<p>ash- when I actually got into the working world I found that my UVa education prepared me just fine; to be honest I get a little puzzled by other posters whoi claim UVa engineering is “weak”; I’d like to know the basis for that, since UVa is indeed a key recruiting target for lots of major companies. The environment may seem “softer” than some others to a lot of people, for the simple reason that UVa’s engineering school does not follow the sink-or-swim philosophy that a lot of big state schools do (for example, VaTech). But even if you put total faith in things like US News, I don’t think that being 37th in the country (out of several hundred programs) is too shabby. UVa did not help me get a job because I had my own contacts at the time. Nationwide I believe UVa will stand you in better stead in getting a job but GMU will be fine in the DC metro area, particularly in fields like yours. I do know though that Systems Engineering at UVa is a particularly “hot” major, LOTS of high-paying job offers for recent grauduates until the recession hit… Just as a little personal note, my son, who could have gone almost anywhere in the country for engineering, goes to UVa (and we’re out-of-state!). Hope this helps.</p>