Virginia Tech vs. University of Virginia vs. Case Western for Electrical Engineering?

Does anyone have knowledge in the specifics of any of the three programs? Tech is the highest rated engineering of the three schools, but not necessarily in electrical and Tech is much lower as an overall school.

Cost wise, Tech is quite a bit cheaper than the other two. Even in state, Tech is about $7,000 cheaper a year than UVa because of UVa’s higher tuition and a mandatory $4,000 a year fee for engineering. Case is about the same as UVa with the scholarship they offered me, but with slightly more expensive housing. I have no financial need and all three schools are affordable.

Tech is the obvious bargain price-wise, but I have never been overly keen on the school since it’s in the middle of nowhere and a mediocre school outside of the engineering program. So, my real question is if anyone has insight on whether UVa or Case Western offer something that would justify the extra costs over Virginia Tech, specially in their electrical engineering departments.

Thanks for any resposnes!

One son graduated from UVa , the other Virginia Tech, both in engineering. They are both very well respected schools. Both have additional costs added for engineering students above the base tuition . You will not start out in electrical at either of them. You apply for a specific major after you complete general engineering courses. You may even change your mind about what type of engineering you want to pursue once you are exposed to the different possibilities.

Now about VT being “mediocre” . It has many very good programs outside of engineering, including architecture and business. It has very good recruiting . It is actually ranked higher than many flagships in other states. The Engineering Expo Career Fair is one of the largest in the country. If you go to VT Career Services site and look at the Post Graduation Survey , you will see some of the companies that VT engineers end up at. Blacksburg being “in the middle of nowhere” is a matter of personal perspective. I think it’s a great college town but if you like a more urban environment, it may not be for you.

UVa 's engineering program is smaller than Virginia Tech’s but also well respected and graduates are well recruited. Here is a recent Engineering Annual Report. http://www.seas.virginia.edu/admin/careerdev/files/seasannualreport.pdf The top 3 majors in SEAS at UVa are CS, systems, and mechanical.

Both are social schools, with lots of school spirit and generally happy students. I know Case Western is a very good school, and well respected in engineering. Hopefully, you have visited all three schools . I would focus less on rankings and more on where you see yourself thriving and enjoying your college experience. Good luck with the decision.

@sevmom Thank you for the perspective, the link with the annual report was especially helpful. The issue with UVa is that in the past year they doubled the additional engineering fee to $4,000 per year, while Tech’s is less than $50 an engineering credit (which adds up to nowhere near $4,000 a year). Coupled with UVa’s already higher tuition and fees, it ends up being quite a bit more expensive ($34,500 a year according to their website).

I really meant VT’s liberal arts are seen as mediocre, but I guess an engineering major wouldn’t see many of those classes anyways.

It’s reassuring to know both of your sons ended up fine!

As a Tech alum, I am legally obligated to say “do not go to UVA under any circumstances”.

Now that I have that out of the way-
Both schools are good choices and as you have already concluded, they are different. Don’t get hung up on the rankings for the engineering programs. For engineering programs at schools like Tech and UVa, there is to real measurable difference in the quality of the programs. The overall atmosphere at each is very different and will drive the outcome far more the the difference in the engineering programs. A bigger issue is a combination of affordability and fit.

Also don’t sell the rest of Tech short. When I attended (class of 92), there may have been some truth to that because Tech was definately not competitive for acceptance to non-engineering programs, and was used by many as backup school. A lot has changed since then. I know a lot of folks my age dismiss the land grant schools for non-technical work, based solely on what they were like 30 years ago. Don’t fall into that trap. Do your research before making a decision

I am not familiar with Case Western, so I cannot comment.

All three are fine options. If you haven’t already, visit each of them. Things will become clearer for you once you do that.

As for price, do you have to borrow or have your parents saved?

@eyemgh my parents are paying for it, but I’d have to show them value to get them to pay for a more expensive school if that makes sense

Case is the most expensive , then UVa , then VT. Case seems like it might be the hardest to “justify” unless it truly is your first choice (because of fit -you love it and truly don’t feel like you would do well at either UVa or VT) as it is the most expensive and you would probably also have higher travel costs and it is not ranked higher than either VT or UVa for undergraduate engineering by US News (the rankings really don’t mean much but some parents may be swayed by that). We were instate in Virginia but told our kids to pick whichever instate school they preferred, even if there were some differences in price. Have your parents actually said they won’t pay for the more expensive instate school (UVa ) or are you yourself feeling you need to justify the extra cost ?

VT and UVa are alike in some ways (in terms of things like D1 sports, good school spirit) but the vibes are different. Case Western is smaller, D3 athletics, more urban. Only you know which appeals to you the most. If you truly prefer UVa or Case over VT, you could potentially offer to take out some loans or work more to help make up the difference. As long as you do not take out too much in loans (and you are limited anyway in how much you can take out on your own), that might be workable. Do you have a clear preference yet ?