“Top” according to which criteria? You seem to be missing several strong schools.
In any case, I’m not sure this is a helpful way to shortlist schools to apply to. There are so many other factors to consider (starting with COA, if there’s a budget limit).
and even in NY they are more likely to go to RIT, Syaracuse for engineering than Stonybrook or Buffalo OOS. My kids both applied engineering and didn’t even know stonybrook had engineering honestly.
Stevens or Rutgers was higher on potential lists.
SUNY schools are very regional - because SUNY students are predominantly from NY - in the 90+% vs. other schools that are somewhat to a lot more - geographically diverse. They are (SUNYs) insular - from a geographic diversity POV.
I would worry about your son, not others. Actually, I wouldn’t worry about him - but i’m just saying - you can’t worry about - others. What he desires is important, not what others desire. Or where they apply. And kids say they’ll major in it and three weeks in are in the b school instead. That could be yours, for all you know.
If your son wants to be an engineer, what else matters?
Find the school that fits him, budget included. College has to be paid for. If a school is $40k more a year and salary expectations are the same, was that $160k worth it. You have to decide.
In the end, kids can only accept one job no matter how many offers.
We had a budget for both. We are full pay but we said $50k a year max. My son maybe was $60-70k over four years. It worked out. For others, like the biomed student I mentioned b4 from a top school, it didn’t. Everyone’s outcome is individual regardless of the aggregate data.
But too much worrying I think. Did you know stats show most engineers don’t ever work as engineers. I’ve had a sales vp who was an aero. I’ve got engineers in my same role and department. I’m a history/journalism major with MBA.
It’s a great degree - and not just in engineering roles. Let your son control what he can - being a great student. Taking advantage of campus resources and earning a degree in something he loves. My son’s second internship - same company as the first - wasn’t an engineering role. I asked him - why would they put you in that role. Answer - because they want people who think like engineers. It’s just a great degree for many roles - a lot of flexibility I think.
No one knows how graduates in general or he will do in five years. You can go by analysis paralysis but you won’t have an answer for five years, so enjoy the ride instead of stressing. Who knows - he might even switch out?
From a 2020 article:
Data gathered by the Washington Postsuggests that as many as 75% of those with science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) degrees don’t work in their respective fields. This is a mind-blowing number when you consider that there is a lack of workers with technical degrees in the United States. Wages in these fields are up, and companies are constantly seeking qualified individuals. Still, engineering degree holders are steadily getting pulled into other industries and career paths.
Here is NU’s EE grads - no salaries given. 15 work in Illinois, 11 in CA, and the rest are scattered mainly in midwest states but also some in the NE and Northwest - but really kids will focus on where they want to be - if they are looking for stability location wise.
That’s sad. I’m sure you are missing many good candidates including those who couldn’t afford highly rejective need-based only schools because their parents refuse to be full pay, or couldn’t afford their SAI. You could also be missing students who want to stay in-state either for affordability issues and/or because they want/need to be close to home. I’m sure there are other employers who also haven’t updated their perceptions in decades, yet we all know how college admissions have changed over the last 30 years or so. Seems short sighted especially since ABET accredited engineering is challenging no matter the school’s rank.
(I think you meant to reply to OP! not me:)
Rose-Hulman Career Placement and Salary Data
I see a lot of well-known companies listed. Your employer needed to update its recruitment & hiring processes to attract more potential talent from a wider range of schools.
Precisely, not all engineering graduates are entering the job market from just these schools. The percentage of students graduating with engineering degrees has been 6-8% since 1996, but the actual number of job-seeking graduates has doubled (like 75,000 to 150,000 in 2026).
Also missing kids from Olin (which didn’t exist 30 years ago;) which I would argue are close to, if not the, best trained engineers out there (and have ECE) having been to their open house recently - was blown away by their pedagogy, profs and thoughtfulness and outcomes, etc.
ABET-accredited EE programs are rigorous enough that it would be rather difficult for a bad engineer to graduate from one. In any case, basing a hiring decision on the admission selectivity of one’s college basically means that you are hiring based on the applicant’s high school achievements and parental financial support for college in most cases.
It likely is true that some schools tend to produce more research-oriented graduates, whether due to selection effect (i.e. students interested in research tend to favor them) or treatment effect (i.e. research activity at the school attracts students into it). However, this does not necessarily mean that those schools are necessarily the best choices for every student, since students’ goals and interest vary, even among those in the same major.
