<p>A full ride scholarship and Honors College from a tier 2 engineering public university or a tier 1 engineering school program admission? Don't know about scholarship dollars to tier 1 school.</p>
<p>What will matter is how well you did at the school you choose...pick whichever is the best fit for you personally...the school at which you are most likely to excel. As a recruitment manager for a major aerospace company we do not recognize terms like "Tier 1" or "Tier 2" as typically defined on these boards. We do have an internal list of "key" and "target" schools...but they bear only a modest correlation with people "think" are the top schools. It may be that your "Tier 2" choice is, in fact, one of our "key" schools, while your "Top Tier" choice is not. What is going to matter in the long run is which choice inspires you to do your best. Maybe that's a co-op program. Maybe that's getting involved with a Formula SAE team. Maybe it's undergrad research. Only you can figure that out.</p>
<p>What matters will be (a) your overall presentation (maturity, attitdue, etc), (b) how you did at school and (c) how well you fit with the company you are seeking to join. </p>
<p>Too many kids think the college diploma is some sort of accreditation that allows them to find their dream job. Actually, it's a necessary part of that process but not sufficient in itself. Also, don;t think in terms of getting a "job". Think in terms of pursuing a career which might involved a number of "jobs". </p>
<p>Frankly, if you have the chance for a full ride that will allow you to graduate with no debt and have a fresh start, that's a very meaningful advantage at age 22 or 23. I don;t care how capable you are - graduating with a ton of debt will be very stressful and affect your decision making, maybe make you too conservative at a time when you should be thinking long term and in a position to take chances. For example, do I take a "standard" job with a good salary and good benefits at a nice firm, or take a job heavy with upside, but low on initial salary? If you're in debt, you may pass on the exciting job in favor of the cash flow. </p>
<p>You did not say anything about debt, but if that's in the equation I would weigh it pretty heavily.</p>
<p>You should also consider the "big fish in a small pond" advantages of the tier two college. If you are one of the standouts in your department, you will almost certainly have extra advantages in areas such as research opportunities, department awards and relationships with professors. The downside is that your peer group may be small or absent - you may not find many students as deeply interested in your area of academics as you would at the top tier school.</p>
<p>I want to strongly second rogracer's comments which are among the most level-headed that I have seen on CC. Far too often, high school students are advised to attend "name" schools because of some expected future benefit in the job market. While greater name recognition can be a benefit, it does you no good at all after the first five minutes of the interview. At that point, you're on your own and you better have the goods (good GPA, good and preferably relevant experiences from your undergraduate activities, good personal skills, good critical thinking skills, etc.). These are what interviewers are looking for and they will come through whether you went to Mega State U with the "great" engineering department and the high PA score or some little known private school in the middle of no where. The key is that you go where you will be most fulfilled, where you will be happiest and most productive. Don't make a choice for false reasons (prestige) because, at the end of the day, it's all about you and not about the school you attended.</p>
<p>Rogracer and Hawkeye are spot on. College is, in the end, a highly personal decision, yet much of the decision seems to dwell on "macro" decisions such as reputation, various rankings, and other non-specific considerations.</p>
<p>I want to study biomedical engineering. The schools in question are Auburn U. and Va Tech. Both Honors college, 3/4 ride at Auburn, waiting to hear on how much from Va Tech. VS Vandy and UVa waiting to hear on both but feeling good, both are matches to my stats.</p>
<p>The fact is the name schools typically will attract more and "better" firms to recruit on campus, have better internships, and participate in more of the Formula SAE type activities. So I would request lists of firms recruiting on campus and the number of hires, salary, etc. from each school. If you see what you like at both then you can look to other characteristics of the schools. That is if employment right out of school is important.<br>
The problem with little known schools is that they are often little known to recruiters too. It certainly is that way for undergrad business and I would think it also applies in engineering to some degree.</p>
<p>Vandy/UVA, VaTech, Auburn in that order.</p>
<p>what's more impressive to employers is not the factor you mention. Going to a more selective school is fine, but FAR more important is research and job related experience (coops, internships, etc). I know of kids from San Jose State (regional Cal-State school, not even part of the UC system) that parlayed a set of summer and coop jobs into job offers from top-name employers, and were hired over Cal and Stanford grads who had done nothing other than get an engineering degree.</p>
<p>barrons makes some good points that I mostly agree with in terms of the opportunities that more recognized schools can offer. However, geography also plays a large role in the recruiting process and this may negate some of the concerns that others might have about going to a less prestigious school. </p>
<p>The four schools that you listed are located in South and, to varying degrees, large portions of their student bodies end up working in the South. If your desire is to work in a different part of the county post-graduation, eg, the Northeast, the West, etc, then the importance of a “name” school or a “name” BME program increases. However, if you are thinking that you might want to go work for one of the engineering companies in Huntsville, then Vanderbilt or Auburn will both likely trump Virginia and Virginia Tech or if you’re thinking about some emerging medical company in the Research Triangle, then Virginia and Virginia Tech are likely better choices (although Vanderbilt is probably fine as well though Auburn likely would not be as acceptable in that environment). </p>
<p>Finally, a word about alumni. All four of your schools have strong alumni groups and this could be an excellent source of help when it comes time to look for either summer or full-time employment. Such connections often trump “name” colleges from out of the region. Wherever you go, I suggest that you begin to explore this in your freshman year and then build your knowledge and connections over your undergraduate years. </p>
<p>If you are still concerned with prestige and worry that the college’s label won’t travel, I agree with slipper’s general order of the schools’ you are considering, but I do believe that UVA’s engineering is a bit behind Vanderbilt and only a touch ahead of Va Tech.</p>