Compare VT to these other universities

Emotive
Sun, 11 Jan 2015 20:11:02 +0000

My comments here are limited to the academic side of your question.

I know very little about undergrdauate engineering at Rutgers. I suspect in terms of academic rigor it is in par with other major state universities. If you are a NJ resident, you should give the school a serious consideration.

With respect to academics, Virginia Tech, Maryland and Michigan are more or less the same. They offer similar programs, similar courses, and more or less similar learning experiences for undergraduate engineering. They are ABET accredited, meaning that each engineering department goes through a rigorous evaluation by an independent body every four years to ensure the quality of the program. In fact, most engineering schools in the U.S. are ABET accredited!

In my view the three schools employ similar caliber faculty, they have similar amount of instructional resources (labs, facilities,…) and generally do a very good job drawing upon regional industries for internship and employment opportunities for their students.

Lehigh and Pitt are similar in size (engineering student population and faculty) but a bit smaller than the state universities. In my professional bubble, Lehigh has a better name recogniztion gained primairly through research activities and productivity.

Bucknell is small in size and primairly a teaching institution. No PhD program, no research $$$. In theory that is good for undergrduate studies: more faculty time for students, more engaging classroom activities, personal attention to students who need it,… But you need to examine the school/program more closely to see if these elements are in place. Couple of years ago we looked at an undergraduate engineering school (not Bucknell) with a very high national ranking and name recognition; I was disappointed!

You should look at US News an World Report for ranking of undergraduate engineering programs which is done solely based on engineering dean and faculty survey(s). But do so without falling into this silly number game. At the end, what you are looking for is a meaningful and rewarding learning experience, and the schools that best provide it.

Some raw data on your schools.
The number are for year 2013 and approximate.

Bucknell:
Number of undergraudate engnieering students: 687
Number of MS students: 14
Number of PhD students: 0
Number of engineering programs: 7
Number of engineering faculty: 67
Engineering research expenditure: $0

Lehigh:
Number of undergraudate engnieering students: 2000
Number of MS students: 250
Number of PhD students: 600
Number of engineering programs: 16
Number of engineering faculty: 120
Engineering research expenditure: $22 Millions

Maryland:
Number of undergraudate engnieering students: 3700
Number of MS students: 1000
Number of PhD students: 900
Number of engineering programs: 10
Number of engineering faculty: 208
Engineering research expenditure: $135 Millions

Michigan:
Number of undergraudate engnieering students: 5700
Number of MS students: 1600
Number of PhD students: 1600
Number of engineering programs: 16
Number of engineering faculty: 381
Engineering research expenditure: $234 Millions

Pitt:
Number of undergraudate engnieering students: 2600
Number of MS students: 550
Number of PhD students: 420
Number of engineering programs: 10
Number of engineering faculty: 119
Engineering research expenditure: $84 Millions

Rutgers:
Number of undergraudate engnieering students: 3400
Number of MS students: 560
Number of PhD students: 420
Number of engineering programs: 10
Number of engineering faculty: 143
Engineering research expenditure: $51 Millions

Virginia Tech:
Number of undergraudate engnieering students: 7000
Number of MS students: 850
Number of PhD students: 1350
Number of engineering programs: 15
Number of engineering faculty: 317
Engineering research expenditure: $170 Millions