<p>Hi all! My S13 is interested in CS/Software engineering. We are limited to schools that participate with my school's tuition exchange program. So, we have the following schools on our list. Since this is by no means his parent's area (or anyone we know, for that matter), we would greatly appreciate some feedback. He doesn't think he wants an urban school (but that could possibly change if he saw one he liked). Please offer any insights/advice/rankings for these programs.</p>
<p>WPI
RIT
Lafayette
Bucknell - long shot for tuition exchange scholarship
Drexel - long shot for tuition exchange scholarship
Loyola Maryland
Texas Christian Univ
Fairfield
Gannon
Bradley
Regis
Gonzaga
Boston Univ - long shot for tuition exchange scholarship
George Washington
Ill Tech
Rose-Hulman - but S is not very interested due to male:female ration and isolation of Terre Haute
Valparaiso
Villanova</p>
<p>Already crossed Syracuse off - did not like the city at all. So, if any of the above look like Syracuse and have equally old looking dorms, please let us know.</p>
<p>Keep in mind that the ability and desire to keep abreast of the latest technologies and trends is more important for a software engineer’s career than the so-called “CS Rank”. Software engineering is different from the other engineering disciplines as most of the knowledge is gained OUTSIDE of college and many software engineers are not even full CS majors, but from other majors.</p>
<p>Having said all of that…</p>
<p>None of those schools are going to have an advantage of the other as far as being a software engineer. Maybe RIT or WPI may garner a little buzz, but for the most part, I really don’t see anything “academic” that will sway employers, so it may come down to just the “intangibles” and “tuition exchange” perk.</p>
<p>Rankings wise, for Undergraduate studies, it is probably most important that your son feel comfortable at the institution and that they make it work financially for you. If he works hard, he can get an excellent education just about anywhere.</p>
<p>I can tell you a bit about my university, [Illinois</a> Institute of Technology](<a href=“http://www.iit.edu%5DIllinois”>http://www.iit.edu), since you have it on your list. We are a Ph.D. granting university so our undergraduates have the opportunity to work alongside graduate students when they get involved in research. The total number of undergraduates is about 2,500 and there are about 5,000 graduate students including the Business School and Law School. Admission is fairly selective simply because we are a Tech school and our students mostly need to be good in math. We are urban but the campus is attractive and has a lot of architectural significance. You should visit to see if it is a good fit. From your list, we are most like RIT and Drexel as far as size and scope of programs (undergraduate/graduate). We have good merit-based financial aid along with the need-based. If you want to ask more specific questions, I would be happy to answer on the thread I started for this purpose <a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/illinois-institute-technology/1250197-ask-illinois-tech-professor.html[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/illinois-institute-technology/1250197-ask-illinois-tech-professor.html</a>.</p>