<p>I know less about this than about a lot of other things, but I have the following very strong impression: There’s no question that Ga. Tech ranks among the top engineering programs in the country overall. Only MIT and Cal Tech, and maybe now Olin, have any clear prestige advantage among tech schools, and Stanford among comprehensive universities. Several Ivies and flagship public universities have great engineering programs, and one can debate their ranking relative to Ga. Tech, and how much the overall prestige and experience at those schools matter. One can debate how much “prestige” matters at all, too. And at the departmental level any particular school may be stronger or weaker than its general overall reputation.</p>
<p>A few months ago, molliebatmit, who had access to MIT’s data, reported that the main schools to which MIT lost accepted applicants were the Ivies, Stanford, and Cal Tech, and that Michigan and Georgia Tech were the only public universities to which MIT lost any significant number of students. I think that gives a pretty decent read on the relative overall prestige of Georgia Tech, i.e., high.</p>