Engineering major top ranked school vs. lower rank but masters in 5

Thanks good advice. I realize once he actually starts taking college engineering classes his focus might shift.
The company his sister works for will partially pay for a masters degree going part-time. However, a few of her co-workers have said doing it this way takes much longer and the “company education contribution” ends up being taxable income… so might not make sense.
Definitely lots for him to think about once he knows which schools have accepted him.