Does the Prestige of Your Engineering College Really Matter for Your Career?

[AverageJoe]

I'm currently an undergrad and I'm looking for a college to transfer to.
Where can I find accurate college rankings for engineering?

Google hasn't really helped me, and I honestly don't know what to trust. My adviser's are entirely useless about the subject unfortunately (I think the school has some kinda payout for students who transfer to certain places).

 

[DR13]

http://colleges.usnews.rankingsandreviews.com/best-colleges/spec-doct-engineering"

 

[AverageJoe]

Thanks for the link, but are there any lists that don't require a subscription to a magazine?
I'm aware of all those schools that are very good, but they are also far too expensive for me.
I'm not grade A student material which really limits what kind of scholarships and grants that I can get and both of my parents have their own businesses, but only earn enough to support the household.

My price range is less than $30k/yr.
I was looking at UMASS Amherst, but if I could find a smaller place than that I would.

 

[AverageJoe]

Ok so maybe I worded this all wrong.

What are the best engineering colleges for the money in the US and Canada?

Heck, what are the bad ones so I know which to avoid?

 

[DR13]

For $30k/yr you can go to a lot of good schools. I do not know what state you live in (assuming that you live in the US) so I do not know what public universities to refer you to (obviously in-state costs a hell of a lot less than out-of-state). That being said, even some of the more expensive universities have great scholarship and finannial aid programs. If you look at http://colleges.usnews.rankingsandreviews.com/best-colleges/national-best-values" most of the "best value" colleges are known as expensive universities. Just because you may not be able to get a scholarship has no bearing on whether or not you can get financial aid

 

[AverageJoe]

Massachusetts.

I just took a tour at Wentworth and they seem to be a fair undergrad place, but from what I saw (admittedly not much, nor had access to any professors there) the mechanical engineering side of their electromechanical degree was a bit underwhelming.

Just got to keep looking I guess.

 

[DR13]

Massachusetts.

Sorry, but I don't know much about the public universities in Massachusetts.

 

[Nick M]

I go to UMass Amherst for Electrical Engineering. It seems huge at first, but like anything you get used to it quickly.

I don't know your situation or where you live in Massachusetts, but the best bet for a quality education is a suburban Community College (I went to Greenfield Community College). My Physics/Chemistry courses had 30 people - much better than the hundreds that you would experience at UMass or even MIT. Multivariate Calculus, Differential Equations, and Linear Algebra had less than 10 people in them. Oh, and a little secret here... CC teachers tend to be much better than university professors, because most have their MS or PhD in education, so they spent considerable time learning how to teach 100 and 200 level material rather than "silo-ing" in their respective fields. Many people run down CC's (and some deserve it), but if you apply yourself I think you can receive a much better education. Price can't be beat either - less than half of in-state costs at UMass. However, eventually you will need to transfer.

UMass has a great diversity of courses and opportunities. Only true downside is the bureaucracy involved with attending courses there... so much paperwork.

I think the sweet spot is two years at a CC, then two or three years at UMass. Taking an additional year isn't a bad idea - it will allow you to spread your coursework out and to take additional classes that interest you (easily netting a minor).

 

[sunchipz]

For rankings, check out
Times Higher Education World University Rankings
Academic Ranking of World Universities.

And if you are looking for top engineering schools in the USA:
MIT
CalTech
Stanford
UCBerkeley

and for Canada:
U of British Columbia
U of Waterloo
U of Toronto
and avoid FOR-profit college, institutions

 

[Arsenic&Lace]

This is actually an interesting question; if you go to the Fancy Pants Institue versus Average State University say, what difference does that mean for you as far as your career is concerned?

So I've heard, if you go to an institution like ASU (essentially a place that is neither well known nor exceptionally well respected) but work hard and take advantage of the opportunities present there, your opportunities will be much the same as if you had gone to the FPI instead.