<p>That’s a sample size of 1. I can find you an excellent engineer from any engineering school. The question is whether that engineer is excellent because of the school or in spite of the school.</p>
<p>In addition, I can find you a successful engineering from any school Same question.</p>
<p>Can you honestly say that the same companies will go to UVA and USF to hire? Of course not. If you’re an engineering firm in central Florida, you’re better off hiring at UCF than USF. Similarly, if you’re an engineering firm in, say, Tennessee, you’re better off going to GaTech or VaTech than USF to hire. In fact, you probably don’t even know USF has an engineering school.</p>
<p>No, of course VaTech and UVa have better company exposure…I never said otherwise. In fact, I have even posted my companys key-school list in other threads to show that is the case.</p>
<p>I am simply saying that the importance of school rankings is overstated in most of these discussions. If anything, I am amazed at some of the quality talent that can come out of relatively obscure schools. At the same time, I have been disappointed with some of the individuals coming out of prestige schools including my own alma mater. Sometimes I think trying to pre-judge an engineer based on his school is akin to judging a tennis player by his brand of racket. That is my opinion. I realize your experience is different.</p>
<p>I do agree, however, that the OP is better served at VaTech or UVa for a variety of reasons.</p>
<p>(Grew up in the area) USF is about 30 minutes from the Gulf Beaches. Florida is really hot though… there’s a reason it had less than a million people before the invention of AC.</p>
<p>Anyway, USF is known locally for its medical program. I haven’t heard too much about engineering but I have many friends who went to USF and most were disappointed by the quality of their peers. I went to IB, but still, the bottom 1/3 of our class went to USF. That’s how it’s treated locally.</p>
<p>Okay, now that I have your ear, can I ask another question? It seems like most of the schools that receive favorable comments here are large research types. What about schools that are smaller or maybe not as well know. One that comes to mind is Villanova. I know what has been said here about schools like Rose H, Rice etc. Are there any good mechanical/aerospace programs that reside in mid size schools that may offer merit money for a top candidate? I guess they would fall under the tier 2 or 3 catagory. Again, as I am a rookie to engineering I’m not sure how to evaluate these programs. Also, still looking for the marching band component. Thanks again.</p>
<p>Lehigh might be a good fit for a medium size school with Div 1 (1-AA football) sports and marching band. Extremely good engineering facilities and NAE faculty members for a school that size…and merit money is possible with good enough stats. Bucknell comes to mind, too… not as strong in engineering but with a more LAC-feel.</p>
<p>Bradley, Rowan, Milwaukee School Of Engineering, and Kettering would be lower ranked schools that have excellent engineering programs and where you might be able to get some more money for a top candidate!</p>
<p>Rose-Hulman is an amazing school so def consider that for engineering! (though it’s in cold and miserable Indiana haha)</p>
<p>Thanks of the suggestions. Some of the schools you guys mentioned I never heard of. I want to make sure my son cast a wide net when application time pops up. It would be great to get merit aid if he decides to go out of state. And as I mentioned before, it is hard to walk away from VT and UVA.</p>
<p>Thought I’d add my 2 cents…I agree that VT is a good option for a Va resident. I’m looking at that now for my rising high school senior. He has plenty of ability, but not much work ethic or drive. Grades/SAT good, but not top tier.</p>
<p>However my daughter was a bit different…she did engineering at Rice and loved it. I’m bringing it up because the weather is warm (great winters and you aren’t there in the hot summer), lots of intern opportunities (at least she did), good reputation if you go on to grad school or good hiring out of undergrad, and a strong marching band program. It’s a bit nontraditional, but I think the folks in the MOB were REALLY INTO the band thing. </p>
<p>Also they give merit scholarships. For us it ended up being less than the state school option.</p>
<p>Rice is one of those schools that has also been on our radar. My son has the stats to get in but I know that is never a guarantee. He loves marching band and has lots of leadership inside and outside the band program. I actually have a friend that got his PhD from Rice along time along (25 yrs) in chemical engineering. He really enjoyed his time there. Thanks again for the suggestion. As I said before, a wide net needs to be cast as no school is an absolute guarantee. We saw that this past few years with VT. Top students getting turned away from the eng. program. Who knows why?</p>
<p>hokiefan, because there’s too many students in VTech’s engineering program, one thing that I was told when I visited Virginia Tech at admitted students day is that they are putting a cap on students in my major (civil engineering) because the department is packed to capacity and there are too many engineering students</p>
<p>It’s not so much that there are too many in engineering in general, but certain majors don’t have the capacity to meet demand right now. Other engineering majors are looking to expand, though. If I’m not mistaken a couple engineering majors at VT already have minimum requirements above the university minimum to get into them, and I figure more will start moving toward that.</p>
<p>Thanks for the updated info. My son is interested in mechanical or aerospace. He also thought the naval engineering program they have at tech is somewhat interesting. He is not sure what he may pick in the end, but his main interest lay in ships and planes. We are keeping all options opened. Keep the ideas coming.</p>
<p>Did he check out the Department of Aerospace and Ocean Engineering at VT? You can get a degree in either Aerospace or Ocean, or combine the two into a double major (which is less of a hassle than most double majors since it’s all in one department.) </p>