Looks like the OP opened the CC can of worms here. Lol.
Yes, your information is outdated. I personally know of students that chose Rose Hulman over a MIT acceptance. Her sister went to MIT and she felt she didn’t miss out much. Both got amazing internships and jobs. Just saying. Totally different schools /feels.
Michigan is a great engineering school. Full stop. But students going to Michigan State with those stats might get a half scholarship. Similar job offers.
NW being a stress factory is real. Be careful what you wish for
I just worry reading the list, that your child won’t have secondary options. Every year on CC some kid gets denied from all but on paper is a really great student.
I would take another look at the schools and focus more on the type of fit for your son then the name of the school. Even with regional schools the student go on indeed etc and get non regional jobs. Hope that makes sense.
I would focus on fit /feel. What type of internships/Co-ops. Since many times those lead to job offers. My son went to Michigan and I can sing it’s praises. It was a great fit/feel for him but there are so many great schools out there especially for engineering.
Good luck m
True - well the NY part was just doubling down on what you said - but yeah. I’m sure the OP reads all comments - and obviously will form the opinions, including based on their experience, that work for them.
100% true.
you are assuming that the smartest kids were the ones pursuing engineering in the past and now it is the non-smartest kids.
I would posit that isn’t the case, at least in my experience. When I went to prep school the top top kids did NOT look at engineering majors (or business) - it was kind “pre-professional” and kind of looked down upon.. it was more “above average” kids who liked science. The “cum laude” kids majored in natural sciences or social sciences at Ivys .. then maybe went to wall street, or medicine or PhDs. Going into engineering was not a road to financial greatness… was sort of “upper-middle class” blah.
That is NOT AT ALL THE case 30 years later when CS and CE/EE are entirely different. Yes way more kids look at these majors, but it is a different cohort of kids.
What kind of program does your student want?
My daughter attended University of Buffalo, intending to be premed. She took a bio engineering course and found out that she liked engineering and it suited her strong math skills
She got into all of her UC’s, USC, Yale, Johns , but the possibility of getting into an upstate New York med school was attractive and University of Buffalo gave her a full ride.
To be competitive with the California kids, and her best friend at Berkeley, she double majored in electrical engineering and computer software (EECS or “EEKS”). It took her five years. She came back to California and did not have a problem finding employment. Dad is UC and Stanford Grad in EECS. Son attended Caltech in CSE. All VERY different schools, but all employed here at home in SoCal. Dad was impressed by Buffalo engineering program and liked their off campus internships.
Ask your son what he sees himself doing in 5 years and where he wants to live.
I’ve heard about Olin’s intensive program in recent years and my son even began considering schools like Olin, Harvey Mudd, Rose Hulman, Cooper Union. I’m against Harvey Mudd because there’s no real majors. Meanwhile at my lab we don’t really attract/hire applicants from these schools because there’s no grad work.
They’re prominent in our region, that’s why I included them. We rarely hire anyone from these schools but do have some strong connections to SBU. Buffalo is #1 or #2 for best SUNY engineering. RPI is also respected. These are best for students who want to stay close to home and only interested in regional hire.
My fear is he switches to CS or physics and has to transfer out. His interests seem more aligned to both from my perspective, not that I have any problem with EE. On the contrary, EE is a lot more hirable these days.
Rankings, along with institutional reputation, is all any of us have. There isn’t a person on this board who has taken an Engineering class, or who even knows an Engineering graduate, from every university you listed.
While you might perceive them as top programs because of a good regional job market, it’s hard to get hired by bigger companies elsewhere in the nation.
I agree with you but many here will not. For a variety of reasons, some people are very bothered by the concept of graduates of one institution being looked at more favorably than graduates from another institution. This happens in every other aspect of life, and people are generally fine with it, but it become a more emotional issue (instead of rational) when it involves the children of these people.
For those that can get hired, the high pay in CS can be higher than the high pay in EE, even now. By a wide margin.
You work in a lab - that’s not going to be the norm for engineers, of most every sort.
I thnk there’s lots of worry or fear. I think he’ll start in what he wants and if he changes, it’s ok.
Life is long. There does’t need to be a defined path or 18 or even 22.
