<p>I have been accepted to the engineering schools at Penn State, NC State, Clemson, Elon, Pittsburgh, and probably will get into Virginia Tech because of alumni. I will live in North Carolina, and distance from home does is sort of a factor. Which do you recommend i go to?</p>
<p>Penn State is ranked 16th by US News for engineering. Large accomplished faculty, excellent facilities, enormous network of alumni, active recruitment. Penn State.</p>
<p>ya, penn state is the best by far out of that group.</p>
<p>Unless you are considered in-state for NC State, Penn State hands down. If you are considered in-state it's a tougher choice...</p>
<p>I'm not sure this is such a no-brainer for Penn State over Va Tech. If you are going to use US News, PSU is #16 (peer assessment 3.9) vs Va Tech at 18 (peer assessment 3.8). Va Tech also has a big alumni base.</p>
<p>Which Engineering major are you considering?</p>
<p>I'm considering Civil</p>
<p>more than any other major, engineering is standardized. Programs are acreddited by a group called ABET, which means you will take the same classes no matter which college you go to. If the colleges you are considering are in the same academic tier, it doesn't really matter which one you pick. So choose based on where YOU want to go to school. </p>
<p>Also, I'd suggest picking a college that you'd be willing to attend if you quit the engineering major since nationally between 1/3 and 1/2 of all students entering engineering change major before they graduate.</p>
<p>Since people mentioned US News rankings above, Virginia Tech is #11, Penn State is #12, and NC State is #19 in Civil Engineering. Since they're all close in rank, I would pick NC State for the cost and distance from home.</p>
<p>NC State. You're lucky to have such a strong in-state option for engineering.</p>
<p>I can understand the appeal of NC state price for an NC resident. Will you be a resident long enough to qualify for in-state tuition? I think the overall experience at Penn State would be better. One thing I noticed in US News is that, although the overall selectivities (SAT and top 10%) at Penn State, Virginia Tech, and NC State are nearly the same, the actual graduation rates at Penn State and Virginia Tech are substantially higher than you would expect based on selectivity (+10% and +8% respectively) whereas the actual grad rate at NC State is 2% below expectation. To me, this says that Penn State and VTech students are more satisfied. Something to keep in mind.</p>
<p>I would eliminate Elon because it just doesn't compare in terms of engineering schools to your other choices.... the others all have their strengths and weaknesses but I agree with others that NC State looks tempting but Penn State and VaTech might be better schools.</p>
<p>Good luck!</p>
<p>that's a toughie. The 3 (Vtech, Pennstate, nc state) are so closely ranked, it's a negible difference academically. I would say it comes down to non-academic factors at this point.</p>
<p>The thing i like about Elon's Engineering is that it's a dual degree program. You can get a degree in Elon in 3 years, and get another degree at one of its partnership schools in 2 years based on the level of curriculum you want: Columbia, WashU, VATech, NC St. I would apply as a transfer, but probably have my professors at Elon give a good word. This sounds strange, but thats what it is. However, if i decide i don't like engineering, Elon does not have a lot to offer.</p>
<p>As mentioned before ABET accredited engineering programs. You don't want to go to a school that doesn't have an accredited program. I don't think Elon is on the ABET list. </p>
<p>NC State and Penn State also have a huge choice for you if you choose not to go into Engineering.</p>