<p>S has been accepted to PSU-UP, VA Tech (both OOS) and Rutgers for engineering. He plans to major in Civil /Environ. PSU and VT have higher rankings but all have a lot in common from the large school offerings perspective. The campus atmosphere seems better at PSU and VT, and while he favors VT, he is somewhat flexible. The OOS tuition at VT is not drastically more than Rutgers. Any insight into which would offer the best opportunities/program?</p>
<p>Tell he VT...PSU is too big and only a few CEE subgroups are good over there, Rutgers is okay in terms of CEE (im from jersey n im cee major and i know rutgers grad and they are ok nothing that great), VT is a good in size and there dept for CEE is ranked top 10 in the nation, i heard he will enjoy the college life as well. PSU could get a bit too crazy..but since VT is engineering school that will make the setting lil bit more serious then PSU and Rutgers.</p>
<p>Use other factors to decide - not rankings. As a career environmental engr I can say that any of those schools will be fine. Or to put it differently, with very few exceptions, where you get your undergrad degree doesn't really matter in the long run. After your first job, industry is more concerned about what you did at that job than what you learned in C.</p>
<p>One big thing to keep in mind is in which region you'd prefer to work in upon graduating. Most of the hiring in VT is D.C., Maryland, NC area. I'm assuming PSU and Rutgers are regional as well. Also, visit the colleges! You really don't know what a college is like until you've actually been there. Visit when classes are in session.</p>
<p>I second the region comment. I came from Rutgers with a Civil degree and it seems that all the firms (big and small) in the NJ/NYC area were willing to hire people from my class. I had no problems finding internships and nailed a job straight out of school very easily with a strong well known engineering firm. So if he is looking to start a future in this area, RU may not be a bad choice. Same goes for VTech and PSU. As morethanever stated, check out the campuses, check out the surrounding area and prevalence of jobs and so forth. Can't really go wrong with any of the choices.</p>