Thanks, @Beaudreau – we do agree.I think a large percentage of state schools have excellent engineering programs. For example, I’ve worked with many engineers from UMass-Lowell and UNH (both are small schools) and they are excellent engineers. So it isn’t so much the school as it is what you put into it (your education) and what you take away from it.
My own engineering education came from UC and UVM – I wouldn’t hesitate to recommend either, with a preference for UC because of the co-op program. You can co-op at many schools, however schools where it is mandatory (like UC and Northeastern) have a pretty good infrastructure in place.
For the record, my older son has been accepted into Miami’s Bioengineering program (with his eye on pre-med). He’s pretty excited about it, and at the moment MiamiU is a front-runner.