I was admitted to both Vanderbilt and UT Austin’s Engineering Honors Program. Now I am faced with the tough decision of deciding between the two schools to attend. I applied for mechanical engineering and I managed to get my desired major in both colleges.
I understand that Vanderbilt is more prestigious and in a great location, but it is not really strong in Mechanical Engineering (#36 in US News) On the other hand, UT has a great Mechanical Engineering Program (#11 in US News). Can anyone offer advice on which is better?
Thanks!! 
In this case, I would forget about US News rankings. 11 vs 36 is irrelevant, especially for engineering. More important considerations are; net cost; large university vs small; large classes vs small; geographic location; campus atmosphere. They are very different schools and after net cost, “fit” should be the deciding factor.
@student98226 : Really? You used rank? Did you actually look into the requirements, clubs, co-curricular, and EC opps affiliated with each program? That is what should be used to determine strength as engineering rankings are sometimes biased towards size of the program (as in faculty size and student size).
Go look through some of the things here: http://www.engr.utexas.edu/undergraduate
And here:
http://engineering.vanderbilt.edu/academics/Undergraduate/ : Has excellent placement and global oppurtunities (not to say UTA does not)
And determine what you like. It looks like at UT Austin, like must other excellent/elite public schools, engineering is its very own intellectual community, community of support, etc. They can partially do that because of their size. This could be advantageous as engineering attrition rates can be very high. Making students a part of a much larger support network and community could really help.
Even the engineering entities appear very different. You basically need to determine if you benefit from the larger, more organized/unified STEM community of Austin, or if you want the smaller class sizes (and maybe more intimate relationships with professors) at Vanderbilt.
Regardless, I would never underestimate any top public school and look at some top private and say “look, it is more prestigious!”. That always gets tricky since many top public are known for the strength of their UG programs in STEM (they are often on the forefront of innovations in STEM education whether it be ways to teach or at a curriculum level) and definitely for many of their graduate and professional programs. You likely need to choose based on money and fit here. Taking your perceptions of prestige (the departmental or the overall school) away, which one do you actually like?
@Sophie1295, I am considered in-state for UT
@bernie12
The reason I used rank was because I was really concerned about job prospects after graduation. I understand that rank is not everything and internships, research opportunities are also important. I am considered an international student by Vandy and I understand it is generally hard to find a job for international students. I really wish to stay in the US after graduation, so prestige in the respective field was something that I look out for, since it will definitely help with job prospects.
I really love Vanderbilt, with is location, smaller student population and everything, but looking at the May 2014 placement report for the school of engineering gave me some pause. Considering that it said “Most international students return to their home country to seek work”, that kinda raised a red flag. Do you know if most of these students left because they could not find jobs in the US, or was it because job opportunities were better overseas? Thanks
please be realistic about money and your family resources. you haven’t said if you are getting any need aid at Vandy to help bring the comparables a little more in line between UT and Vandy. (Most people admitted to Vandy have fine admissions to their state flagship universities to consider–hundreds of Vandy admits are weighing out similar questions.)
If attending Vanderbilt means a great deal to you as your chosen undergrad home in your future, I would comment that engineering is one pathway that often allows for a decent post-undergraduate paid JOB. There are also many ways to get your further credentials in engineering once you have worked a while that can be doable without you borrowing 200 grand.
So in my opinion, spending heavily for an engineering degree at the bachelor’s level is more defensible than say…spending all the $ your family can ever allocate to your education… when your dream is to attend law school. Parents may not realize this but many selective law schools and med schools require parental income information and contributions till you are 28 years of age.
Engineers should be able to be working as young adults without a lot of heavy personal debt management. Freedom from debt will mean more and more to you, so be brutal when you look at things.
@student98226 : But then that would be a pattern at most schools and not just Vanderbilt. I honestly suspect it is because many want to go back (perhaps a degree from any major US school has far more weight in their country, especially some parts of Asian/India). Most US Technology companies or positions have no problems hiring internationals/foreigners. The pattern they speak of is also observable when internationals attend UG business programs as well. They intend to return (makes sense anyway as many internationals from Asia or even other nations come from very affluent backgrounds when the parents did not necessarily even have a prestigious degree from abroad). Also, engineering and STEM jobs hire based on skills, so you need more than the degree to do particularly well. You, like any other engineering major should have internships or co-op opportunities. Rank won’t really prevent that expectation. The one with experience is going to be preferable.