<p>Remember that you will be spending the next 4+ years of your life in college. It will have a rippling effect throughout your life. </p>
<p>Please don’t let prestige blind you of choices. Choose the school best fit for you. Consider all options initially equal and don’t rule out schools so quickly.</p>
<p>Pay attention to what programs are offered, class sizes, internships, accreditation, location, environment, proximity, etc. </p>
<p>I be you’ve heard it many times before, but college isn’t just about academics. It’s about exploring yourself and learning. You need to have a positive environment that will be conducive to your learning. </p>
<p>A few hours of research now will go far for your future. Make a spreadsheet for all your findings if needed. Then compare and contrast.</p>
<p>It’s great you are doing some research, but I suggest you cast a wider net. There may be schools not on the “top 20” that are a better fit for you and/or give more opportunity for merit scholarship. </p>
<p>Tell us more about your talents and preferences (including geo) and maybe we can make some added suggestions.</p>
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<p>Couldn’t have said it better myself. What you’ve suggested is great advice.</p>
<p>There are literally dozens of great engineering schools out there to choose from, each with a unique flavor. Why limit yourself to only a small handful of them?</p>
<p>Also, don’t forget the non-PhD granting schools!</p>
<p>Here are some of the unique features at Northwestern:
- Engineering First curriculum
[Engineering</a> First ® Program | McCormick School of Engineering | Northwestern University](<a href=“Undergraduate Programs | Undergraduate Study | Academics | Northwestern Engineering”>Undergraduate Programs | Undergraduate Study | Academics | Northwestern Engineering)
As part of the curriculum, all first-year students are required to design real products for industry clients. - One of the most established and oldest co-op programs in the country.
[Schedule:</a> McCormick Office of Career Development: McCormick School of Engineering, Northwestern University](<a href=“Programs Overview | Engineering Career Development | Northwestern Engineering”>Programs Overview | Engineering Career Development | Northwestern Engineering) - Emphasis on design and developing whole-brain engineers:
[How</a> We Think: McCormick School of Engineering at Northwestern](<a href=“About | Northwestern Engineering”>About | Northwestern Engineering)
[Segal</a> Design Institute](<a href=“DESIGN INNOVATION - Segal Design Institute, Northwestern University”>http://www.segal.northwestern.edu/)
[History</a> @ Design for America](<a href=“http://designforamerica.com/vision/history/]History”>http://designforamerica.com/vision/history/)
Northwestern students have been very well-represented in various design and entrepreneurship competitions in recent years.
[Rice</a> Business Plan Competition - Rice Business Plan Competition](<a href=“http://alliance.rice.edu/rbpc.aspx]Rice”>http://alliance.rice.edu/rbpc.aspx)
[2012</a> Participants : Rice University Business Plan Competition](<a href=“http://alliance.rice.edu/2012_Participant_Winners/]2012”>http://alliance.rice.edu/2012_Participant_Winners/)</p>