<p>I am very interested in the University of Rochester, specifically for engineering, but I am unsure about the quality of their undergraduate engineering program. I was first attracted to the school by their high overall ranking and engineering (graduate) ranking (around 35th in the country for both). However, their undergraduate engineering ranking is somewhere in the mid to high 70's. Does anyone know the reasoning behind this disparity? Is the engineering school just focused on its graduates, is it an overall worse program, or should I not pay attention to this ranking? (I am applying to Lehigh University as well, which could help you get an idea of the type of engineering program I would like to attend.) Can anyone who is/was a student or someone with knowledge of the college please give me information on the undergraduate engineering program at Rochester? Thanks.</p>
<p>I asked this same question last year about UR’s undergrad rank in the engineering forum. You might ask this same question there.</p>
<p>The impression I got from the eng. forum is that once you get away from the top 20 undergrad eng. rankings, then the rankings tend to blur so it then gets down to picking a school that overall is an academic match for you. In this case both Lehigh and UR rank about the same so it then gets down to fit. </p>
<p>The undergrad rankings may have some criteria that UR does not come in high in so they don’t rank as high, but I was unable to find the specific undergrad criteria. I think the grad one are available. UR is heavy on undergrad research while other schools tout internships and coops so that may come into play. </p>
<p>BTW, my son and husband visiting 2 eng schools both ranked in the 50’s and there was no comparison. One clearly out impressed them both so the rankings only indicate so much.</p>
<p>I always suggest spending some time with the ASEE data. That’s ASEE.org, the American Society for Engineering Education. If you go to the Publications tab and then on the left to College Profiles and then on the left again for Online Profiles, you can search for any program and see the available data. You can, for example, see a department’s strengths by looking at the research expenditures, how many students are enrolled, how many degrees are awarded, etc. I take some of the information with a grain of salt; I know of one program, a very large one, which faked faculty numbers by including emeritus professors.</p>
<p>You can see, for example, that Lehigh has different strengths from UR by looking at research money. With engineering, I think it’s relatively important to consider the strength not only of the overall program but the kind of engineering you want to do. It’s not like civil engineering is the same as electrical or biomedical.</p>